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Mental
Health Unit Now Open With 16 Beds
By
Sonya
Campbell
The Daily Times
Published May 20, 2009
After six years in the making, the Hill Country Community Mental Health
Mental Retardation Center’s Crisis Stabilization Unit is open
and accepting patients.
The unit, located behind Kerrville State Hospital, accepted its first
patient Friday, the same day the facility opened, according to Linda
Werlein, Hill Country MHMR chief executive officer.
On Tuesday, the 16-bed facility was at half occupancy, she said, noting
last-minute minor construction still was under way.
The CSU accepts mental-health patients, 18 and older — from a
19-county region — who are experiencing acute psychiatric
crisis.
“We don’t take criminal commitments,”
Werlein said.
Patients must either be court-committed or referred by a hospital, law
enforcement, doctor or emergency room. They can stay at the
“Medicaid-eligible” facility for as many as 14 days.
While at the facility, patients undergo assessments, including
evaluations of their medical and psychosocial needs, and are provided
with a treatment plan in line with a recovery-based model.
Patients’ ability to function in the community, living
arrangements and jobs are among criteria factored into their individual
treatment plans.
The facility’s goal is not only to stabilize its patients but
to help them successfully be reintegrated into the community as fully
functioning members of society, Werlein said.
For instance, a patient with a history of mental illness, who has
stopped taking his medication and becomes delusional, is admitted to
the facility. Following their admission to the CSU, the patient is
assessed, placed on medication again, stabilized and either released or
sent to another state hospital.
Patients can be admitted to the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.
About the project
Werlein credited State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran and his staff as being
instrumental in acquiring funding to remodel the facility.
In 2008, the MHMR Center received $463,831 for the facility’s
operation. The money was part of $25 million awarded to mental health
centers by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Other contributors included the Peterson, Ruby Stevens, James Avery and
Meadows foundations, as well as individual donors.
Werlein said Hill Country MHMR gave $1 million for the remodeling
effort, and Kerr County provided a road and parking lot for the
facility.
Also, Bank of the Hills, First State Bank of Uvalde, Kerr County
Federal Credit Union, Llano National Bank, Wells Fargo and private
donors helped pay for landscaping and equipment.
Today, the building houses a “high-tech unit,”
Werlein said, noting while the facility initially began as a pilot
project, it has since been deemed “permanent” by
state legislators.
Community benefits
In addition to helping individuals in crisis, the facility offers
community benefits, as well, including jobs and payroll.
Hill Country MHMR employs about 160 people and has an estimated $5.6
million payroll in Kerr County.
Werlein said the Kerrville facility has 38
“hand-picked,” full-time employees, including
nurses, mental health professionals, social workers and psychologists.
Another advantage is gained by law enforcement, who in the past spent a
significant amount of time and money transporting civil commitment
patients to state hospitals outside of the county.
Werlein said that job is now the clinic’s responsibility.
And while each county within the facility’s coverage area
pays Kerr County, as the host, for court commitments, all 19 are
treated the same. None receive any special advantages over another,
Werlein said.
So what’s next?
Plans are under way for an open house celebration. But at this point,
the date and time are unavailable.
More details about the event will be forthcoming, Werlein said.
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