A last-minute change to the state budget will make it easier to close Dorothea Dix.
The final budget headed to Gov. Mike Easley was stripped of a provision that would have required the new Central Regional Hospital in Butner to be approved by outside inspectors before it can accept patients. It's unclear who wrote the provision.
Advocates for the mentally ill decried the change, which effectively lets Secretary of Health and Human Services Dempsey Benton certify that the new hospital is safe.
"They watered it down to where no certification by a third party will be required," said John Rittelmeyer, the director of legal services for the advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina. "We are disappointed because we are adamant about protecting the safety of patients, and we just don't believe that an internal assurance that standards are being met is sufficient."
The opening of the new hospital has been delayed at least four times in the past year amid concerns about projected staffing shortages and internsal safety reviews that found problems in the building. Most new hospitals are required to undergo rigorous testing, but hospitals run by the department are exempt. (N&O)
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