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David Nicholas: A new state report says Michigan is in a mental health care crisis. Findings show the state ranks 47th in the country for bed availability for mental health patients. It also shows that 100% of children in northern Michigan travel 100 miles or more to receive care.
WCMU's Tina Sawyer recently talked with Kate Dahlstrom from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Grand Traverse, about how they are trying to convince state lawmakers to support a new mental health care campus in the region.
Tina Sawyer: So the recommendation is, yes, we need this mental health care campus in Northern Michigan. And the House also agreed and recommends there needs to be something there to fill the need. Is that what you found out?
Kate Dahlstrom: We started testifying, and this is a subcommittee, had six hearings, and I think they say that in their report. And, you know, in the report, they offer six to eight solutions. where they actually mentioned our proposal by name.
Now this, to my knowledge, hasn't gone before the full house. And we're trying, part of our efforts now is to see that not only the full house, but the full Senate, and we'd love to have the governor be aware of this. So of course, we've got November, we have November elections. And so a lot of, Legislators, that may change, but we're not gonna wait until the November elections. We're working hard to get this in front of as many legislators as possible.
And Director Hertel, we met with her last week on Zoom, and she's seen it, she agrees. We need more beds, especially up here for kids. And she really liked the idea of residential step-down beds, really don't have any of those, certainly at the state level. I think the only organization slash, I guess they're really a hospital, is Pine Rest in Grand Rapids that has... longer term residential level beds.
These days in Michigan to get hospital level care, you're lucky to get a week. If we had enough beds that allowed people to stay long enough at hospital level care, that's one thing. But then when they get discharged, there's often a huge gap and delays or not even being able to then get the next step down for care.
TS: You get this in front of the full house, let's say, and they say, okay, let's do it. How much money is needed to make this a reality up there?
KD: Well, so our proposal calls for an estimate, actually $40 million for the treatment center part, but we really want a university partner so that there can be an educational curriculum component. And that's not included in the $40 million to, you know, have space for classrooms and things like that. But we feel we've looked at seven or eight other states and we're going to dig into that more deeply. weeks ahead to see how they're, you know, how they're doing it.
TS: So how would it be funded?
KD: Well, we're saying the state should do it. The state used to fund about 22,000 state hospital beds in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and now they're funding about, you know, a little over 700. And we would definitely plan to, you know, look for foundation grants and so on, and possibly access some money from the Federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Funding is going to be available for the next five years, and so we do plan to apply.
DN: Kate Dahlstrom from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Grand Traverse talking with WCMU's Tina Sawyer.
