Hospital Beds Continue to Dwindle as Budgets Get Cut

It looks as if two Ohio mental health hospitals will soon close as the result of state budget woes.  On Sept. 11, 2008, Gov. Ted Strickland proposed $540 million in budget cuts; on top of previous cuts it will reduce the state’s budget by a total of $1.27 billion.  The economy is taking its toll and there are probably few good choices when that much of a budget gets slashed.

Considering Ohio has a critical shortage of hospital beds for people with mental illness, the state should look elsewhere to make up the shortfall.  In the larger scope of over a billion dollars in cuts, saving the beds amounts to little more than knick.  When one considers the risk of a preventable tragedy, it’s not worth the risk.