Many lawmakers unaware of hospital closings, Keown says

Patti Dozier

THOMASVILLE — A Thomas County lawmaker said the proposed closings of state mental hospitals are not generally known among state legislators or the public.

“Most folks didn’t know this was happening,” said District 173 state Rep. Mike Keown, R-Coolidge, on the fourth day of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly.

Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville is scheduled to close by 2012. The South Pine Tree Boulevard facility employs 800 to 900 people.

Thomas County Commission Chairman Josh Herring has written Gov. Sonny Perdue about his concerns and those of Thomas County residents.

“Many of our citizens are concerned as well at the possible consolidation and privatization of mental health services currently under discussion,” Herring wrote.

The chairman’s letter, pointing out the number of people employed by Southwestern, said many are skilled health-care workers. Also, Herring wrote, Southwestern provides mental health services to “some of our region’s most vulnerable citizens.”

The governor’s office provided the following statement to the Times-Enterprise Thursday:

“The governor is open to working with groups and taking the letters that come in under consideration, but the goal is improving mental health care in Georgia. In order to improve mental health care, we are moving it from hospital-based to community-based. There has been talk about privatizing the hospital, but that is not the particular goal. If it goes in that direction with these talks, if that is the best way to improve mental health care, then that is what we will do.”

“I think he’s listening to what the community’s got to say,” Keown said prior to the release of the governor’s statement.

Reorganization of the Georgia Department of Human Resources will pull out the Department of Behavioral Health and put a focus on mental health in the state, Keown said, adding that he supports the plan.

The reorganization is among the issues to be decided in the 2009 legislative session.

Proposed closing of Southwestern is three years away, the legislator said.

“I think right now we need to let the governor know how we feel,” Keown added.

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