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From an editorial in the March 28,
2006 edition of the Omaha World Herald:
Three years ago, Nebraska set in motion
an important, visionary process. After wide-ranging discussion,
state leaders approved a law - not a mere resolution, but
a formal, binding statute - to shift resources from state
mental hospitals and treat more patients through small-scale,
community-based programs.
The decision was sound. It will help make Nebraska's behavioral
health system more decentralized, efficient and flexible.
Elected leaders and behavioral health professionals across
the state have devoted tremendous energy to the effort. Officials
with the mental health regions and the state's Health and
Human Services System have shown needed vision and determination
in encouraging new programs and shifting resources toward
them.
Dedicated people around the state deserve applause for their
work in cultivating worthwhile local programs.
Still, the process has faced logistical challenges as well
as complaints from skeptics. One legitimate concern involves
Nebraska hospitals whose emergency rooms are burdened by having
to care for those suffering from mental illness or substance
abuse.
Despite the challenges, Nebraska leaders should agree on one
thing: They need to see this process through. Far too much
work has been done thus far to allow present-day headaches
to short-circuit behavioral health reform at this late date.
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