From Taunton Daily Gazette

Rory Schuler, City Editor
Taunton Daily Gazette
May 14, 2014 at 8:35 PM

Taunton State Hospital may have a fighting chance.

A state budget proposal released by the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee calls for the retention of the 45 beds still in use at the facility, despite the governor’s call for closure.

Senate leaders, including committee member state Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, presented a $36.25 billion budget plan for next year. That’s a boost in total state spending of almost $1.7 billion over this year.

The plans to keep Taunton State Hospital running are part of a bigger statewide strategy for addressing mental health needs.

The budget plan calls for maintaining 45 beds at Taunton State Hospital, and increasing the number of continuing care beds in the state by 52, according to Pacheco.

He calls today’s announcement a “game changer.”

“We’re basically taking the direction in which this administration has been heading and putting a big stop sign up,” Pacheco said while on his way to the committee meeting. “We’re saying, ‘Go back the other way.’”

Pacheco has long been critical of Gov. Deval Patrick’s decision to shutter Taunton State Hospital.

“This announcement is certainly great news for Southeastern Massachusetts,” said Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. “Proper mental health care must be available in all portions of the state so that families can be part of the treatment and recovery process. Mental illness needs to be treated just like any other illness. I applaud the efforts of Sen. Pacheco and our legislative delegation for their commitment to the families of this region.”
Pacheco said he now has the statistical evidence to back up his argument to keep the mental health facility open.

“This is a completely new discussion,” Pacheco said. “County correctional facilities are seeing an increase in mental health issues. We’re seeing longer boarding of mental health patients in emergency rooms. And we’ve seen an increase in substance abuse issues out there, with a dual diagnosis — an underlying mental health issue combined with substance abuse issues.”

Morton Hospital President Kim Bassett welcomed the news.

“We are supportive of efforts to increase funding for behavioral health beds and services to meet the needs in our community,” Bassett said. “At Morton, by being part of the Steward integrated community care system, we have a centralized bed placement system to identify bed availability and place patients as quickly as possible.”

On Tuesday, a bill aimed at bolstering efforts to control the state’s growing drug dependency problem won unanimous Senate approval.

The new measures call for a strengthening of the state’s prescription drug monitoring program and require pharmacists to dispense interchangeable abuse deterrent drugs unless doctors specify otherwise.

Pacheco said the Senate budget will be voted on next week and represents a big shift in the conversation on Beacon Hill. He said he will be filing several amendments and that he hopes to resurrect closed programs at Taunton State Hospital and possibly introduce new initiatives at the facility.

The budget proposal will also green-light a portion of the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital that the Patrick administration did not want completed, Pacheco said.

How did the conversation move away from closing facilities and reducing the number of beds?

Pacheco said an accumulation of evidence has been convincing legislators that paring back the state’s mental health facilities might be counterproductive.
“The administration has just been wrong with this,” Pacheco said. “We need to do something about it.”

The proposed budget maintains 45 continuing care beds still in operation at Taunton State Hospital and opens 52 new beds at the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, increasing the total in the state to 671 beds, according to Pacheco.

This year, the Patrick administration again proposed eliminating the last 45 patients at Taunton State Hospital and moving them to Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, according to a press release from Pacheco’s office.

“The Senate Ways and Means budget released today will help solidify the future of Taunton State Hospital as the treatment facility for the Southeastern Massachusetts mental health community into the future,” Pacheco said.

This was the third consecutive year Pacheco proposed language in the budget to defend Taunton State Hospital from the Patrick’s plans to close it.
Pacheco has pledged to file budget amendments “that would reposition and better utilize Taunton State Hospital through pilot programs that would address gaps in mental health services in the Commonwealth.”

State Rep. Shaunna O'Connell, R-Taunton, has also been arguing to keep the facility open.

"I'm pleased we have been successful in fighting against the governor's plan to close Taunton State Hospital,” O’Connell said. “It is great news that both the House and Senate have preserved the 45 beds, as this is more likely to ensure they will not be cut in conference committee.  The expansion of services is also a positive addition to provide enhanced mental health services at Taunton State Hospital."

The Senate Ways and Means Committee released the bill in anticipation of a full debate on the spending plan next week.

Senators have until Friday afternoon to review the document and propose amendments before the debate begins next Wednesday. A conference committee will likely spend June trying to merge the House and Senate budgets into a single plan for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

While the budget proposal includes no new taxes or fees, Senate leaders are relying on $20 million in anticipated slot parlor revenues and $53 million from casino licensing fees that are in doubt as anti-gambling advocates are fighting in court to let the voters decide in November whether to allow a gaming expansion in Massachusetts.

The budget also relies on $140 million from the rainy day fund, $412 million in spending cuts, and a total of $250 million in one-time revenues, which is about $30 million less than the House budget, to balance the books.

The State House News Service contributed to this report.