Editorial: Mental health crisis needs a permanent fix

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

The state of Nevada's refusal over the past 15 or 20 years to properly fund mental health reached a breaking point over the weekend. With one-third of the emergency-room beds in 11 area hospitals filled with mentally ill patients on Friday, and with health care officials calling the situation the worst mental health crisis in the region's history, Clark County Manager Thom Reilly declared a state of emergency.

In reaction, Gov. Kenny Guinn released up to $100,000 in emergency funds to pay for the staff and space needed to relieve the crisis. By Sunday the number of mentally ill patients in emergency rooms had dropped from 108 to under 60. That number (although still very high) is remaining stable for now, but could again zoom upward, creating a crisis for ERs because they must be able to quickly attend to the physically sick and injured, as well as be ready in the event of a mass-casualty incident, such as a bus accident, terrorism attack or hotel fire.

Area doctors and hospital officials, as well as state and local government officials, agree that the crisis is ongoing, despite the relief from the weekend's emergency response. "This has the potential to be an absolute disaster," Dr. Dale Carrison, emergency room director at University Medical Center, told the Sun. "This is just a snowball that has been going down the hill and it's finally hitting the tree." Several meetings are planned for this week among government and health care officials to discuss measures that will continue the temporary relief for emergency rooms.

Permanent relief, however, will be impossible without a major funding commitment from the Legislature. A state psychiatric hospital is planned for a 2006 opening, but will provide an immediate net gain of only about 50 beds. In order for Las Vegas to even approach the national average in psychiatric beds per 100,000 people, the area needs at least another 400 beds above what the new hospital will provide. The state, however, doesn't even want to provide its share of funding for a stopgap triage program for the mentally ill run by WestCare, a nonprofit organization. The program has, until now, prevented a crisis of care for the mentally ill. But with a crisis now upon us, the 2005 Legislature should end its denial of mental health needs and begin appropriate funding.