Georgia Department of Human Resources
Blueprint for a New Mental Health System
Why Change Our Mental Health System?
By 2012, Georgia will spend millions of taxpayer dollars to
maintain 7 aging psychiatric hospitals that were never
designed for today’s mental health consumer…
…even then, Georgia will continue to lack:
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Comprehensive community-based services
Modern hospitals designed to treat today’s consumer
Options for overburdened law enforcement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 2
Here’s the problem Georgia faces …
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State hospitals have been a primary treatment
option for mental health consumers.
Most consumers need community services; a
smaller number need state-of-the-art hospitals.
The hospitals are between 40 and 150 years old
and will require $30 million in upkeep by 2012.
Fixing these hospitals provides no additional
services for consumers.
No new state funds are available to build new
hospitals.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 3
Georgia needs a system that …
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Creates new mental health services and facilities at
current budget level
Provides community-based treatment options to avoid
hospitalization
Offers opportunities for a skilled healthcare labor force
Eases the burden on law enforcement and jails
Here’s how it can be done …
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 4
What Will It Take to Build a New Mental
Health System?
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 5
The Right Services Versus ‘a Hospital Bed’
For the first time, Georgia will provide a range of community-based
mental health services to replace hospitalization when appropriate.
Here’s how we are increasing our service capacity:
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Increasing crisis stabilization beds for short term care
Expanding mobile crisis programs to respond to immediate mental
health emergencies
Adding ACT teams for those with severe mental illness
Adding social detox programs to include ambulatory detox services
Adding intensive treatment residences equipped to treat long-term
consumers who otherwise would be hospitalized
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 6
Georgians with serious mental illness can go from …
this
to this
Hospital
Beds
Expanded
Crisis
Stabilization
Beds
Expanded
Intensive
Residential
Beds
ACT
Teams
Previous
Capacity
New
Capacity
Expanded
Mobile
Crisis
Services
Hospital
Beds
Some
Community
Services
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Expanded
Detoxification
Beds
Slide 7
It’s already happening …
Since 2001, Georgia’s hospital census has declined as more consumers are treated in the community.
By expanding community services even further, existing hospitals will be converted into behavioral
health hubs that provide more targeted treatment.
Average Client Load in State Hospitals, FY2002 - FY2008 (July 2001 - June 2008)
3,000
2,900
2,800
2,700
2,600
2,500
2,400
2,300
2,200
2,100
2,000
1
1
0 2 r- 02 l-02 - 02
0 3 r- 03 l-03 - 03
0 4 r- 04 l-04 - 04
0 5 r- 05 l-05 - 05
0 6 r- 06 l-06 - 06
0 7 r- 07 l-07 - 07
0 8 r- 08
l-0
t- 0 ant
t
t
t
t
t
nnnnnnJu Oc
Ju Oc
Ju Oc
Ju Oc
Ju Oc
Ju Oc
Ju Oc
J
Ap
Ja
Ap
Ja
Ap
Ja
Ap
Ja
Ap
Ja
Ap
Ja
Ap
Average Client Load
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 8
Savannah and Columbus:
Model Communities in a New System
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$6.5 million and $11.2 million (annually) in seed funds
to expand community services for first time ever in
Savannah and Columbus.
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Replacing Savannah hospital with behavioral health hub
creates savings to be reinvested into new services for
other communities.

After Savannah and Columbus, other hospital regions
will have their mental health service capacity
transformed as well.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 9
Savannah and Columbus:
Model Communities in a New System
Serving More Georgians
6,000
5,215
1,000
2,742
Previous
Capacity
2,000
2,713
New Capacity
3,000
Previous
Capacity
Consumers Served
4,000
New Capacity
4,561
5,000
2008
2010
0
Savannah Area
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Columbus Area
Slide 10
2013 – A New Mental Health System
New Services for Consumers
 Every region will have a comprehensive package of community-based services.
 Community services – not psychiatric hospitals – will be the first choice for consumers.
