Only four patients remained Thursday at a state psychiatric hospital in Rome that's slated to shut down later this year -- down from 185 in January when the state first announced its closure.
Officials recently pushed back the deadline for Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital's closure from June 30 to the end of September, amid concerns from advocates that community services for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled wouldn't be ready in time.
The state has rolled out a spate of community services in the region this year, including two new crisis stabilization units for the mentally ill and mobile crisis teams, in preparation for the hospital shutting down. It's part of a larger push to move mentally ill and developmentally disabled individuals out of state institutions and into their communities.
“We should be giving people the services they need so they never get to that crisis situation to start with,” said Tom Wilson, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
The effort is the result of an agreement reached last fall between the state and U.S. Department of Justice, which investigated the abuse and deaths of dozens of patients in state mental hospitals. A series of articles by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution uncovered the abuse starting in 2007.
New services in north Georgia added so far include a crisis respite home and mobile services for the developmentally disabled, additional case managers, a peer support and wellness center and contracts with area hospitals for beds when needed. Some 20 individuals have used housing vouchers to rent apartments, and another 25 have been issued vouchers and are looking for places, according to behavioral health officials.
Ensuring there is enough housing is a concern, but efforts are moving in the right direction, said Cynthia Wainscott, a mental health advocate in Bartow County. Wainscott said she is especially excited about the new peer center in Cartersville, which wasn’t required under the agreement.
It’s unrealistic to think there won’t be problems but advocates will be watching closely, she said. “I’m hopeful, and I didn’t expect to be hopeful."
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