A task force studying mental health care options heard emotional pleas Monday night for an inpatient mental health center in Lawrence.

“Four months ago I needed such a facility,” said Sally Schriner, who spoke to the task force during a public forum at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt. “I went to Topeka. I couldn’t believe Topeka had better services than Lawrence.”

About 60 people attended the forum hosted by the 16-member task force, which was formed recently by the Community Health Improvement Project, or CHIP. Task force members include representatives from the city and county in the areas of mental and physical health and social services, as well as politicians, educators, the clergy and law enforcement officials.

Connie Pelham said she was “amazed and appalled” when she heard Lawrence didn’t have an inpatient mental health facility.

“We can’t afford to let this go on because mental health problems lead to physical health problems,” she said.

Many of those who spoke either had sought inpatient mental health services themselves or said they had friends or relatives who needed that help. They also lamented the closing of the inpatient facility at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. And emergency mental health services at the hospital have sometimes been inadequate, some said.

LMH closed its inpatient mental health facility completely in May 2001 because of a lack of psychiatrists willing to do inpatient care at the hospital and because the average daily patient count was only three people, making the unit unfeasible, hospital officials said.

Widow left to wonder if suicide could have been avoided (5-16-05) 6News video: Woman fights to reopen inpatient mental health unit at LMH LMH: Demand insufficient to staff inpatient mental health unit (5-9-05) Woman’s psychiatric battles used to help others (05-05-05) Group to meet about mental health services in Lawrence (05-04-05) Health service agencies team up this week to assist uninsured (05-03-05) LMH to boost mental health services (04-21-05) 6News video: LMH plans to boost mental health services (04-21-05) Hospital’s finances post strong gain (04-21-05) Mental care unit is No. 1 priority (04-07-05) Suicide forces rethinking city’s mental health care (02-03-05) 6News video: Panel moves forward on mental health issues 6News video: Local in-patient services necessary, mother says (01-24-05) Mother furious over suicide (01-23-05) Community help sought to improve mental health services (01-20-05) Adjustable situations (01-18-05) J-W Editorial: Health care gap (12-19-04) Expansion sparks push to reopen mental unit (12-10-04) State hospitals for mentally ill filling (08-14-04) Upgrade sought for psychiatric services (07-28-04) LMH to close mental health unit (04-22-04)

Gene Meyer, LMH chief executive, was at the forum and afterward called it insightful and informative.

“We support the CHIP task force in doing its job,” he said.

LMH is remodeling its emergency room to better treat patients with mental illness who are in a crisis or who might be a danger to themselves or others. Called an emergency stabilization center, it is expected to be ready in about three months. But the hospital is not considering reopening the inpatient facility it once operated, Meyer said.

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center provides outpatient mental health care but doesn’t have an inpatient facility.

The need for such a facility – wherever it might be – was not lost on the task force, said its chairman, former state Sen. Mark Buhler.

“We need to look at how other communities deal with this issue,” Buhler said. “Most of the people here really want a (mental health) unit. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ll make some recommendations to the CHIP board.”

Others on the task force agreed, including Lori Winfrey, a nurse practitioner at Health Care Access, 1920 Moodie Road, a clinic that provides medical attention to uninsured Douglas County residents.

“Also there was an undertone that there needs to be more availability of community services,” Winfrey said.

Haskell Health Center’s Suzanne Lang, who also serves on the task force, noted that her facility was limited in offering mental health services to students at Haskell Indian Nations University because of continuing cuts in federal funding. But she said she was excited that the Lawrence community was rallying around the mental health services issue.

A reason for better mental health services also is apparent at the Douglas County Jail, said Undersheriff Ken Massey, a task force member. He said that out of an average of 500 prisoner bookings a month, about 63 of them have mental health issues. He also said there was a need for better transition into the community for those inmates once they were released.