Mental health care improvements move forward

Ragan Report: Iowa's lack of adequate mental health services is a big concern for most Iowans, according to an Iowa Poll earlier this year.
Extensive bipartisan work established Iowa's regional Mental Health and Disability Services (MHDS) system a few years back. This week, the Iowa Senate approved the next step to providing the right services at the right time to those struggling with severe, complex mental health or sub-stance abuse needs.
HF 2456, based on recom-mendations from a Complex Needs Workgroup, adds more "core services" that the Mental Health and Disability Services regions must provide, includ-ing:
o Immediate short-term as-sessments for people who do not need inpatient psychiatric treatment.
o Comprehensive, 24-hour facilities that coordinate care for those with serious mental illnesses.
o Treatment teams that pro-vide flexible help for those leaving an inpatient program. In addition, the MHDS regions can work with trans-portation companies to get patients where they need to go. Currently, law enforcement or ambulance services do the transporting, which hampers their ability to respond to emergencies and do other im-portant work.
Finally, the bill will allow mental health professionals to share certain information with law enforcement that will help prevent tragedies that have become all too common when people can't get the help they need.
This summer, a committee will study how Iowa can pay for these and other improve-ments to ensure our mental health system can meet Iowa's needs for the long term.
Sen. Amanda Ragan (D-Mason City) serves Franklin, Butler and Cerro Gordo counties in Senate District 27. She can be reached at 515-281-3371 or 641-424-0874. Email her at aman-da.ragan@legis.iowa.gov.