Mental health care takes a hit with lean budget in Oklahoma
Operations are streamlined, while one program is cut

JULIE BISBEE, Capitol Bureau

Published: July 21, 2009

A cut in funding has forced the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to consolidate care for some patients and streamline its operations.

The department received a 2 percent cut for the budget year that began July 1. To offset the decrease of $6.9 million, the department will cut its administration costs, limit available beds at Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman and end a transitional living program that helps people learn how to live on their own.

"These are changes that we’ve been planning for a while,” said Jeff Dismukes, department spokesman.

"We were hoping they could help us save money to invest in other services, but we’re going to have to use the savings to meet the needs of the budget shortfall.”

The department’s board approved the changes at its meeting earlier this month. The changes will limit how many beds are available at Griffin, the state’s inpatient mental health facility. The capacity at Griffin is 140. At times the hospital has admitted more patients, which in some cases has resulted in overtime for staff, Dismukes said.

Under the new plan, people in need of inpatient mental health care may be sent to other facilities across that state, he said.

"We believe we can manage this within our system,” Dismukes said.

Budget cuts also will mean the end of a program that teaches people how to live independently after they have had an extended stay at an inpatient mental health facility. Restructuring at the Central Oklahoma Mental Health Center will include ending the residential program, where 24 people live. Instead, specialists will be hired to help those people find housing and care in their communities, Dismukes said.

Many state agencies are working with less money for the 2009-10 fiscal year. State Treasurer Scott Meacham has asked agencies to look for more savings after revenue collections from last fiscal year were below estimates. Meacham has asked agencies to submit a plan for additional cuts by the end of the month.

The budget cuts come as the state is improving its standing in the mental health community.

In 2006, the National Alliance on Mental Health gave the state a D grade for its mental health care. In 2009, the same organization gave the state a B, saying the state had shown, "remarkable improvement and significant opportunities.”