Editorial: Making unkind cuts

Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

State officials might further delay the expansion of Nevada's mental health hospital in Las Vegas, and that might cause further crowding in the region's emergency rooms.

The proposal comes in response to Gov. Jim Gibbons' order that state agencies submit plans to cut their budgets by 8 percent in light of lower-than-expected tax revenue.

As Cy Ryan reported in Wednesday's Las Vegas Sun, emergency rooms have been clogged by mental patients because of a lack of space in the state hospital and other facilities. Since opening in August 2006, the 190-bed Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital near Jones and Oakey boulevards has helped ease the overcrowding in emergency rooms.

State officials have increased the size of the hospital once and want to add 22 beds because of demand. But because of staffing issues the addition of the new beds already has been delayed until next year. State lawmakers say further delays in the expansion because of budget cuts would be unacceptable.

"We're going backward in mental health," state Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, says. "We have to draw the line somewhere. We can't be putting this on the backs of our most vulnerable people."

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, says, "I don't want to see us go back to 1991," when the mental health system was heavily cut.

Those budget cuts, ordered by then-Gov. Bob Miller, included layoffs. It took the state a decade just to get back to the position it was in in 1991.

Gibbons is expected to make decisions on budget cut proposals, which include layoffs, in January. Given his anti-government philosophy, Gibbons is predisposed to slashing the state budget, but if he takes an honest look, he will find a fairly lean budget. Years of inadequate funding have created dire needs across state government, including in education, homeland security, mental health and transportation. Widespread budget cuts could have serious repercussions for years.

If Gibbons decides to cut, he should realize the mentally ill won't be the only ones who suffer. We all will.