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 This story appeared in The Times on Wednesday, February 18, 1998.
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Effort to save the Bend renewed
By John ComminsThe Chattanooga Times
NASHVILLE -- State Sen. David Fowler has resuscitated a bill introduced last session that would mandate state funding to maintain existing staffing and services and cover expenses at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute for the next two years.
In that time, under Fowler's new bill, the state will hire a consultant to examine the needs for the mentally ill in the 23 counties served by Moccasin Bend, and whether that care should be provided by a state institution.
"Last year Sen. (Ward) Crutchfield filed a similar bill requiring that for two years the state (would) continue making sure we were funded sufficiently to meet necessary staff-patient ratio to keep the hospital operating," said Fowler, R-Signal Mountain.
"But what this bill has added to that mix is the requirement that the Department of Health and Mental Retardation perform a feasibility study with respect to the conversion of Moccasin Bend to a nonstate agency."
Crutchfield's bill bogged down last session in a House subcommittee and never reached a floor vote. The new bill's chief sponsor in the house is Rep. Arnold Stulce, D-Soddy-Daisy, and it is co-sponsored by the entire Hamilton County House delegation.
Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga, has said he also supports the bill, which is under consideration in the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee.
Moccasin Bend, one of five state-run institutions for the severely and persistently mentally ill, has seen staffing cuts in recent years -- dropping from 536 full-time employees in 1996 to 421 this year. Gov. Don Sundquist's 1998-99 budget calls for an additional 20 staff cuts.
Fowler said the staffing cuts, even as the patient population remains the same, jeopardizes accreditation.
And the institution is still waiting for $6 million from Tennessee Behavioral Health and Premier Behavioral Health, two providers under TennCare Partners that lawmakers say have reneged on plan payments.
Fowler said the feasibility study is needed to see if Moccasin Bend is viable outside of state control.
"We need to determine whether or not in these 23 counties, there is a need for institutional services," Fowler said. "If so, if it were transferred to a private, nonprofit entity, or a private authority, could it financially survive?"
Fowler said he feared the institution would be providing care only for indigent and uninsured patients.
"There is no point in the community taking on a facility that does not have a sufficient customer base that can pay for services," he said.
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