Big cut in mental health services to impact Coast

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health is eliminating 650 jobs because of state budget cuts, impacting our local communities and hospitals on the Coast.
According to a Singing River Health Systems doctor on the state board of the DMH, the Coast’s mental health patients will see longer wait times for medical visits, drug treatment, and even nursing home placement.
In a statement to News 25, Pascagoula physician John Montgomery says we will see fewer opportunities for mental health patients to receive the services they need to function safely in a home environment.
Emergency Physician at Singing River Hospital Dr. Lawrence Leake tells News 25 he’s expecting a rise in ER visits and an increase in hospital expenses. “It’s a problem because all of these people need help as an outpatient and the less help they get as an outpatient the more they tend to have crisis then come to emergency departments where they need admissions at times and those are expensive. It’s best to keep people out of the hospital.”
Experts say one in four Americans experience a mental health disorder in a given year.
The cuts in Mississippi’s DMH services are expected to take full effect June 30th, 2018.