Keep Mental Health in Dayton!

8:28 am PDT, Aug 10, Andi Alnwick, New York

10:58 am PDT, Jul 6, Julia Schoonover, Ohio
We have already closed the MR/DD facility in Springfield saving millions of dollars, why are you targeting the MR/DD community? They have not asked to be the way they are, but we continue to kick them out of the only home most of them know, and a lot of them cannot live in the community on their own, we get more support from their families when they are near by.

4:29 pm PDT, May 10, Seth Stern, New Jersey

6:29 pm PDT, Apr 27, Robbin Stichweh, Ohio
I can't help but wonder what the political incentives are for closing Twin Valley. And who will be gaining (politically) from this move? Certainly, the needs of the community & the hardship it will cause on the clients & families, were NOT taken into consideration. Or if they were, they were also, quickly dismissed. This apparently is a business decision, without a true concern for the human component. Wonder how the people making this decision can sleep at night?

9:40 am PDT, Apr 25, Name not displayed, Ohio
Family support is vital to the mental health recovery process. Many family members will be unable to travel to Cincinnati or Columbus or Toledo to visit their loved ones that require hospitalization in a state facility.

4:44 pm PDT, Apr 22, Shawn Priem, Ohio
The closing of TVBH will cause a major strain of the communities emergency department and will affect the care of all patients that seek emergency medical care in the area.

11:21 am PDT, Apr 15, Susan Howard, Ohio
This is very important to our community, please don't eliminate this service which has provided assistance to individuals and families here for years. The impact on the Dayton area will be negative, for where will these people go??

6:32 am PDT, Apr 15, Jacqueline McKenzie, Ohio
It would be a great hardship on the community for TVBH inpatient to close its doors. The impact on the patients' and families would not be in the best interest of communities. The recent philosophy of best practices of services the mental ill/dual diagnosed patient seems to have been lost in the decision of 'cost benefit analysis of budget cut !" My professional experience lets' me know that this was a decision to save. However, the real issue is that the justice is not rolling down. We ask that Twin Valley Hospital remain in this community for all groups that benefit. The law enforcement officers would be impacted as well as physicians !

8:02 pm PDT, Apr 12, Wendy Halvorson, Georgia

1:40 am PDT, Apr 10, Can Atik, Turkey

9:32 am PDT, Apr 9, Melissa Maynard, Ohio
We need Twin Valley....have questions come visit me at my place of employment.

5:27 pm PDT, Apr 8, Deb Bentley, Ohio

6:10 am PDT, Apr 8, Dondi McCally, Ohio

2:26 pm PDT, Apr 7, Name not displayed, New York

5:34 am PDT, Apr 7, Maria Powers, Ohio

6:17 am PDT, Apr 6, Amy Schwieterman, Ohio
Mental health is something that is overlooked in most communities in this country. We need to stand up and do something for these people that can't always do it on their own.

7:01 pm PDT, Apr 5, Ted Heckendorn, Ohio

8:11 pm PDT, Apr 3, Sarina Walczynski, Illinois

3:10 pm PDT, Apr 3, Name not displayed, Ohio

7:38 pm PDT, Apr 1, Barry Mills, Ohio
Keep Mental Health in Dayton!

2:50 pm PDT, Apr 1, Dave Dawson, Ohio

1:54 pm PDT, Apr 1, Trina Garber, Ohio
I cannot believe this plan to close Twin Valley. You are apparently uninformed re the need for this facility. It serves many of our psychiatric pts who need longer term hospitalization than what we can reasonably provide in an acute setting. Closing it would be a grave mistake. Trina Garber, RN Case Manager Good Samaritan Hospital Dayton, OH 45406

1:34 pm PDT, Apr 1, Heather Welch, Ohio
I am a licensed social worker in the state of Ohio. I worked for several years in the mental health field and have seen the positive impact that Twin Valley has had for our population suffering from mental illnesses. With Twin Valley's pending closure, this population along with their families face being relocating to other areas in the state. This could definitely become a hardship for patients and families alike. Patients can benefit from having family involved in treatment. I do worry that relocating to patients to other areas in Ohio could prevent families from being involved. I find it quite alarming that an institution such as Twin Valley would even be on the block for closing. Govenor Strickland, I'm not sure that you realize the terrible impact this closing will have on our mentally ill population, local community, and our state as a whole.

1:05 pm PDT, Apr 1, Wanda Kimbrough, Ohio
Hello Governor Strickland, I am disappointed to hear that Twin Valley is scheduled to be closed this spring. As one of the area healthcare providers, I can see that this will have a trickle down negative impact on the Montgomery County and surrounding areas economical state if this should occur. Jails, prisons, homeless shelters, hospitals, clinics, cornoner's office, and I can go on and on will be stretched and stressed to pick up the burden of what the state can not provide. It appears that in the short run your financial goals will be met. However, in the long run the financial burden will excel to the point where the financial burden for Montgomery County and the surround areas will increase tenfold. Motto is "pay not or pay dearly later".

