WestCare denied state funds

Friday, May 28, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- WestCare, Clark County's crisis triage center that provides emergency care for alcoholics, drug addicts and the mentally ill, again came up empty in its search for more state money.

The Task Force for the Fund for a Healthy Nevada said Thursday it doesn't have any leftover money to give to the program that helps relieve overcrowding in the valley's hospital emergency rooms.

Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, the chairwoman of the task force, said WestCare performs an important service but noted: "Unfortunately we can't do anything."

McClain encouraged local governments to continue to finance the crisis center's operation and suggested that for-profit hospitals in Clark County could provide more money for WestCare, a nonprofit operation.

Dan Musgrove, a lobbyist for Clark County, told the task force that hospitals supply one-third of the money for the operations and local governments put up one third. And the plan was for the state to supply the remaining one-third, or $680,000 a year.

The Legislature declined to provide any money, as did the Legislative Interim Finance Committee. But WestCare got $480,000 from the state Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. At a previous meeting the task force also rejected a request from WestCare because of lack of money.

People who could be treated at WestCare take up space in overcrowded emergency rooms because the state has no beds set aside for them.

If the people are released, they end up back in the emergency rooms without any treatment, Musgrove said, adding that WestCare is aimed at stopping the "revolving door."

Musgrove said he did not know if local governments would continue to contribute to WestCare for the next fiscal year. He said some of them don't feel it is a problem in their area.

In explaining the rejection by the 2003 Legislature, he said there was no money for new programs. But he said that state Human Resources Department Director Mike Willden intends to put money in the 2005-07 state budget for WestCare.

The task force, meeting Thursday in Las Vegas, distributes money the state receives from the tobacco settlement to health and other programs. At its last meeting, it had to make some major reductions in grants because of a shortage of money.

Ron Mestre of the task force said Thursday he would like to see WestCare "come through the proper channels" in applying for a grant. "Some people were cut drastically who went through the proper channels," he said, referring to nonprofit groups seeking money for their programs.

Musgrove said he did not want to take any money from the other groups, noting that WestCare hoped the task force would consider giving it another group's unspent funds.

Laura Hale, a staff member of the task force, said she did not expect much of the money already granted this year to go unspent and be sent back to the task force. As a "wild guess," she said there may be $100,000 to $200,000, but the figure won't be known until late in the summer.