Don’t neglect mental health

The Iowa City area's successful bid to be named a Blue Zones Community — a campaign the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce was proud to lead — is a big step toward improving the health and happiness of our residents. The Blue Zones project also is a major component of Gov. Terry Branstad's 'Healthiest State Initiative,' which aims to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation by 2016.

As we move toward this audacious goal, we must be mindful of the critical role mental health services play in the overall well-being of our community. Nationally, one in four people will have a mental illness in any given year. Left untreated, mental illness can lead to diminished capacity to function, both at work and at home.

Those with more severe mental illness often are not able to work, and their life expectancies are 25 to 30 years shorter than those without mental illness. Mental health services provide invaluable resources for those who suffer from mental illness and their families.

Unfortunately, Iowa does not stack up well when it comes to available services for those with mental illness. In 2006, the National Alliance on Mental Health gave our state an 'F' for the effectiveness of our mental health care. And, between 2009 and 2011, Iowa's spending on mental health services dropped nearly 9 percent.

Choosing not to invest in our community mental health centers means we end up incurring greater costs elsewhere. When proper treatment is unavailable, individuals suffering from mental illness often end up in hospital emergency rooms or prisons. Not only does this cost taxpayers more, it also means that these individuals are not actually receiving the care they need.

This is bad fiscal policy and it's bad for the health of our community. But it doesn't have to be this way.

Congress is considering a bipartisan bill, the Excellence in Mental Health Act, which would provide funding to community mental health centers. In return, these centers must meet requirements to deliver a high-quality, comprehensive range of evidence-based interventions to the individuals they serve. Such services would help reduce expensive ER visits and unnecessary incarceration.

I hope that Iowa's congressional delegation will support the Excellence in Mental Health Act. Improved community mental health services would help us achieve the happier, healthiest Iowa that both the Blue Zones project and the governor seek while also benefiting our economy.