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November 10, 2009

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Editorial: Funding is welcome

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 9:24 a.m.

In his budget, Gov. Kenny Guinn proposed a $100 million spending increase for mental health. The Legislature has been supportive.

Just this week, for example, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved $15 million for more care that includes long-term, crisis and triage services. Earlier, the whole Legislature approved reimbursing WestCare, a Las Vegas center for treating mentally ill people, for services provided earlier in this fiscal year. The state also has the money to negotiate a contract with WestCare for services until a new state psychiatric hospital opens in Las Vegas next year.

Such services are needed to prevent the type of crisis encountered last year in Clark County, when area hospital beds needed by other patients were occupied by the mentally ill, who had nowhere else to go. The attention being paid to the issue of mental health is a welcome departure from previous sessions of the Nevada Legislature.

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