Bill Text: IA SF402 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the state mental health institutes at Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. (Formerly SF 308.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-06-04 - Referred to Human Resources. H.J. 1135. [SF402 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF402-Introduced.html

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Senate File 402 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON HUMAN
                                     RESOURCES

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SF 308)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the state mental health institutes at
  2    Clarinda and Mount Pleasant.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  CLARINDA AND MOUNT PLEASANT MENTAL HEALTH
  1  2 INSTITUTES.
  1  3    1.  The department of human services shall accept all
  1  4 eligible patients into the state mental health institutes at
  1  5 Mount Pleasant and Clarinda through June 30, 2015.
  1  6    2.  The department of human services shall not close the
  1  7 state mental health institutes at Mount Pleasant and Clarinda
  1  8 after June 30, 2015, until a suitable and appropriate,
  1  9 comprehensive and long=term care and treatment plan is
  1 10 developed by the department of human services and approved
  1 11 by the general assembly. Until such a comprehensive plan is
  1 12 developed by the department of human services and approved by
  1 13 the general assembly, the department shall ensure that the
  1 14 diagnostic and treatment service needs of patients served
  1 15 through the acute inpatient psychiatric mental health and
  1 16 geropsychiatric programs at the state mental health institute
  1 17 at Clarinda and through the psychiatric and substance abuse
  1 18 recovery programs operated at the state mental health institute
  1 19 at Mount Pleasant continue to be met at those institutes.
  1 20    3.  In developing a comprehensive plan pursuant to
  1 21 subsection 1, the department of human services shall work with
  1 22 key stakeholders including but not limited to the departments
  1 23 of public health and inspections and appeals, members of the
  1 24 general assembly, psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health
  1 25 and drug abuse counselors, nurses, activity specialists, social
  1 26 workers, and residential treatment workers to ensure all of the
  1 27 following:
  1 28    a.  That each and every patient currently being served at the
  1 29 state mental health institutes at Clarinda and Mount Pleasant
  1 30 continues to be served during any transition period without
  1 31 sacrificing access to and quality of treatment and care.
  1 32    b.  That clinical and professional expertise currently in
  1 33 place at the state mental health institutes at Clarinda and
  1 34 Mount Pleasant relating to serious mental illness including
  1 35 geropsychiatric and co=occurring mental health and substance
  2  1 abuse disorders is shared with other state mental health
  2  2 institutes and community=based providers through professional
  2  3 training and case consultation.
  2  4    c.  That recruitment, training, and staffing of direct
  2  5 health care workers to serve as personal attendants, respite
  2  6 care workers, home health aides, and a wide variety of other
  2  7 direct support staff in both institutional and community=based
  2  8 settings are adequately supported and compensated.
  2  9    d.  That appropriate funding, including Medicaid
  2 10 reimbursement methods and transitional funding, is in place
  2 11 prior to implementation of the comprehensive plan.
  2 12    4.  The department of human services shall be responsible
  2 13 for identifying and securing appropriate in=state placements
  2 14 for patients currently being served at the state mental health
  2 15 institutes at Clarinda and Mount Pleasant equivalent to the
  2 16 level of care each patient received through June 30, 2015.
  2 17                           EXPLANATION
  2 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 19 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 20    This bill prohibits the department of human services from
  2 21 closing the state mental health institutes at Mount Pleasant
  2 22 and Clarinda until a suitable and appropriate comprehensive
  2 23 and long=term care and treatment plan is developed by the
  2 24 department and approved by the general assembly to ensure that
  2 25 the diagnostic and treatment service needs of patients served
  2 26 through the acute inpatient psychiatric mental health and
  2 27 geropsychiatric programs at the state mental health institute
  2 28 at Clarinda and the psychiatric and substance abuse recovery
  2 29 programs operated at the state mental health institute at Mount
  2 30 Pleasant are met.  The bill requires the department to work
  2 31 with key stakeholders to ensure that each and every patient
  2 32 currently being served at the state mental health institutes at
  2 33 Clarinda and Mount Pleasant continue to be served during any
  2 34 transition period without sacrificing access to and quality of
  2 35 treatment and care; that expertise relating to serious mental
  3  1 illness including geropsychiatric and co=occurring mental
  3  2 health and substance abuse disorders is shared with other state
  3  3 mental health institutions and community=based providers; that
  3  4 recruitment, training, and staffing of direct health care
  3  5 workers are adequately supported and compensated; and that
  3  6 appropriate funding, including Medicaid reimbursement methods
  3  7 and transitional funding, is in place prior to implementation
  3  8 of the comprehensive plan.
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