Local leaders in the mental health industry as well as a state representative gathered on Thursday afternoon on the capitol steps to turn in more than 5,000 Iowan signatures to an online petition that asks Governor Branstad to hold off on closing the remaining two mental health hospitals in the state.
Des Moines resident and substance abuse counselor Aubreeanna Dolan said she started the MoveOn.org petition about three weeks ago after seeing what happened in the shutdown of facilities in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda. She said she shared it through social media and it exploded.
“We have more than 5,00 signatures, and that’s just through word of mouth online,” said Dolan. “A lot of people don’t do social media, so I’m sure we would have a lot more signatures if we went door to door or held more events.”
State representative Jo Oldson also joined Dolan and others on the capitol steps to speak about saving the mental hospitals. Oldson said this is a non-partisan issue.
“During this last legislative session, both the House and the Senate worked for weeks to come up with a bipartisan agreement to fund and keep open Mount Pleasant and Clarinda,” said Oldson, “and with one stroke of the pen, Governor Branstad unilaterally took action to defund those appropriations and to close those two institutions.”
Oldson said the governor’s actions don’t have the bet interests of Iowans in mind.
“I feel like his actions up to this point are not only illegal…but they’re also irresponsible,” said Oldson. “They put aside all feelings about what Iowans are needing for services. particularly for our most vulnerable citizens.”
Nicole Haines, one of Dolan’s co-workers, also spoke up about the impact the closures might have if there is not a plan in place for patient care.
“Prior to closing any mental hospitals, high quality services must be available elsewhere, but that simply has not been the case,” said Haines. “The governor failed to insure that community mental health services were available before closing the hospitals in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. Now he’s considering closing the mental hospitals of Cherokee and Independence, and people will have nowhere to go. This is their home.”
Dolan said she will wait for a response from the governor’s office before deciding what to do next.
