While Ely's mental health center might not close due to state budget cutting, personnel cuts are expected including the elimination of the psychologist position.
With budget cuts handed down from Carson City totaling 14.25 percent for the Fiscal Year 2009 and 2010 budgets, all state agencies and school districts are feeling deep cuts following recent state revenue shortfalls. The problem is due to declining gaming revenues statewide, according to the state Department of Taxation and Gov. Jim Gibbons determination to retain a balanced budget.
Sueann Bawden, the acting agency director of Rural Clinics Community Mental Health Centers in Carson City, will present the plan for the Ely clinic at a town hall meeting in Ely Thursday.
“We want to assure the community that we have every intention of remaining in the community,” Bawden told the Ely Times Monday. “We truly don't want to eliminate any services.”
While acknowledging that the economic situation appears grim, she said it is likely that the Ely clinic will serve as a hub with the smaller facility in Caliente functioning as a spoke beneath the Ely clinic.
However, “there are going to be some personnel cuts, yes,” Bawden said.
She said the 12 psychologists across the state could be whittled down to just one who would travel between rural clinics. Some staff, including the possibilities of licensed social workers, mental health technicians and nurses at lower salary levels than psychologists could remain in place in Ely and other rural clinics. Bawden said two people at lower salary levels might equal the salary of one psychologist. “What we are looking at is reallocating positions,” she said.
Bawden said the last time the state made deep cuts into the agency was in 1992. “At that time we were not given any notice whatsoever,” she said, adding that at least the Gibbons Administration has given advance notice of budget cuts.
The town hall meeting is scheduled to be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, in the Bureau of Land Management building, 702 N. Industrial Way in the White Pine County Industrial Park on the McGill Highway.
