Branstad critics see irony in mental health proclamation

DES MOINES - Gov. Terry Branstad came under fire Thursday for signing a Mental Health Month proclamation while defending his plan to close two of the state's four mental health institutions.

'Frankly, the governor signing this proclamation is laughable given his attacks on mental health providers and patients,” said Matt Sinovic of Progress Iowa, a left-leaning policy advocacy group. Branstad is 'pretending to be in favor of quality mental health care. It's ridiculous.”

Sinovic delivered a petitions with more than 2,500 signatures from people opposed to the Branstad plan to close the mental health institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant.

Branstad didn't see anything ironic about proclaiming Mental Health Month while trying to close mental health facilities.

'The state is putting in a lot more resources and with our Health and Wellness Program we are getting financial help from the federal government to deliver mental health services,” he said.

Citing recommendations over the past 40 years to close the MHIs, Branstad called the changes 'long overdue.” The Mount Pleasant and Clarinda facilities were built in 1861 and 1884.

'Today they are not accredited, we don't have psychiatrists there and we are going to be replacing them with a better delivery of services designed to meet the mental health needs of today,” he said.

If he really believed that, Branstad wouldn't have waited 21 days into the month to sign the proclamation, according to AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan who represents about 157 MHI employees facing layoffs if the facilities are closed.

'This should have been done May 1 if he was really serious,” Homan said.

NAMI Greater Des Moines President Teresa Bomhoff of Des Moines was appreciative of the proclamation signing in the Capitol rotunda in front of about 50 NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) members. However, she shares some of the same concerns as Sinovic and Homan.

In remarks after the signing, she called for an 'adequately funded mental health outside of the corrections system.”

Without the MHIs, she said, there is no place for people to go extended periods of time 'if they are in the worst state of their illness.”

'While the majority of people can get well through medication and therapy, there are some who take longer and some may never get well,” Bomhoff said.

'So if he's not going to have the MHIs open he has to create something else and that something else should have been in place before they ever closed down,” she said.

Republican House members have negotiated a plan to keep the MHIs open through mid-December. However, Senate Democrats have rejected that deal because it calls for removing references of the MHIs from Iowa Code.