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State officials visit Hab Center
By Steve Moyer
Nevada Daily Mail
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and members of the Missouri Mental Health Task Force, along with local officials, including State Representative Barney Fisher, visited the Nevada Habilitation Center on the way to a public hearing in Joplin on Tuesday. The task force is looking into ways to improve the safety of clients of the Department of Mental Health.
"It's been a real eye-opener for me," Kinder said, speaking of the task force. "We're very focused on safely providing services to this very vulnerable population.
Kinder and Missouri Department of Mental Health Interim Director Ron Dittemore co-chair the Missouri Mental Health Task Force.
The task force is made up of representatives of the departments of Mental Health, Public Safety, Health and Senior Services, and Social Services.
Dittemore said the Nevada campus is one of the best he had seen in his trip around the state.
"I want to congratulate you on the facility," Dittemore said. "It is clean, well maintained, well decorated and it smells good. That doesn't relate specifically to safety, but it speaks to the dedication of the staff."
A death in a St. Louis facility was cause for the development of the task force, according to Dittemore.
"The incident that precipitated the formation of the task force was a client's being scalded so badly he died," Dittemore said. "New procedures were put into place to prevent that from happening again. Now they can't tamper with the hot water control and can't turn off the cold water at all."
One challenge now facing the department is to find the right staff, Dittemore said.
"We want to hire good people, then train them well; and, if something does happen, be sure that it is reported appropriately," Dittemore said.
Dittemore said that the planned closing of Benton Hall, which was part of a five-year plan developed three years ago by the Department of Mental Health, is not imminent.
"It was on the radar screen, and it's still there; but there are no plans to close it," Dittemore said.
The charge of the Missouri Mental Health Task Force is to develop and propose long-term solutions to prevent abuse and neglect, assure thorough investigation of abuse and neglect allegations, and to recommend actions to increase the safe delivery of mental health services for Missourians with disabilities.
Kinder said the issue of client safety is of concern to many groups in the state.
This is not the only group to focus on this issue," Kinder said.
"This subject is, properly, getting a lot of attention right now. I know the legislature is keenly tuned into this issue, I know Barney is."