Urgent Advocacy Needed: State Mental Health Hospital March 9, 2011

Urgent Advocacy Needed: State Mental Health Hospital – March 9, 2011

William M. Denihan, CEO of the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County, reminds you that your advocacy efforts are needed now more than ever regarding the Ohio Department of Mental Health’s decision to not build the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland as originally planned.

During the Governor’s State of the State Address, he indicated that the plan to not build the hospital in Cleveland is good for consumers: "So in this case we reduce operating expenses, we save money on capital improvements and the people who are mentally ill are better taken care of. We don't do that very often." Click this link to read the Plain Dealer article below for the entire story: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/03/post_26.html

To see the portion of the Governor’s address concerning the mental health hospital, click this link and fast forward the video to 29 minutes: http://www.wksu.org/news/story/27776

In case you missed it, the Plain Dealer also ran an excellent editorial on Sunday, March 6, calling for the State to reverse its decision on the hospital. Click this link to read the editorial: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/03/revive_plan_for_midtown_clevel.html

Action Needed: 1. Send a letter or e-mail to Governor Kasich and ODMH Director Tracy Plouck, requesting that they reconsider the decision. A short sample letter is below that you may use as a guide for your letter/e-mail.

To e-mail Governor Kasich, click this link: http://governor.ohio.gov/ShareYourIdeas.aspx Tracy Plouck’s e-mail is: [email protected]

Please cc: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson; Cleveland City Council; Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald; Cuyahoga County Council; Cuyahoga County Delegation in the Ohio House and Senate, and William M. Denihan, CEO of the ADAMHS Board (Contact Information is below). You can e-mail Mr. Denihan’s copy to me at [email protected]

2. Have your agency or organization pass a resolution requesting that the Governor and ODMH reconsider the decisions. A sample resolution is below. Please provide a copy of the resolution to Mr. Denihan at [email protected]

Sample Letter/E-mail:

Dear Governor Kasich & Director Plouck: Please reconsider your decisions. BUILD the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland as originally planned. The decision to build the hospital in Summit County is putting money before mental health consumers by making it difficult for families to visit their loved ones in a hospital more than 15 miles away from downtown Cleveland.

Thank you for your compassion for people living with mental illness. Please reconsider and build the state hospital in Cleveland: For consumers, for families, and for recovery from mental illness.

Sincerely,

REVISED Sample Resolution:

RESOLUTION NO. Call for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Governor John Kasich to Reconsider the Decision to Not Build a New State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland

WHEREAS, on February 18, 2011, the Ohio Department of Mental Health announced its decisions to close the Cleveland Campus of Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare by July 1, 2011, and not build the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland – but instead expand its Northfield Campus in Summit County; and, WHEREAS, Closing the Cleveland Campus and not building the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland will force consumers requiring inpatient mental health services to be admitted to the Northfield Campus; and, WHEREAS, There was an agreement between the City of Cleveland and ODMH since 2009 to build the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland, and nearly $84 million was set aside in the capital budget for construction, and the City of Cleveland spent over $4 million to prepare the site; and, WHEREAS, ODMH has also decided to use any remaining capital dollars from the expansion at the Northfield Campus to update other state hospitals throughout the State of Ohio; and, WHEREAS, Closing of the Cleveland Campus and not building the new hospital in Cleveland is very bad for consumers of mental health services: o Out of the 1,500 total admissions to Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in FY 2010 and to date in FY 2011, 97% - or more than 1,470 - are residents of Cuyahoga County. o Having residents of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County admitted to a hospital in Summit County will place another burden on the consumers’ families by having to arrange for transportation to see their loved ones, as well as for discharge. o ODMH’s decision of not having a mental health hospital in the city takes mental health treatment back to the mid-19th century, when the belief was that people with mental illness should be isolated from their families and communities. o We know today that interaction and treatment planning with family is important to a person’s mental health recovery. o The cost of transporting patients from Cleveland to the Northfield Campus by ambulance or police is also going to be costly; and, WHEREAS, Closing of the Cleveland Campus and not building the new State Hospital in Cleveland is also bad for Cleveland’s and Cuyahoga County’s economic development: o The hospital would have employed 300+ people (from Cleveland Campus and Northfield Campus) with good paying jobs that would produce over $1 million in tax revenue. o With the closing of the Cleveland Campus, Cleveland will lose nearly 200 jobs. o Actual building of the hospital would have created construction jobs for several years. o Businesses, such as restaurants, drycleaners, stores, etc., were anticipated to develop near the hospital to serve the workers and visiting families; and, WHEREAS, ODMH’s decisions do not actually save money for the State of Ohio since all of the capital dollars allocated for the new State Mental Health Hospital in Cleveland will be spent elsewhere. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT (YOUR AGENCY NAME HERE), WITH THE BEST INTEREST OF CONSUMERS IN MIND: 1. Respectfully requests that ODMH and Governor John Kasich reconsider the decisions and build the new state mental health hospital in Cleveland as originally agreed. 2. Directs that this resolution be sent to Governor John Kasich; Tracy Plouck, Director of ODMH; each member of the Cuyahoga County Delegation in the Ohio House and Senate; Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, each member of Cleveland City Council; Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, and each member of the Cuyahoga Council. Contact Information: Here are the addresses/e-mails and contact Information that you will need:

Governor John Kasich Riffe Center, 30th Floor 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6117 E:mail: http://governor.ohio.gov/ShareYourIdeas.aspx

Mayor Frank Jackson Cleveland City Hall 601 Lakeside Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44114 E-mail to: [email protected]

Tracy Plouck Ohio Department of Mental Health 30 East Broad Street, 8th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-3430 E-mail: [email protected]

County Executive Ed FitzGerald County Administration Building 1219 Ontario Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113 E;mail to: [email protected]

Cleveland City Council - Check Web site for Council Member Names & E-mails: http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/Home/CouncilMembers/tabid/59/Default.aspx 601 Lakeside Ave., Room 200 Cleveland, OH 44114

Cuyahoga County Council - Check Web site for Council Member Names & E-mails: http://council.cuyahogacounty.us/ County Administration Building 1219 Ontario Street , Room 424 Cleveland, OH 44113

Senator E-Mail Shirley [email protected] Smith District 21 Michael [email protected] Skindell District 23 Thomas [email protected] F. Patton District 24 Nina [email protected] Turner District 25 Representative E-Mail Kenny Yuko [email protected] District 07 Armond Budish [email protected] District 08

Barbara Boyd [email protected] District 9

Bill Patmon [email protected] District 10 Sandra Williams [email protected] District 11 John Barnes, Jr. [email protected] District 12 Nickie Antonio [email protected] District 13 Mike Foley [email protected] District 14 Timothy [email protected] DeGeeter District 15 Nan Baker [email protected] District 16 Marlene Anielski [email protected] District 17 Mike Dovilla [email protected] District 18