Chronicle article left out important point

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To the editor:

The July 2 article about the state agency report on the application to discontinue our six acute mental illness beds left out one important point from the report.

Even with the revised bed inventory, on any given day, more than half of the mental health beds in our region are still empty. In other words, there is enough unused capacity within a 45-minute drive of Kishwaukee Community Hospital to absorb the loss of our six beds.

The need for beds as a result of the new inventory is a population-based calculation that does not take into account the actual utilization of those beds.

I have attended many Illinois Health Facility Planning Board meetings and know that the board considers actual utilization in making its decisions. More important, the reasons for requesting discontinuation of our beds are still valid and undisputed in the state agency report.

We know there is a need in the community for addressing mental health crises. The hospital has been trying to meet that need for more than 33 years, but in the last two years that has become increasingly difficult for all the reasons stated in our application. Over the past 24 months, in aggregate, there have been eight months of no admissions.

Our emergency department continues to be the safety net for these individuals. Our emergency physicians, psychiatrists on call, techs, and social workers continue to work together to help those in crisis.

Meanwhile, myself and two other hospital leaders are members of the newly-formed Mental Health Task Force. We have met several times and are mapping out gaps in mental health services and how best to address them in the likelihood that inpatient beds are no longer available at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

Joseph Dant
Vice President
KishHealth System
           
Sharon Emanuelson
Director, Marketing and Public Relations
KishHealth System