Editorial: Ignoring mentally ill

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

Las Vegas area hospitals have given state government until Monday to adopt a plan to prevent mentally ill patients from crowding their emergency rooms. Spring Valley Hospital's chief executive officer acknowledged the group can't dictate policy to state government, but said they hoped the hospitals' call would prod the state into doing as much as it could to solve the problem. The state mental health division has been working on steps to ease the crisis, such as proposing a plan to open up 28 beds for the mentally ill at a state building. But even if the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee approves that plan, it's unlikely it will be enough to remedy the situation.

We certainly sympathize with the plight of the hospitals, which have been taking on a responsibility that rests with the state. The hospitals believe, with good justification, that their emergency rooms are becoming "warehouses" for the mentally ill. Gov. Kenny Guinn has tried to make things better, including getting the Legislature last year to approve his plan to open by 2006 a 150-bed state mental hospital, but even that will fall far short of the need. The problem is that the Legislature has lacked the political will to devise a long-term plan to treat the mentally ill. There isn't a large, powerful constituency advocating on behalf of the mentally ill, which has led to the lack of attention by state lawmakers. Quite possibly, with the hospitals making noise, the 2005 Legislature finally will address this issue with both short-term and long-term soluti ons.