Pat Smathers Takes The Crisis Seriously
Pat Smathers is running for Lieutenant Governor, and he's the first candidate to demonstrate an understanding of the depth, breadth, and urgency of our mental health care crisis. In an email sent yesterday in advance of the Mental Health Coalition Forum on Monday in Raleigh, Smathers tells it like it is:
"We must begin an honest conversation about how we can improve mental health care statewide."
[...]
Our mental health system is in crisis. North Carolina is ranked 43rd in the nation for per capita mental health spending. Privatization of the system in 2001, hailed as a solution, has resulted in the closure of hospitals and clinics and ultimately made it harder for many North Carolinians to get help. Our current mental health system is a haphazard array of chronically under-funded programs that have failed all North Carolinians, but most especially our rural residents and veterans."
Mayor Smathers hits the nail on the head. The gang in Raleigh has kicked this can down the road for years, watching as the system grew more and more fragile. With too few exceptions, Raleigh politicians have allowed and encouraged the decline and crisis in our mental health system. Smathers' outsider status couldn't be more welcome than it is in the mental health care crisis arena. Raleigh politicians have cut funding, laughed off the State consultant's recommendations, and counted on public apathy to ignore their failures.
Some candidates have focused their mental health crisis solutions on the hospitals while ignoring the bulk of the problem - the collapse of community mental health. Not so Smathers. He lays out an initial proposal and promises more at the Coalition Forum on Monday:
"We need to immediately increase state funding and support for community-based initiatives, including emergency clinics and outreach programs. Through a collaboration of state and local leadership, we can fix this system and finally do right by all the citizens of North Carolina.
I look forward to sharing more of my ideas with you at the forum this Monday at the RBC Center in Raleigh. I will begin speaking at 9:15 a.m. I hope to see you there."
I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say, Mayor Smathers.
Kudos to the Coalition for putting together a forum that will educate all of these candidates about the urgency of the crisis in mental health. Without sustained effort, Raleigh would've kept sweeping this issue under the rug the way they have for the last five years. Governor Mike Easley and his appointees are largely responsible for this crisis, and I'll need to hear candidates promise a departure from Easley's apparent contempt for mental health services. Pat Smathers is the first candidate I've heard address the crisis with clarity and intention.
Here's hoping a lot of new ideas and commitments are on display Monday at the Forum. BlueNC's lcloud will be attending, so we ought to get an excellent report.
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cross-posted at Scrutiny Hooligans
Good for Smathers
I know very little about the mental health system in NC, and I realize that I'm very lucky I haven't had to learn from experience with myself or a family member about how bad it is. So I can't fully evaluate how good his statement is. What I can say is that 2 minutes with The Google shows that Dellinger hit on a lot of the same themes ... back in July of last year.
http://hd08.com/issues/dix.html
"The place to start is directing the proceeds of the sale to the state Mental Health Trust Fund. Of course, the proceeds from the deal must only be the beginning of a larger state financial commitment to mental health reform. ... As part of this transition, we must also ensure that community-based care is not only available, but adequate, well-funded, and well-managed. North Carolina’s ranking as one of the worst states in terms of per-capita funding for mental health must change. ... We must also have better coordination between local management entities and contract providers, particularly in cases involving individuals subject to court ordered outpatient treatment. For the health of those individuals and the safety of the public, we must have accountability and adequate oversight in every case."
Gordon, you are obviously passionate about mental health reform, an issue Dellinger put out a fairly lengthy statement about 6 months before you started talking about how none of the candidates talk about mental health reform). Is there something wrong or inadequate about Dellinger's statement? Is he one of the candidates who has focused too much on our hospitals? That strikes me as a good debate to have and one I could learn from - but the rah-rah Smathers is first stuff makes wonder if like you're just ignoring what Dellinger has said because you don't like the guy.
I'm sorry to unload on you, it's more frustration built up from following this race on this board. Dellinger has put out a detailed education proposal that I think people would like, but which I've never seen mentioned here. Same goes for his plan to help our seniors. Meanwhile, there's been discussion after discussion about whether he is too smug and about how he has raised money to try to keep pace with a guy who voted against clean smokestacks and thinks two new coal plants is a good idea, tried to push a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the floor of the senate, and seemed to think it's ok to execute those with mental retardation. We always say issues matter, but sometimes it seems like we don't act like they do.
Thanks, durhamdem
I went over and read the link you posted. When I talked with Hampton Dellinger at the Asheville Lt. Gov. debate, he talked about his Dix 365, and I think he's on the right track. However, the depth and urgency of the problem are so great as to mean that it must be addressed aggressively and immediately.
I think Hampton's ideas are good ones, and I look forward to hearing more at Monday's forum. I'm sure Dan Besse has some good ideas of his own.
However, as an advocate for a functioning mental health system, I have seen too little urgency from the candidates until this email hit my inbox.
I think this thread is a great place for all the candidates and their supporters to talk about their mental health plans. With the forum on Monday, it will help everyone get some context.
I still haven't decided who to support in this race, though I'm leaning towards Besse or Smathers. So please don't interpret this post as rah-rah Candidate X. It's rah-rah Any Candidate Who's Going To Seriously Address The Crisis.
