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Mental health costs force layoffs By Jonel Aleccia Nearly a dozen Jackson County mental health workers received layoff notices Tuesday � with more likely to follow � as officials struggle to account for nearly $1 million in new charges for acute hospital psychiatric care. "This is the first wave of layoffs. I think we�re going to have to lay off more," said Hank Collins, county health director. "This takes us halfway to meeting the million." Eleven skills trainers and health assistants � front-line workers who serve Mental Health Department clients � will lose their jobs, Collins said. Affected mental health workers declined to comment, but their union representative, Barbara Kellogg, of the Oregon Public Employees Union, said she will meet with Collins today on the matter. "Clearly we are concerned about the layoffs and about their impacts on our community," she said. The savings will be used to offset dramatically higher fees caused by changes in charges for the use of beds in the 2 North psychiatric unit at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford. The cuts will help balance the $9.8 million Health and Human Services budget delivered to county commissioners this week. "The thing that bothers me the most about this is that we�re going to have to cut our community services in order to pay hospital bills," Collins said. For a decade, Jackson County has contracted to pay for 15 $400-a-day beds at the 25-bed unit, which is the primary refuge in Southern Oregon for acute psychiatric emergencies. "It�s for people who are psychotic to the point of doing harm to themselves or others, or they�re suicidal," Collins explained. "Hopefully we�re not getting so many people suffering from drug intoxication." Josephine and Douglas counties also reserved space in the unit, but if their beds were empty, they allowed overflow clients from Jackson County to use them at no charge. That arrangement changed in January after a joint decision by health directors in five southwest counties, Collins said. "Quite honestly, I fought it for months and months and months. I didn�t know how long I could hold off the onslaught by my peers in other counties," Collins said. "Now they either need the beds or they need the money for the beds." At the same time bed space has become more precious and more expensive, psychiatric referrals have increased by an estimated one-third this year. In fiscal year 1999-2000, 3,892 Jackson County clients were referred to 2 North, Collins said. In the first six months of this fiscal year, 2,635 clients have been admitted. If that trend continues, admissions at 2 North will be about 35 percent higher this year than last. "There�s a whole host of factors behind it," Collins said. "I think more people are needing acute psychiatric care." Wringing an extra $1 million out of the budget will be difficult, especially as county officials anticipate cuts in state funding pending Legislative action. Still, Collins was philosophical about the increased fees. "In retrospect, we�ve had a good deal for many years," he said. "Now the bills are coming due." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.