Mental hospitals dwindle as governor mulls their future

State administrators have eased off their deadline for closing two mental hospitals, which were supposed to be emptied out by next Monday. But the number of patients and employees at the hospitals continues to dwindle, as Gov. Terry Branstad considers a bill that would restore services at one of the facilities.

Human Services Director Charles Palmer had repeatedly said the agency aimed to have all patients at the Clarinda and Mount Pleasant mental institutions transferred elsewhere by June 15.

But Palmer's spokeswoman, Amy McCoy, told the Register this week that she doesn't expect that deadline to be met. She noted a measure that legislators passed last week, which would restore services at the Mount Pleasant facility and have a private agency open a small program at the Clarinda facility. "The department is reviewing the legislation and will work with the governor's office to ensure Iowans get appropriate care for their individual needs," McCoy wrote in an email to the Register.

McCoy said the Mount Pleasant facility is down to 13 patients, all of whom are in an addiction-treatment program. In January, when Branstad disclosed plans to shut the hospitals, the Mount Pleasant location had three programs, with a total of 78 beds. Administrators have closed the Mount Pleasant hospital's general psychiatric inpatient unit and its dual-diagnosis unit, which simultaneously treated people for psychiatric and addiction problems. It is no longer accepting new patients into any of its programs.

McCoy said the Clarinda facility is down to 12 patients. In January, it had 35 beds in its two programs. One is for general psychiatric patients. The other is for elderly psychiatric patients. The facility is working to transfer many of those patients, but it is continuing to accept some patients into its general-psychiatric program, McCoy said.

One of the challenges at Clarinda is finding a new home for four elderly residents who are convicted sex offenders. State officials have said they don't want to mix those four men in with general residents at a private nursing home, but they haven't publicly identified a solution.

Administrators said last winter that about 150 state workers would lose their jobs if the two facilities closed. Nearly half have been laid off or have left for other jobs. On Tuesday, McCoy said 85 people are still working at the two hospitals.

Branstad told reporters Monday that he hadn't decided whether to accept or veto the compromise plan that both houses of the Legislature passed before adjourning for the year on Friday. However, the governor reiterated that he believes the facilities are outdated. "We intend to move forward, not move backwards. We don't want to go back to the way we delivered mental health services back in the 19th century, when we built these big institutions and we warehoused thousands of people," he said.

State Rep. Dave Heaton, a Mount Pleasant Republican who helped craft the compromise plan, said Tuesday that he hopes Branstad will agree to resume services at the Mount Pleasant mental hospital. Heaton, who is co-chairman of the main legislative committee overseeing health-care spending, said no one from the governor's office has talked to him recently about the issue or whether administrators continue to move ahead with the closures.

Heaton disputes the contention that the facilities are outdated or in bad shape. He noted concern about inpatient psychiatric services in southeast Iowa. The only choices for most patients in the region are at hospitals in Iowa City and Burlington, both of which are usually full, he said. Alternatives to the two state facilities should be set up before they are shuttered, he said. The message, Heaton said, is this: "Governor, build your solutions first, and then close what you want to close. But don't put the cart before the horse."