Edit: Solons Whiff On Mental Health

Kootenai County missed out once. If local legislators can briefly trade ideology for reality and follow through with practical solutions, maybe we won’t miss out next time. Lack of strong legislative support was instrumental in the state overlooking Coeur d’Alene in funding its first mental health crisis center. The clear front-runner all along, Coeur d’Alene missed out; Idaho Falls will be home to the first such facility. The competition between Boise, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene shouldn’t have happened in the first place. At the outset of the 2014 legislative session, Gov. Butch Otter made a strong appeal for $5.1 million to build and staff three such centers, modeled after a highly successful facility in Billings, Mont. There, a center opened in 2006 and, with 20 beds, has proved to be an effective safety net to treat at-risk mentally ill people whose symptoms often land them in hospital emergency rooms or jail cells / Coeur d’Alene Press Editorial Board . More here.

Thoughts?