Council agrees on recommendations to improve mental health care

Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Behavioral Health and Wellness Council concluded a two-day meeting Tuesday by reaching consensus on recommendations to improve Nevada mental health services.

The council will now put together the recommendations in a report that is likely to be approved at its May meeting. Sandoval will take the recommendations to the Legislature during the 2015 session.

The long list of measures discussed by the council included the Super-User Project, which would identify the heaviest inpatient bed users at emergency rooms and jails, and would provide housing and intensive case management for 300 people at an annual cost of $6 million or $20,000 per consumer. Other recommendations included increasing the number of crisis community triage center beds and inpatient beds, increasing mental health services in the state’s public schools and addressing issues with the state’s mental health workforce.

A legislative subcommittee on health care, which is looking at mental health issues closely, was pleased to see some of the recommendations by the council aligned with the recommendations the subcommittee had identified.

The recommendations that will go to Sandoval by May 31 are mostly short-term measures. Later this year, the council will continue to work on long-term recommendations for the state’s struggling mental health system.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @yeseniaamaro.