Governor recognizes Washington, Westmoreland for cooperative mental health programs
Gov. Tom Wolf has recognized Washington and Westmoreland counties as part of a consortium that formed after the closure of Mayview State Hospital to continue to provide mental health services to regional residents.
Recipients of the governor’s award for local excellence in intergovernmental cooperation were Washington, Westmoreland, Mercer, Armstrong, Butler, Crawford, Indiana, Lawrence and Venango counties for a project known as “Seeking Critical Mass.”
Washington, Westmoreland and four other counties are part of Southwest Behavioral Health Management.
Kimberly Rogers, Washington County director of human services, explained that after the state closed Mayview, “We still needed a facility and programming but one county couldn’t develop that and sustain it individually.
“Six counties got together and requested this corporation support us. We developed basically as a team. The counties came together with Southwest overseeing that and managing that and being our funder.”
Southwest Behavioral Health Management of New Castle, Lawrence County, is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1998 by what is sometimes known as the “Southwest Six.”
Scott Berry, who is in charge of Washington County Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, is a board member of the organization, which makes available a residential placement, known as a “forensic bed,” as part of a diversionary program for people with significant mental illness.
The member counties share in the use of the facility.
Once Mayview hospital closed, Torrance in Westmoreland County became the sole remaining state facility of that type in the vicinity.
Another aspect of the consortium, Rogers said, is what is known as the “mobile competency restoration program” for defendants deemed by a judge to be mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The goal of the program is to restore a defendant’s competency to work with him or her on courtroom decorum, proper behavior and ground rules. For example, a defendant may not realize a judge is considered a neutral participant in a court proceeding.
“This is another program that is coming out of Southwest Behavioral Management with all the counties coming together as an integrated system among counties,” Rogers said.
Communities the size of Washington would not likely be able to sustain an individual program because Washington County, for example, may have four to 10 people a year that require competency services, and it would be too expensive to try to staff and run an entire program for this size of a client base.
Merakey USA was selected to provide the service after the firm made a presentation to judges and commissioners.
“If they choose to do that, it will be up to a judge to issue a court order,” Rogers said.
Funding for the program will be provided through Pennsylvania tax dollars with no additional tax money from Washington Countians.
The Merakey website describes its services as a not-for-profit developmental, behavioral health, and education provider.