“Madame President, Colleagues, today I rise to address what cannot be termed anything other than a mental health crisis in our state.
Approximately 180,000 Iowans have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness – 6% of our state’s population.
In our prisons, the rate of serious mental illness is 3 to 10 times higher, depending on what mental illness – overall, we have nearly 3,000 inmates who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness.
In 2013, Iowa recorded the largest number of suicides in our state’s history – 445 suicides, only the second time that number had exceeded 400 – far more people now die from suicide in Iowa than from motor vehicle accidents.
We have over 2,000 children on our waiting list for the children’s mental health waiver.
So what are the mental health issues facing the Legislature in 2015? How are we going to address this crisis?
Unfortunately, the biggest issues facing this Legislature are two proposed cuts to mental health services: the first is the Administration’s proposal to close two of our mental health institutes, one in Mt. Pleasant and the other in Clarinda, and the second is the Administration’s proposal to take $30 million out of our new regional mental health system by eliminating “equalization” funding. These are significant proposals which would move Iowa in the wrong direction, especially without a plan to replace the funding and services that would be lost.
Earlier this month, I had the chance to visit the Mt. Pleasant MHI – and contrary to the claims and headlines you may have seen – it is not an antiquainted facility – it is a 1960s building in good condition – it does not lack psychiatrists – it has a psychiatrist working there who I met and has other psychiatrists in the region who are available to provide services – it is not providing sub-standard care, but rather is valuable to the patients and former patients with whom I spoke.
Here is what the patients told me:
Many said the treatment they had received in prison was not good enough.
Many said the treatment they were receiving in the community was okay, but they could not get enough time
Many said the treatment they had received did not go deep enough into their mental health conditions
They told me they needed the extended time and treatment they got at Mt. Pleasant
At Mt. Pleasant they had staff who on a daily routine basis would work on their mental health problems and their substance abuse problems – Mt. Pleasant has the only dual diagnosis program in an MHI in Iowa
Two men – Brian of Boone and Curt of Cedar Rapids – told us that after years of unsuccessful drug and alcohol treatment in and out of prison, it was finally Mt. Pleasant that helped them identify the root causes of their problem and get the treatment they wanted and needed – both said that without the Mt. Pleasant MHI, they would be dead – instead, they are working, supporting their children, and living with their mental health conditions.
That is a success story – we need more success stories, not more cuts.
On Friday, I will go to the Clarinda MHI with Senator Costello, Senator Mathis, and others – to learn about that facility.
Later today, the Senate Appropriations will take up SF140 which says that since the Legislature provided funding for these facilities for the year, we expect the facilities to continue to accept patients for the year.
I heard Governor Branstad tell the media earlier this month – at the press conference with 100s of high school students on the anti-bully issue – that he would work with the Legislature on this issue.
I look forwarded to working with him on this. I have extended an invitation to Governor Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds to join us in Clarinda. I know they have plans in western Iowan that day, so I am hoping that even one of them – the Governor or the Lt. Gov – could join us.
I know that Senator Taylor has offered to meet Governor Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds “any day, any time” at the Mt. Pleasant MHI.
We need to work together to address this crisis – cuts to funding and services don’t move us forward – this is literally a life and death issue for Iowans – colleagues, let’s make sure we address the mental health crisis in 2015.”
