LV mental health center in need of funding

Thursday, March 1, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Las Vegas Mental Health Center needs an emergency appropriation of $363,000 to correct health and safety violations or it will lose its federal certification, state officials said today.

Mike Torvinen, administrative officer for the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, said that if this work is not completed by March 31, 2002, the center will lose its Medicare funding.

Torvinen told a joint Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee that the contractor feels the work won't be done by the "drop dead" date unless it starts immediately.

These code violations were discovered during an inspection in January 2000. A contractor was hired with about $350,000 available. But additional violations involving the fire codes and other safety defects were discovered.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, chairman of the subcommittee, said he wanted to get the money to get the work done. The money is not in Gov. Kenny Guinn's budget.

The Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services has about 86 beds for patients. But the budget calls for deleting eight beds and putting that money in housing facilities outside the center.

Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, wondered why the state would be reducing the number of beds because the population of Southern Nevada was growing.

Dr. Jim Northrup, chief executive officer of mental health services in Southern Nevada, said that the new drugs are effective in treatment and community beds have decreased the needs for in-patient facilities at the center.

The plan is to take the money from the center to finance eight apartment units where there is 24-hour supervision for these people with mental problems. It also calls for 12 special group home beds to handle these cases, rather than putting them in the state hospital.

Gov. Guinn's budget calls for $35.8 million for next fiscal year, an increase of 18 percent from the present fiscal year. The budget would jump 8.1 percent in the following fiscal year to $38.7 million.

Subcommittee members also questioned the state using the nonprofit Mohave Clinic exclusively for providing services in Southern Nevada.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said she gets more complaints about the Mohave operation than any others in the mental health area. It's not about the quality of service but that this non-profit has a monopoly.

Dr. Carlos Brandenburg, administrator of the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, said the state's contract with Mohave started in 1991 after there were cuts in the mental health budget due to a downturn in the economy. Mohave is associated with the University of Nevada Medical School.