The House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security voted this week to approve a new report outlining shortfalls in the state’s mental health system and providing recommendations for solutions. Last May, the subcommittee launched an investigation into Michigan’s behavioral health system. Over the course of two months, it held hearings to allow testimony from key stakeholders, including physicians, therapists, judges, hospital executives, and community mental health leaders. The report looked back to when Michigan shut down a dozen state psychiatric facilities in 1997 without a mechanism in place. In the years since, a lack of flexibility at the state level, as well as staffing and crisis personnel shortages, were common themes heard throughout testimony.
Report Findings:
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- Michigan ranks 47th in psychiatric bed space availability. Without reforms to prioritize staffing and retention, doctors or correctional officers have to serve as pseudo psychiatrists, which creates safety issues.
- Rigid bureaucratic requirements and a lack of administrative support make actions such as increasing the number of beds in a facility, relocating beds from one site to another, or acquiring and operating a new facility difficult.
- The needs in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula are great, highlighting one instance of an individual having to drive 100 miles at a time to reach a psychiatric facility.
Recommendations Include:
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- Freeing providers from certain policies and allowing experts to treat aggressive or severe behavioral health cases as needed.
- Increasing state funding for staff training to help grow the number of behavioral health professionals.
- Creating a dedicated Northern Michigan Behavioral Health Campus to assist an underserved population.
Please click here to view the full report.
