A proposal by Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration to shutter a state-run psychiatric hospital as a cost-saving measure has come under increased scrutiny, and a top fiscal officer questioned whether the closure should move forward.
The Board of Public Works, a three-member body including O'Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, unanimously approved the closure of the Upper Shore Community Mental Health Center in Chestertown in August as part of several hundred million dollars in state budget cuts.
But at a board meeting Wednesday, Franchot called on Health Secretary John M. Colmers to come up with alternative budget cuts that might be considered instead of closing the hospital, which cares for nearly 200 patients a year in an area with few options for care.
"Maybe this is something we should take a step back from and see whether there's another budget option," Franchot said. "I'm not sure we did the right thing."
The closure has generated a lot of flak for O'Malley, who recently visited the Kent County hospital. The governor, a Democrat, has made a number of unpopular budget cuts, including layoffs and closing state government buildings around holidays to balance the state's $13 billion budget, as required by law.
O'Malley said he would unveil another round of budget cuts totaling as much as $300 million for approval by the board in mid-November. He declined to give details.
In the face of community opposition to the hospital closure, O'Malley said the facility can continue admitting patients for 90 days while health officials find alternative treatment facilities, and he pledged to seek input from mental health advocates and care providers before the board takes up the issue again in November.
After Wednesday's board meeting, he said he would wait to see the merits of a transition plan that Colmers is devising before making any decisions.
"It's a good program. It's not one I'd like to close. Nobody does," O'Malley said of the Upper Shore facility. But, he added, state officials are down to core operations when trying to find additional budget cuts.
The hospital's closure would yield an annualized savings of about $8.4 million and fit with a long-term shift of uninsured mental health patients from state-run facilities to private, community-based providers.
But concerns have been raised about the availability of private care because there are no hospitals to the south in Queen Anne's and Caroline counties and the nearest psychiatric unit to the north in Cecil County has a limited number of beds.
Critics, including several Republican state lawmakers who represent the area, also point out that Colmers had given the board incorrect information about how many of the patients are from the Eastern Shore. He had said about half are from other parts of the state, presumably places closer to treatment facilities, but most are from the rural shore. He later apologized for the mistake.
