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Fletcher to retire from psychiatric hospital in Anderson

Anderson Independent-Mail (SC) - 6/30/2016

June 30--John Fletcher, the longtime director of Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital in Anderson, is retiring Thursday after more than three decades of serving South Carolina's mentally ill.

Fletcher, 68, started working for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health in Columbia in 1985. He came to the Anderson hospital in 1999 for what he thought would be an interim assignment. Six months later, in January 2000, he was hired as the hospital's director.

From time to time, he said, he has looked around to see if he wanted another career option.

But the plight of the mentally ill always drew him back.

"Mentally ill people are a special population, and they need special attention," he said. "The needs are great, and I just felt that if I could play some role, even a small role, in helping those patients, then that is where I needed to be."

Dozens of people -- friends, family, current and former colleagues -- gathered Wednesday to celebrate Fletcher's time with the state mental health agency and the regional psychiatric hospital in Anderson. With hugs and tears, some employees said they had spent their entire careers working alongside Fletcher.

In all the years, Fletcher rarely discussed it with his staff if his hospital had a waiting list. He never wanted workers to feel pressured to discharge patients too soon, he said.

"His dedication to this hospital, his staff and the patients is just tremendous," said Renee Bryant, his longtime administrative assistant. "It's hard to imagine this place without him."

Fletcher's time at the helm hasn't always been easy.

Between 2008 and 2011 South Carolina's budget for mental-health services was cut by 37 percent, or $81 million. Harris Hospital, licensed for 200 beds, had 79 beds empty beds then, in part because of budget cuts and inability to staff the hospital so it could be used to its capacity. At the time, 35 of the available beds were occupied by people so severely mentally ill that they could never leave. That left 86 beds available to serve mentally ill patients in 13 South Carolina counties.

Funding for mental health in South Carolina has improved since then, but will likely always be a challenge, Fletcher said.

"You have education and roads and public safety and all kinds of other things competing for dollars," he said. "Mental health doesn't always climb to the top of the list. I don't know of any state where mental health climbs to the top of the list."

Now, he said, the hospital struggles to attract psychiatrists, because they can be better paid in other agencies or in private practice.

But Fletcher said he still is proud that Harris Hospital has been recognized nationally for its quality of care, and that it is now a place where medical students from several schools do rotations in psychiatric care. He is proud that Harris Hospital and AnMed Health Medical Center also pool their resources in some areas to pay for psychiatrists to see patients in both locations.

"Mental health care has come a long way since I began my career," Fletcher said.

John Magill, the director of the state Mental Health Department, lauded Fletcher for his time with the agency.

"I'm grateful for the years of dedicated service John has given to the Department of Mental Health," Magill said. "He has led by example, demonstrating both compassion and enthusiasm on a daily basis. He has provided the best possible environment for both patients and staff. He will be missed, but I am sure he will continue to be a leader in the community."

A replacement for Fletcher has not been named. That announcement could come some time in the next month.

As for Fletcher, he is ready to see what the next chapter of life offers, he said.

"There are roads in Anderson that, I don't know where they end," he said. "There are restaurants I have heard of, but have never even tried. I'm going to do that stuff and just reset. And I am confident that the tremendous care that exists at this hospital will continue."

Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo

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(c)2016 the Anderson Independent Mail (Anderson, S.C.)

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