Just days before a man attacked 11 people in Traverse City, mental health officials testified in front of the Michigan House Oversight Committee about the ongoing lack of mental health resources across northern Michigan.
Bradford James Gille, of Cheboygan County, was arrested after allegedly stabbing 11 people on Saturday at a Walmart in Traverse City. Police officials say Gille has a long history of mental illness.
Kate Dahlstrom is the president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Grand Traverse County and was one of the professionals who testified before representatives on Tuesday, July 22.
“Mental health can strike anyone,” Dahlstrom said during the committee meeting. “It can come from a physical trauma, mental trauma … it can throw someone off their game. And if they don’t receive the treatment, that mild mental illness can transition to moderate or serious.”
According to a report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDDHS), Region Seven, which covers all of northern Michigan, has only 60 psychiatric beds for adults and zero for children
- MyMichigan Medical Center, Alpena: 15 beds
- McLaren Northern MI, Cheboygan: 28 beds
- Munson Medical Center, Traverse City: 17 beds
The region needs 97 beds to meet the bed needs for the area.
“(MDDHS) says we need 16 youth beds, we have zero,” Dahlstrom said. “We have had zero for as long as I’ve been involved in this.”
Kathy Dollard, the service line director for behavioral health at MyMichigan Health, said that getting someone into inpatient care can vary case by case. Patients could come in voluntarily or be petitioned by a psychiatrist due to a concern.
In some situations, patients could be turned away from a hospital due to a lack of staffing.
“We try to accept patients so that they can get care close to home, easier for the patient, easier for their family members or friends to visit with them, but that's not always possible,” Dollard said.
A patient’s mental health condition, also known as acuity, can range from normal to high. Dollard says not every facility has the staff for multiple patients with higher acuity.
“If everyone is in need of one-on-one staffing, sometimes that's not something that the health system has enough staff for,” she said.
Dollard says there are more beds available in northern Michigan than there are in other parts of Michigan. However, she said the level of less intensive care is more scarce in the region, ultimately leading to more people needing inpatient or residential care because of untreated mental illnesses.
“Part of the problem is the workforce and not having enough social workers, psychologists, and licensed professional counselors in Northern Michigan to meet the excess needs,” she said. “When people can’t get into services, that’s when crises happen.”
Officials stated that people who struggle with legal trouble often deal with some form of mental illness. Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar) questioned why funding for incarceration couldn't be used on more services during the meeting.
"We are paying for six months of jail time when we could pay for 30 days of treatment," Bierlein said.
Dahlstrom said the mental health workforce needs more staffing and funding to help better the services in northern Michigan.
She told lawmakers that creating a state-owned facility in northern Michigan would help meet the need for more beds and services. She said the “mental health campus” could be funded by the state through taxes on alcohol and cannabis. She said the state could also partner with private companies to help with the cost and management.
“This project has the potential to put the state of Michigan on the map as being the creator of an exciting, innovative behavioral health pilot project and finally provide beds and services long overdue to Northern MI,” she wrote in her business plan.
Dahlstrom said she is presenting the full report to lawmakers this week.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts
