Health officials may block firm’s bid

Top officials with Spokane County’s public mental health system are considering a proposal that would effectively prevent its largest contractor from bidding on a contract it currently holds.

The county officials said they are concerned that Spokane Mental Health, which holds several contracts to provide services in the region, may have a conflict of interest if allowed to refer mentally ill patients to its own services.

“If you have a financial tie to the hospitals, that’s a concern,” said Edie Rice-Sauer, administrator of the regional support network, which handles public mental health services in the county.

Earlier this month, the county announced a plan to sever its long-standing agreement with Spokane Mental Health, which has handled civil commitments since 1974. County officials said the change is necessary to stem rising fees at Eastern State Hospital, where state fines for hospitalizing too many mentally ill patients have recently topped $100,000 a month. That money, the officials argue, would be better spent on resources for the mentally ill within the community.

“We have not been able to change the philosophy at Spokane Mental Health,” Rice-Sauer said.

The shakeup has strained relationships with other community providers – in part because the details of the proposal appeared in local media before many groups were consulted. In a Feb. 18 memorandum, public mental health officials asked county leaders to approve the plan without the knowledge of Spokane Mental Health.

“It appeared like we were trying to act behind the scene,” Rice-Sauer said. “That wasn’t our intention.”

On Friday morning, county officials met with about 30 people from programs across the city and county to answer questions.

Natalie Turner, clinical program manager at Children’s Home Society, said the hospital fines are a complex problem that may be affected by dozens of local programs, agencies and decisions.

“The perception is that Spokane Mental Health was scapegoated in this,” Turner said. “That is really distressing to me as a provider.”

Community Services Director Kasey Kramer said he regrets that providers were not kept informed of the proposal. He said he worries the backlash may threaten projects such as a community effort to improve mental health care for children.

“I am so fearful that the chill effect is going to hurt the children’s initiative and the great things going on,” Kramer told the providers. “There is some learning that we’ve gotten out of this process. We really are trying to do the right thing for the right reason.”

Bob Faltermeyer, executive director of the Excelsior Youth Center, expressed concern that the effort to save money by tightening admissions to the region’s psychiatric hospital could sacrifice patient care.

“Being mission-driven instead of profit-driven should be an issue in human services,” Faltermeyer said.

Spokane Mental Health said the agreement to provide mental health professionals for county residents in crisis pays for a clinical staff of 27 people. The agreement – part of a larger contract with the county – expires July 1.

This month, county commissioners instructed RSN officials to seek competitive bids from qualified providers.

Commissioner Todd Mielke said he has been told there may be a potential conflict of interest for Spokane Mental Health if it secures the new contract this summer.

“The situation potentially gives them the ability to steer (patients) to one of their services,” Mielke said. “How do we bring this to the point where whoever handles this makes sure we use these services properly? To me that’s just good business practice. That’s not a shot against Spokane Mental Health.”

David Panken, executive director of Spokane Mental Health, said he is worried that his staff will begin leaving the nonprofit in search of other work. He has encouraged them to stay with the agency while the contract issues are resolved.

“We would certainly bid on it,” Panken said. “We have experience, and we have well served the community for a long time. We feel that we should be allowed to bid.”