Advocates Question Plan By Nevada Governor To Transfer $15M in Unused Prison Funds to New Mental Hospital

Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn (R) last week proposed using $15 million in unspent state prison funds to build a new psychiatric hospital in Southern Nevada, which some mental health professionals said would address the "long waits for psychiatric beds in the Las Vegas Valley," the Las Vegas Sun reports. Under the proposal, the state would build a new 150-bed facility within the next two years. The $15 million would cover only half of the cost of the facility, state Mental Health and Developmental Services Division Administrator Carlos Brandenburg said. It is "unclear" where the additional money would come from, the Sun reports. Some state officials question whether the $15 million in additional funds will have an "immediate impact" on the shortage of mental health services in Southern Nevada, and some mental health advocates said that the state should spend the funds on treatment, rather than hospital space, according to the Sun. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada Emergency Trauma and Transport Director Davette Shea said, "We don't just need more beds, we need outreach programs that will monitor patients once they're released, so that they don't wind up back [in the hospital] again a day or a week or a month later." Under state law, however, the state must use the unspent prison funds for construction projects, the Sun reports. Guinn spokesperson Greg Bortolin said that mental health advocates should consider the funds "seed money" to improve mental health services in Southern Nevada. Katheryn Landreth, chair of the Southern Nevada Mental Health Coalition, said, "We're talking about a system that has been underfunded for decades. We should look at this money as a stepping stone we can build on for future successes, not as a solution to an ongoing crisis." State lawmakers will hold hearing later this month to hear comments on the proposal from a group of mental health professionals and Southern Nevada residents, the Sun reports (Richmond, Las Vegas Sun, 8/19).