EDITORIAL: State's lack of funding means mental health takes a backseat

July 25--Being in need of proper mental health care shouldn't make someone feel like a criminal.

However, that's exactly how we would feel, and how some Latah County residents must feel when they are ordered to receive involuntary mental health evaluations.

Such patients in Latah and other northern Idaho counties can receive these evaluations nearby at the St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. They can also go to the Kootenai Behavioral Health Center in Coeur d'Alene.

But if those facilities are full, the only option is taking a road trip to Boise.

In the backseat of a patrol car. In chains and handcuffs.

"They aren't criminals," Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the Daily News earlier this week. He said this method of transporting patients long distance "simply is not appropriate." It wastes police resources, too.

While this situation may not happen a lot, it is certain to happen again, he said.

"We're in a crisis right now," he said about the state's mental health care system.

The process begins when law enforcement comes in contact with the person because they present a possible danger to themselves and others, or are gravely disabled. A law enforcement official or physician can determine if they need a mental health evaluation.

These people are not convicted offenders. In fact, according to Thompson, most are often able to return to their normal lives after receiving proper mental care.

We understand why Thompson is irked.

When the nearest health facilities don't have enough resources to take these patients for evaluations, it seems like another sign that mental health is too low on the state's priority list.

The method of taking northern Idaho patients nearly 300 miles away from their families for an exhausting, uncomfortable trip in the back of a patrol car deserves serious reevaluation.

If it's too much to ask the state to provide more resources locally, then can't there be a way to transport individuals to Spokane, or another close facility across the state border?

If a person needs mental health care, it's worthwhile to make that process as efficient and convenient as possible.

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