New approaches are underway, but study shows the mental health needs of Minnesotans still aren’t being addressed
Oct. 10 is World Mental Health day, and a recent study on mental health care in hospitals funded by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) confirms what Minnesota health care providers have long been saying: Emergency department boarding and delayed hospital discharges are due in part to a lack of community-based mental health services.
“There is undeniable evidence that mental health care is health care, and that we simply cannot wait any longer to address the mental health crisis in our state,” said National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota Executive Director Sue Abderholden.
The study also bolsters the findings of the Minnesota Hospital Association’s (MHA) own analysis released in January: Mental health patients were a significant factor in the estimated 195,000 days of avoidable hospital care provided by Minnesota hospitals and health systems in 2023. This amounted to nearly $490 million in unpaid care last year.
“This is a crisis in plain sight,” says MHA President and CEO Rahul Koranne. “And the tragedy is that these barriers to care didn’t just happen during the two weeks of the study period. They go on every day and have been doing so for years.”
Hospitals and health systems have been working to address the matter. Allina Health just announced it received a three-year, $500,000 grant to fund substance abuse prevention efforts and launch a new “Change to Chill” program to promote youth mental health. In early 2023, Winona Health established an intensive outpatient program to fill a gap between regular provider visits and inpatient care.
These are only a few examples of how MHA members are proactively working on care solutions. MHA will continue to highlight how hospitals and health systems in Minnesota are serving patients suffering from mental health challenges. Despite these great efforts, hospitals and mental health providers continue to need ongoing support from state and federal government to address the mental health needs of our communities.
More is needed. These are helpful steps, but we need to build and fund our mental health system. Every family in Minnesota is touched by these issues, directly or indirectly, and access to health care must include mental health services.
For more information contact Lou Ann Olson, at [email protected] or Tim Nelson at [email protected]