6:45 pm PDT, Mar 31, Charlene Yohe, Ohio
Saving money by hurting those most in need of our compassion and care is unconscionable. Putting these people out on the street to fend for themselves is obviously of no concern to you - they probably are not voters anyway.

8:33 am PDT, Mar 31, Sharon Guenther, Ohio
I have already written a letter to Gov. Strickland, and responded by sending my concerns to ODMH. ODMH has not responded to me, or to any of the other stakeholders in the Dayton area. I think a response as to the process that was followed to make this type of a decision would have been helpful to myself and the Dayton Community.

7:20 am PDT, Mar 31, MARK ROBINHOLT, Maryland

5:18 am PDT, Mar 31, Karen Schneider, Ohio

7:57 pm PDT, Mar 30, Loretta Erickson, Ohio
This decision will ultimately cost more money to the state of Ohio, insurance companies, unemployment, etc... not to mention more mental health problems to the patients. Not good politics either.

9:23 am PDT, Mar 29, Name not displayed, Ohio

2:46 pm PDT, Mar 28, Robert L. Brandt, Jr., MD, Ohio
The decision to close Twin Valley Mental Health is short sighted and rash. Any short term financial gain will be more than upset by the losses in our community and the increased cost to deal with the "fall-out". I am especially concerned regarding the loss of educational opportunities for medical students, psychology students, social work students and resident physicians.I am also concerned about the detrimental affect it will have on coordinated care with local HIV/AIDS specialists and mental health providers that treat dually diagnosed HIV+ and mentally impaired persons. This population is growing and will need specialized care. It is a big mistake to close Twin Valley with out a thorough investigation of all the pros and cons !!!!

11:34 am PDT, Mar 28, Name not displayed, Ohio
Is Anthem paying you to do this?

11:22 am PDT, Mar 28, Sherry Ringler, Ohio

10:52 am PDT, Mar 28, Charlotte Hollingsworth Nurse Manager, Ohio
Closing Twin Valley will significantly impact Good Samaritan Hospital by causing more overcrowding in the Emergency Department, not having appropriate beds available for the mental health patients and will cause major issues related to family and significant other visitation and follow-up in the community.

9:49 am PDT, Mar 28, Jill Marlow, Ohio
The closure of the two state mental health hospitals in Ohio are the most recent occurrences in a series of events that have been occurring over the past 30+ years to cut services to the mentally ill. It seems like circular reasoning that the cuts being made will supposedly save the state money, when costs will be passed on to the expansion of other facilities to accomodate the increased census at the other hospitals. Also, ODMH's promise to find the staff other positions means the state will maintain its greatest cost of any operation-- its employees. On top of the facility and staff expenses, travel expenses for the local police and sheriff's offices and the community mental health centers will all increase significantly. (Moving a patient accross town by ambulette is about $30 but over $500 to send them to Cincinnati.) My prediction is that this will actually increase expenses on a city, county, and state level. Many people have cited the burden this will put on patients and families to travel to see patients at remote locations. This is not only an issue of sympathy for those affected, but it flies in the face of the evidence- based practices that ODMH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services themselves have wanted implemented at the community mental health centers. Research shows that people get better, stay better, stay out of hospitals, stay out of jails, and maintain housing longer when they have their community involved in their care, including families, case managers, self- help groups, friends, pastors, etc. The Recovery Model, Assertive Community Treatment programs, and Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment modalities all support a collaborative approach with patients' community contacts. Without collaboration between each patient's community resources and their inpatient treatment providers, (for the most ill of the mentally ill), costs, both financial and health in nature, will also increase. This just doesn't make sense from a clinical standpoint or cents from a fiscal perspective! If we don't speak out now, the cuts will likely continue until the state no longer takes any responsibility for treating these clients who need these services to protect themselves and the community.

7:00 pm PDT, Mar 27, Kara Jergens, Ohio
from Dayton, return the signature for Sandy's Petition please

3:11 pm PDT, Mar 27, Name not displayed, Ohio
KEEP TWIN VALLEY OPEN! Back in November 2007, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) informed the Ohio Health Care Association (OHCA) that they will soon begin sending notices to skilled nursing facilities about patients with mental illness who the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH), under the PASRR regulations, has determined no longer require SNF services. In the past, ODJFS did not take action on these determinations. Now, the department intends to notify SNFs that the patients no longer qualify for Medicaid coverage and should be discharged. Adversely affected patients have 15 days from receipt of the ODMH decision to file an appeal. Although the PASRR process has been in place for more than a decade, ODJFS was prompted to begin cutting off Medicaid payment for these patients by recent news media coverage. After learning of ODJFS’s intent, OHCA wrote Director Helen Jones-Kelley to protest this decision because often, SNFs are caring for mentally ill individuals because they have no alternative way to get the care they need. Requiring SNFs to discharge of these patients before needed alternative care settings are developed is likely to result in serious negative consequences. Both the ODJFS Form Letter and the OHCA Letter to Director Jones-Kelley are posted on the OHCA website at: http://www.ohca.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,815/ http://www.ohca.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,816/