That being said - let's hear from all the candidates. What's your understanding of the problem? What are your plans to solve it?
The Gubernatorial candidates and their supporters could chime in as well since the Gov's office is going to have a lot more power to change all this.
Sounds good
I look forward to reading your thoughts and the thoughts of others after the forum on Monday.
More on that
I replied from a coffee shop where I was snagging a delicious smoothie. Now I'm back home and wanted to give a little more time to the question you asked about why Dellinger's statement wasn't enough.
I liked this part: "Dellinger called on state lawmakers to signal their support for "Dorothea 365" by passing a meaningful mental health parity bill and increasing funding for mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse programs."
However, his headline is "DELLINGER PRESSES FOR PASSAGE OF MEANINGFUL MENTAL HEALTH PARITY INSURANCE BILL, INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF TRIANGLE HOSPITAL BEDS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS, AND CREATION OF WWW.DOROTHEA365.COM"
Parity is a good thing and will help a lot. I think every Democrat is behind this. Even Dalton. More hospital beds is a good thing as well. Dellinger's statement, which I'll grant is only one from seven months ago and therefore not comprehensive or current, falls short of recognizing the enormous crisis faced by community mental health providers.
No mention of the failings of Governor Easley's appointees at DHHS and DMH. No mention of the instability being caused in large part by constant cuts and neverending service definition changes. The failure of this reform needs to be named, not glossed over to protect powerful friends.
His statement that providers should start a site called Dorothea365.com is puzzling as well. Why not just start it and then invite folks to join? The URL is still sitting fallow.
I think we'll all learn a lot more about the candidates' positions on Monday. Any of them who are willing to accurately describe the problem and offer specifics about how to fix it will be received by this mental health professional with open arms. Whether it's Smathers or any of the rest, no candidate in this race ought to be taken seriously unless they are taking this crisis and it's causes seriously.
Gordon's been talking about Mental Health for a long time.
But that's ok - you might not know that. He's actually one of my go-to experts on the mental health field. The guy knows his stuff.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
I don't doubt that for a second
I didn't mean to imply that Gordon only cared about this recently, and if that's how it came across I apologize - I was only talking about his posts about the candidates' seeming lack of interest in the issue, which seemed to be more recent (and for good reason - it makes sense that as the election got closer there would be more talk about it).
I'm sure Gordon knows WAY more about our mental health system than I do, and I'm sure you know WAY more about our education system than I do. That was part of the point of my post - I learn a lot from this board because people who post here have different areas of expertise. I'd love to see Gordon weigh in on how the candidates differ on mental health, and I'd love to see you talk about their different approaches to education. If Dellinger has holes or wrong approaches, I'd love to hear why you think that. But instead his actual proposals have been ignored. As a supporter (though more for electability reasons than anything else - not that we need to have that discussion again, either), it's just been frustrating to read so much about his personality and campaign style and so little about the actual substance of what he's said.
Some Good News
AC-T:
Mike Moseley, along with Carmen Hooker-Odom, created a lot of the problems we have today. His departure leaves open the possibility of a better director coming in to get this train back on the rails.
Now look what you've stirred up...
Gordon, you troublemaker.
You've gotten at least three of us pitching your point that the mental health care system in North Carolina is broken and needs to be overhauled.
Good work on your part.
I thought we all had some good points on this during our Winston-Salem debate. Pat is speaking to the mental health coalition meeting at 9:15 Monday morning and I'm on at 1:45 in the afternoon. I assume that our fellow Dems will be there at some point as well.
For the record, I cited the need for mental health parity early last year as a key point on my health issues page. However, I think it's fair to say that none of the Dem candidates (certainly including me) have been pre-campaign activists on the broader problems of our state's mental health system. I have learned much about its problems researching the issue in response to campaign queries. That's included some of the connections between specific aspects of this problem and the severity of other problems on which I have been more actively involved, such as homelessness.
I would offer more detailed discussion today, but apologies, I am tied down this evening on prep for two events tomorrow and will not be able to monitor and respond to responses.
See you Monday.
Dan
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
Mr. Besse
You've been entirely responsive, curious, and diligent re: addressing the mental health crisis in our interactions. I look forward to hearing more about your positions on Monday!
I truly appreciate those of you who are taking this issue on. It's no small problem to address, and many of the possible solutions are potential political hazards. However, taking no action only leaves us digging the hole deeper.
Thanks for supporting parity. Now for the challenges of resurrecting a community mental health system. It's good to see you, Pat, and Hampton addressing the issue.
I'm also really impressed that the Coalition pulled together Monday's forum and that so many candidates are attending. It's a hopeful sign that we're going to see some substantive change.
Dan, I have been tracking you since we met 8 months ago
We have seen each other on several occassions in places we were both speaking at.
I never walk out of any meeting before it is officially adjorned, consequently I have seen you speak every time we were both there. You are consistant, knowledgable, courtious, and serious about your pursuit of the LtGov office. Your history is one of service. It is my belief that one cannot be a good leader without first haveing been a good follower and servant.
It is my hope that others are watching you as closely as I. It will serve you well.
Friend
Marshall Adame,
Candidate for Congress NC-03