Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Maylan today called on Gov. Tina Kotek to take over the county's struggling mental health system.
“State law directs counties to act as local mental health authorities (LMHAs) for their areas. Multnomah County has for years held this duty on both legal and moral grounds. We have failed to do so,” Meylan wrote in a letter to his board colleague Kotek and state officials.
“Throughout my last seven years as County Commissioner, I have publicly and privately expressed my concerns on this matter and called on the County to do more. I'm not confident that this will happen, and I think this requires intervention at the state level.”
Mylan cited constant personnel changes, including “five behavioral health directors in six years and seven health department directors in seven years,” record numbers of deaths in county jails and on the streets, and a lack of progress on plans. He pointed out a series of failures. Behavioral Health Emergency Coordination Networkand the lack of a plan to address the fentanyl crisis and youth mental health.
in an interview WW In a paper published earlier this week, Dr. George Keepers, a longtime professor of psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University, found that Oregon's historical division of responsibilities between the state and counties He pointed out that this is the main reason why the effect is the least effective (but the cost is the highest).Mental health care delivery system in the United States
Related: Leading state psychiatrist says Oregon's approach to mental health is wrong
Mayeran's call for a state takeover is consistent with her harsh criticism of the county's core performance, which is based on the leadership of County Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson, who defeated Mayeran in the 2022 race for the top spot. It got even tougher under. A state takeover would overturn decades of precedent, would likely face significant backlash from fixed interests invested in the status quo, and would take a long time.
Despite this, Maylan told Governor Kotek, who directs the Oregon Health Authority, that OHSU administrators have argued that states like Massachusetts are far more effective than Oregon in mental health. That is, it calls for centralizing and standardizing the delivery of services, rather than providing services to each state. Thirty-six counties are designing their own systems.
“At this time, the situation cannot be restored without outside intervention,” Meylan wrote. “And I believe the state needs to step in to ensure that our legal obligations under ORS 430.630 are met for the benefit of the people we are supposed to serve.”
County spokeswoman Julie Sullivan Springhetti said Vega Pederson is focused on rebuilding the health department and hopes Mayeran will participate in that effort as well as the development and implementation of a regional mental health plan. He said there was.
“Multnomah County and every other county in Oregon are focused on mental health services,” Sullivan-Springhetti said. “This is a community issue across the state, and the chairperson is meeting with governors and mayors to discuss how we can work together to increase safe housing and substance use residential treatment and other behavioral health services. We are discussing.”
Kotek's office did not immediately respond to Mayeran's request.
