Commissioners Speak Out on Mental Health & Ambulance Crisis
Scioto County Commissioners spoke out about the mental health and ambulance crisis the county is facing.
In both cases, commissioners say it’s not just a Scioto County issue but a statewide issue.
Commissioner Bryan Davis said the main roadblock to Portsmouth opening an in-patient mental health facility is the state’s attitude towards in-patient care.
For the past 20 years, Ohio had pulled back from in-patient mental health treatment, shuttering hospitals in Portsmouth and around the region. Davis pointed out, “The only one in our area is in Athens. The lack of access is not just a Scioto County issue but an Ohio issue.”
Commissioner Scottie Powell said he hoped that some of the $500 million dollars Ohio plans to spend to aid the Appalachian region could go towards mental health facilities. However, he says there aren’t clear guidelines on spending the money yet, so there’s no way to be sure.
Davis says he’s personally spoken to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine about the issue. “I know the governor is very interested in establishing facilities.”
As SCDN has reported, dozens of mentally ill local residents are arrested time and time again and are released back onto the streets without any real treatment. Davis said, “ Our jails in the state of Ohio are being used as mental health facilities. A lot of them don’t need to be in jail. They need to be in a facility getting help.”
Commissioners also acknowledged the county’s ambulance shortage and said they have looked at multiple solutions to the problem.
Davis said the quickest solution is for more people to join volunteer fire departments. He said the state is looking at ways to allow volunteers to do some of their training online to make it easier for working people to participate.
The commissioners said that having a county-wide system with all paid EMTs won’t necessarily relieve the problem. Many counties with that system are as short-staffed as our area.
Davis said one local entity proposed stationing medic teams in underserved areas of the county, but the fear is that those medics wouldn’t be available for emergencies in other places.
Another option could be medics responding to scenes in cars to assess if an ambulance is needed. For mental health calls, Narcan situations, and other types of issues that don’t require transport, this could be a quick fix.
As with the mental crisis, commissioners said there are simply no easy answers.