Patients continue to receive calls and texts about their appointment at SOMC with their mental health professional. Many try to log into the check-in portal to speed along the process. Then, the phone rings again. There’s no appointment. There’s no reschedule date. In fact, there’s no counselor. They are gone.
In an interview with SCDN, Robert Gambill talked about his experiences with SOMC’s staff and supervisors. This article is based on the discussions with Mr. Gambill (a local resident and truck driver) who gave permission to be quoted.
Gambill claims that SOMC has drastically cut mental health services. They told him SOMC isn’t a mental health facility. The focus is on healing the body, not the mind.
Teresa Bryan, the Director of Social Services at Southern Ohio Medical Center, said that they were aware of the cuts two weeks ago but didn’t contact patients about them directly. The severance package, reportedly, consisted of 90 days salary.
SOMC representative, Kim Noel-Evans, spoke about the mental health staff. She reportedly told Gambill “They are overcompensated for what they do”
For mental health treatment to be sustainable, it would need to earn money or at least break even. This is largely due to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance reimbursement policies. It can be devastating for a patient to end services without warning (especially in mental health). A successful treatment plan depends on having a good relationship with a trusted mental health professional. The stress of finding a new healthcare provider can be overwhelming.
Scioto County desperately needs more help in mental health, including hospital care, but SOMC seems to have taken one giant step back.
