New mental crisis center left without funding

• By MARSHA SHULER
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 2, 2009 - Page: 1A

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A new regional mental health crisis center at LSU’s Earl K. Long Medical Center cannot open because there’s no money to operate it.

The center would provide police and others a place to send patients whose mental health problems have become threatening. Currently, these patients are dropped off at emergency rooms that are designed to treat people with urgent medical problems.

Finishing touches are being made on a modular building that will house a 24-bed specialized emergency room on the Airline Highway hospital’s campus.

But the state budget that went into effect Wednesday doesn’t appropriate the money needed to open it, said LSU Systems Vice President Fred Cerise, who oversees hospitals and medical education programs.

Operational funding for the crisis center is one of two casualties in the state’s new budget affecting EKL, Cerise said. The other problem area involves a radiology services upgrade planned for EKL’s new north Baton Rouge medical center, he said.

To fund both would require $1.8 million, Cerise said.

“Without additional funding, they have to see if they can squeeze the budget in other places” to free up money to go to the programs, Cerise said.

“I’m sure a lot of people will be disappointed,” he said.

The crisis center is the result of efforts by the Capital Area Health and Human Services District. The district used $1.43 million in federal funds to construct a modular building on EKL’s campus.

The center would provide one-stop shop providing both the care they need in a hospital and access to continuing mental health treatment upon their release.

An estimated 8,400 people a year are going to area emergency departments because of behavioral health problems — taking beds and personnel away from medical patients.

Capital Area Director Jan Kasofsky said she had no prior warning that there were funding problems.

“Obviously, this is not to anybody’s benefit. If anyone had been aware it was no longer in the budget, there would have been a lot of interest in getting it funded,” Kasofsky said.