Officials working together on mental health facility issues

March 16--ALTON -- Mental health services providers, police and legislators along with hospital and ambulance service representatives continue collaborating on issues of limited bed space for psychiatric patients and who bears expensive transportation costs.

"We spent $11,000 last year in transportation costs," said Alton Police Chief Jason "Jake" Simmons regarding fuel and overtime pay for jailers and police officers to drive people in need of mental health services to facilities with available bed space.

It also takes on-duty officers out of Alton, where they may be needed for an emergency, he said.

"It is very expensive for police departments who are learning to live with less," Simmons said. "It is very expensive for us, and I feel it is not our responsibility to transport these consumers."

Most of the trips have been to Kettler Center at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City. Still, one trip was to a facility in Lake County in the far northeast corner of Illinois, north of Chicago. Simmons said at the time, that location was the only one in the state with an open bed for the non-forensic patient.

He said Gateway has reduced number of beds available for such patients to 18.

Alton hospitals do not have psychiatric units, so when the people needing such help go to those facilities, they are examined, assessed and eventually released or taken elsewhere -- sometimes jail.

Simmons spoke Friday morning at the second such collaborative meeting, held at WellSpring Resources, 2615 Edwards St., Alton. He suggested legislation could provide funding for law enforcement agencies via traffic citation revenues collected from across the state.

"We need funding. We don't have the money to do this," Simmons said. "We need to work with our legislators. I think they could be more creative in finding money. If there is no place at Gateway because they reduced the beds, we have to make calls and we drive them all over the state. It's a fairness issue."

Tom Johnson, who formerly worked at Alton Mental Health Center and now facilitates crisis intervention training for police, said he would like legislators to reinstate Illinois' CHIPS contract that would reimburse healthcare facilities for indigent patients.

"That would open up more beds," he said. "Once DHS (Illinois Department of Human Services) owns the problem, they will solve it."

The state does not reimburse police and will not pay medical bills if the patients go to a St. Louis facility, Simmons said.

Discussion facilitator Pfc. Emily Hejna, of the Alton Police Department, is working with state Sen. William Haine's (D-Alton) staff in formulating a bill addressing the funding or responsibility for paying for the people's screenings and transportation.

Haine later said he agrees that the burden of driving and paying for such transportation should not belong to police.

"I don't believe it is the place of local police to be responsible to transport people in need of mental health treatment," Haine said. "They are traveling across the state for treatment centers. This is beyond their competency and it opens up risk of exposure to lawsuits and all kinds of various problems. It is a tremendous imposition on local police to do it. I was shocked when Tom Johnson and Jake Simmons told me about it. I am going to do my best to help; it will take money."

Haine agreed with Johnson regarding the state re-implementing the CHIPS program, but noted Illinois' well-known, dire financial condition.

He said Alton Mental Health Center only has 12 beds available for civil (non-forensic) patients. "I met with the Department (DHS Division of Mental Health), and they said they would work on that. But that would require more staffing."

Years ago, the state wanted to build another wing at the Alton center, 4500 College Ave., but the funding only covered an engineering study, which was completed. The state put the project on a waiting list. Haine said former Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut staffing and budgets and the project never progressed.

"The Department (DHS Division of Mental Health) assured me it is in their plans to increase beds in the civil wing as well as in the forensic wing," he said of the Alton center.

Haine said there also needs more bed space for forensic patients, who are unfit to stand trial, found guilty by reason of insanity or who a judge has ordered to the facility so as to get them out of county jails.

"It will take money," Haine said.

Regarding legislation to funnel some funds from traffic citations to law enforcement, Haine does not necessarily support the idea.

"I don't know how that would work," he said. "Arguing over fine money is endemic to the system." He said it would be hard to tell how fairly the funds might be split among agencies, and that those already receiving those funds would not want to lose their share.

During the hour-long meeting, Hejna also suggested crisis intervention training be updated -- with online courses -- for officers who underwent the 40-hour course years ago. Officers now receive instruction in new laws and crises related to returning combat veterans, excited delirium, compliant surrender and autism. Johnson also said the training could be included in instruction at the police academy level for new officers.

All but the two newest Alton police officers are certified in crisis intervention and on APD's Crisis Intervention Team that assists people who might harm themselves or others. Simmons said the remaining two officers will undergo training as soon as the courses are available in the next few couple of months.

Among Friday's other participants was Jason Bowman, Alton Memorial Ambulance Service; Executive Director Jennifer Roth of the Madison County Mental Health Board; Sgt. Aaron Flynn, Granite City Police Department; Karen Sopronyi-Tompkins, WellSpring chief executive officer; three WellSpring staff; and two Alton Memorial Hospital emergency room nurses.

Linda N. Weller may be reached at 618-463-2550 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller

___

(c)2014 The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.)

Visit The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.) at www.thetelegraph.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services