Former Health and Human Services Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom said the state's mental health reform needs a reform of its own.
In a half-hour documentary on WRAL Wednesday night, she said that local mental health offices need to be more accountable to the state.
In particular, Hooker Odom noted that the state did not have any authority over the Albemarle Mental Health Center, which paid its head $319,000 a year.
Her remarks echoed her concerns about so-called "local management entities" from an Aug. 17 letter she sent to state legislators.
The interview was conducted shortly before she left office.
The documentary, "State of Minds," can be seen in full here. Extra footage of reporter Cullen Browder's interview with Hooker Odom is available here and here.
Comments
Re: Hooker Odom: More accountability needed
September 29, 2007 - 2:18pm — ginnyrachelThroughout her interview with WRAL, Carmen Hooker-Odom deflected any criticism of her role of aiding to dismantle our mental health system. It was always someone else's fault. More accountabilty indeed! Yes, the LMEs, the providers and other mental health professionals have had problems with the radical reforms of this administration. Ms. Odom ran her department with a combative managerial style that sparked controversy at every turn. Putting a gag order on the hospital staff at Dix showed her arrogance and willingness to do whatever she deemed necessary to close the hospital and push Mr.Easley's agenda to house state employees on the site.
The closure plan for Dix was exposed with discrepanies and outdated statistics at the legislative committee meeting this week. Ms. Odom was even spared the embarassment of having to file a final report last summer(supposedly required by law) on Dix's proposed closing. Rep. Jim Crawford, whose Granville County reaped big benefits with the new hospital opening in Butner, pushed an amendment through the legislature that kept Ms. Odom from having to sign off this report. Mr. Crawford obviously had no conflict of interest in allowing the former Secretary off the hook one last time.
Ms. Odom's call for more accountability in the system would be funny if it was not so pathetic. Things would not have been so bad if she had recognized that Dix needed to remain open until the contiuum community care for the patients was firmly in place. But she got rid of the old system before the new system was ready. There was no compromise in her actions and she ran her office with a tyrant's fist.
Mike Easley and his former DHHS Secretary will always be joined at the hip for what they tried to do with the Dorothea Dix Hospital property. The Dix situation should have been a health issue instead of the political juggernaut it became. Hopefully our legislature will make the extra effort to see that the patients are first priority. Easley and Odom let down the people of this state that they were entrusted to protect.