Thank you for reporting on the situtation with the Caring Family Network consolidation of services in Orange County. This is a disturbing development, and you did a service to the general public by bringing this to our attention. I think it’s important to add a few key points to your coverage, however.
North Carolina’s mental health system is in near total collapse. The reduction of services that Caring Family Network has announced is only a symptom of a problem that is in fact much worse. Several years ago, the state embarked on what amounts to a privatization of mental health services. They called it reform.
Some public services should not be privatized; the needs of our citizens in some cases are much better met by a well-managed government program. Mental health services are, in my opinion, one area that should not ever have been privatized.
Providing care to those with mental illness is not profitable — period. As someone said to me the other day, “It’s just not a sustainable business.â€
So what happens when these private providers can’t turn a profit? They cut back on services. And that’s exactly what the Caring Family Network has done. The Hillsborough clinic that they now operate has been in operation for 38 years. FCN is reducing the clinic schedule from five days a week to two.
What’s the effect of this reduction? I’ve learned that somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 patients are now having to find care elsewhere. The state’s reform was supposed to improve mental health care in NC, instead it’s only hurting the people who need help the most. It’s time to reform the reform.
Mike Nelson
Orange County Commissione