Lt. Governor Reynolds visits county officials

On June 23, Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds toured the Wright County Courthouse and discussed local issues with county officials. State Senator Dennis Guth and Representative Terry Baxter were also present. The discussion ranged from struggles finding places for those who need mental health care to funding for security and transit improvements. Though problems to be dealt with took the biggest portion of the conversation, Reynolds said visiting counties was “by far, the best thing I get to do.… Really it’s a great opportunity for us to get feedback on what’s working and what’s not.”

Sheriff Jason Schluttenhofer described the difficulty of getting approval to bring individuals to state facilities for mental health care, even when there is space available. “It seems like the criteria changes patient to patient,” he said. “The biggest issue is finding beds.”

When it’s determined that a person admitted to the hospital needs mental health care, the sheriff’s office takes charge of that person. Meanwhile, space has to be found for the patient, which might take days. “We don’t have the staff to have somebody sit two days at the hospital,” Schluttenhofer said.

Reynolds said this was an issue she’d heard referenced in several countie.

For more discussion of local issues, see the June 30 edition of the Monitor.