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Board of Mental Illness reports rising holds and staffing constraints; Medicaid seen as reducing county hospital costs
Summary
Co-chairs from the county Board of Mental Illness summarized trends in involuntary mental-health holds, the role of qualified mental health professionals (QMHPs), and budgetary impacts tied to hospital days and insurance coverage.
Tom Wierheim and (identified in the transcript as Erin/Aaron) Johnson, from the Minnehaha County Board of Mental Illness, briefed the County Board of Commissioners on May 6 about increasing numbers of mental‑illness holds, how Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHPs) operate, and the budget effects of hospital days for detained individuals.
Wierheim described the board’s process: when law enforcement places a mental‑illness hold the individual is taken to a behavioral-health facility or emergency room and evaluated by a QMHP, who is paid by the county. The QMHP’s recommendation informs whether the…
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