A provision in the state budget that would have ordered a plan for the closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital was stripped out Wednesday.
The House appropriations committee voted to remove the provision, which instructed the state Department of Health and Human Services to submit a plan for closing the Raleigh mental hospital to legislators by Oct. 1.
The amendment killing the provision was introduced by Rep. Bob England, a Democrat from Ellenboro who serves on the House oversight committee for mental health reform.
The state has moved to close Dix several times in recent years, but the hospital has remained in operation due to problems opening a new state hospital in Butner and an ongoing shortage of treatment beds resulting from botched reforms to the state's mental health system.
Comments
Dix is needed in Raleigh
June 2, 2010 - 9:36pm — CharlesMaloneAs the need to provide mental health services continues to grow, it seems self-evident that a regional mental health facility, as good as it may be, is not the answer to providing the quality care that Raleigh based individuals need when their illnesses manifest themselves, often in a way that requires immediate care for the sake of the person afflicted and for that person's family. It is not good enough to rely on local hospitals, who's key mission is in primary care, not mental health or substance abuse care.
Dix has been the place to go for many years and its presence is still needed, in some form or fashion. We do not need a plan for the closure of Dorthea Dix Hospital, but a plan to keep it open.
If elected to the NC Senate District 15, which covers northern Raleigh and Wake County, along with the Town of Wake Forest, I intend to work on a creative way to have a local presence for mental health and substance abuse care in Raleigh, which ought to be possible, along with the further improvement of the Central psychiatric facility in Butner.
Charles Malone
Raleigh
www.charlesmalonencsenate.com