Employees praise Iowa Mental Health Institutes, lament closures, at hearing

DES MOINES – Former and current employees at Iowa mental health institutes targeted for closure Wednesday refuted claims that the facilities in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda are antiquated and questioned whether mentally ill Iowans will be better served in other settings.

'We have a mental health crisis in Iowa right now,” said Cindy Fedler, a nurse clinician who recently was laid off at the mental health institute in Mount Pleasant who was one of four MHI employees who told Senate Oversight Committee members the facilities are a crucial last resort for patients suffering from an acute mental illness.

Fedler and Anna Short, a laid-off drug abuse counselor at Mount Pleasant shared several success stories from patients whose lives turned around thanks to the treatment they receive and a Shenandoah woman identified as Christina told legislators her outpatient treatment hadn't worked and it was 'vital” to be admitted for a month at Clarinda.

'I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for that place,” said Christina, who noted she now is employed and doing better.

Two current Clarinda employees -- Sue Rehwaldt-Hays, an occupational therapist, and nurse clinician Ann Davison -– questioned whether alternative services will replace the MHI beds and they expressed concern that elderly patients and others who face unnecessary stress in being relocated or shuttled to existing institutions in Cherokee and Independence.

The workers noted that upgrades have been made at both the Mount Pleasant and Clarinda facilities that they said appeared to be 'prepping for the new owner” given that it took eight months to get an elevator installed at the Mount Pleasant facilities but two weeks to move patients out of the facility.

Amy Lorentzen McCoy, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, praised the work of the MHI employees past and present and noted it is 'a really difficult time for them” as plans proceed to shutter the Mount Pleasant and Clarinda facilities by June 30.

While the speakers questioned several Branstad administration claims justifying the closures, McCoy said patients already are traveling to institutes outside their areas to receive appropriate care and there has been difficulty in getting facilities accredited and attracting psychiatrists and other professionals to rural areas.

After the hearing, Committee chairman Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said there will be an attempt to include language and money in the health and human services budget bill to keep all four state MHIs operating in fiscal 2016. He said an effort would be made to structure the bill so it would be difficult for Gov. Terry Branstad to use his item-veto authority to strike the provision.

Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, co-chair of the House-Senate health and human services budget subcommittee, confirmed she planned to include $11 million in the fiscal 2016 budget bill to keep Clarinda and Mount Pleasant operating after June 30 and she expected to get a favorable reception from House co-leader Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant.