Public forum will focus on potential mental health service reductions

Cherokee's MHI is a resource center for this part of the state. Discussion of its closure has a significant impact , both clinically and economically to our region. Cherokee MHI's current superintendent, Dr. Dan Gillette, will be the featured speaker at the 5th annual National Alliance on Mental Illness of NW Iowa Public Forum at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at the Oak and Maple conference rooms in the lower level of the Spencer Hospital.

A site visit at Cherokee MHI took place on Tuesday, Sept. 15, as the first of four tours of the various facilities where clinical care, cost efficiency, and community and regional benefits will be compared. Three hundred northwest Iowa citizens rallied in support during the task force's public hearing.

The Cherokee MHI also provides training rotations for nine Iowa nursing schools as well as one in Minnesota. Internships for pharmacy and social work students are also provided.

With its high rate of patient satisfaction, the Cherokee MHI provides an acute care recovery model, meeting the specialized needs of patients. This approach has resulted in efficient bed capacity management for shorter-term stays. Cherokee MHI offers timely evaluations, especially for court cases and ongoing training opportunities for community providers serving the needs of the mentally ill in their homes, in residential care facilities, and supervised apartments in their home communities.

The Cherokee MHI has the lowest per diem cost of all four MHIs in Iowa and these costs are trending downward, with a 40-year track record of this facility remaining within its budget. Cherokee MHI provides education and training to Physician Assistants through the P.A. Psychiatric Fellowship Program started in 1999. Nine of the twelve graduates of this program have remained in "underserved" areas here in Iowa (Iowa ranks 45th of 50 states in the number of psychiatrists per capita.

For the past 10 years, the state legislature has allocated less funding to the Department of Human Services, resulting in less inpatient mental health beds. Cherokee MHI, which is Joint Commission accredited, addresses 80-90 percent of their annual admission through community emergencies. The Cherokee MHI serves the needs of 41 counties with a daily census of 46 adult mental health inpatient beds and 12 children and adolescent inpatient mental health beds from 55 counties.

The public is welcome to hear Dr. Gillette share additional details about the Cherokee MHI and the impact a possible closure might have to patients, their families and the region, the task force's activities, and advocacy efforts to address the political process in this decision making.