 Service capacity will nearly double without additional budget funds.
 Two new hospitals and one new forensics facility to provide state-of-the-art care for
today's mental health needs.
 Consumers will receive treatment tailored to their mental health needs.
 Children and adolescents to be treated in community.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 11
2013 – A New Mental Health System
New Healthcare Employment Opportunities
 New privatized facilities will provide employment for existing hospital staff
wherever possible.
 Employment opportunities will be available with new behavioral health centers
and expanded community service providers.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 12
2013 – A New Mental Health System
Options for Law Enforcement
 Statewide, 90% of forensic evaluations
will be completed in jails.
 Crisis stabilization, mobile crisis services
and ACT teams will reduce burden on law
enforcement officers.
 Transportation issues minimized.
 Increased use of local crisis stabilization
programs for civil evaluations.
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*
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*Evaluation locations for law enforcement
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 13
2013 – A New Mental Health System
More Effective Use of Taxpayer Dollars
 Service capacity will nearly double with no additional funds spent.
- Crisis stabilization to increase by 48%
- Mobile crisis services to increase by 154%
- ACT teams to increase by 114%
- Transportation capacity to increase by 21%
- New social detoxification services will be available
 Three state-of-the-art facilities to be built and operated with no additional
budget funds spent.
 Nearly $30 million that would have gone to maintaining aging hospitals is now
invested in new facilities.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 14
2009 – 2013: An Overview
• Expand community services
in Savannah and Columbus
• Convert Savannah hospital
to behavioral health hub
• All savings reinvested
2009
• $27.2 million saved in
2011 and 2012 to be
reinvested in community
services statewide
• Begin building forensics facility
in Milledgeville
•Begin building two new hospitals
2010
• Expand community services in Fulton,
Clayton and Rome area
• Privatize Atlanta hospital
• Privatize forensics
• $29.3 million saved to be reinvested in
additional community services
Georgia Department of Human Resources
2011
2012
2013
• Replace hospitals with
behavioral health hubs
• Expand services statewide
Slide 15
Phase One (2009) and Phase Two (2010)
Phase One:
Actions –
• $6.5 million expands community services in Savannah and Columbus.
• Seek proposals (RFPs) for privatizing forensics and Atlanta Regional Hospital (long-term treatment)
• Move Savannah forensics to Rome and Augusta.
Results –
• Service capacity nearly doubled without increasing budget.
• In-jail evaluations ease burden on law enforcement.
Phase Two:
Actions –
• Invest savings from Phase One into expanded community services for Fulton, Clayton and Rome area.
• Increase in-jail evaluations. Privatize forensic services to Milledgeville.
• Privatize Atlanta Regional Hospital.
Results –
• Service capacity nearly doubled in Fulton, Clayton and Rome area at no additional cost to state budget.
• In-jail evaluations ease burden on law enforcement in Fulton, Clayton and Rome area.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 16
Phase Three (2011) and Phase Four (2012-2013)
Phase Three:
Actions –
• Build forensics facility in Milledgeville, and two new hospitals in Atlanta and South Georgia
• Consolidate forensic patients from Rome, Augusta, Thomasville, Columbus and Decatur to privatized facility
in Milledgeville (late 2011).
• Reconfigure West Central Georgia Regional Hospital in Columbus into behavioral health hub (late 2011).
Results –
• Forensic consolidation complete.
Phase Four:
Actions –
• Northwest Regional (Rome), Southwest Regional (Thomasville), East Central Regional (Augusta) and
Central State (Milledgeville) convert into behavioral health hubs.
• Use $27.2 million saved from transforming hospitals to expand community mental health services in
Augusta, Athens, Thomasville, Warner Robins and Macon areas.
• Open new state-of-the-art hospitals in metro Atlanta and south Georgia.
Results –
• Georgia has three new hospitals providing state-of-the-art care.
• State now has expanded community-based mental health services.
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Slide 17