Hays County's oversized growth has not only meant strains on its roads and utilitiesbut also on its human infrastructure of social services and mental health resources.
Realizing the need, the Hays County Commissioners Court last month green-lighted funding for a needs assessmenttodetermine the best approach for building a mental health center in the county.
The moves come a year after the county created a mental health task force to research the needs as well asthe models that have worked across the state and country.
“We want our residents to have access to the support they need,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said in astatement, “while treating them with dignity and respect. And today, we are one small step closer to achieving that.”
Mental health advocates say countyresidents who are at high riskof harm and needimmediate attention don't have many options. Oftenpeople willendupin hospitals or jailsfor a periodbeforea bed opens up atafacility.
As a result,hospitals andjails become overcrowded, and serving people with mental illness in jail divertsresources fromcommunity policingand leavesthose already vulnerablewithout theirsupportsystems.
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This year, Hays Countyneededlong-term mental health care fornearly 650 people, a number that is expected to increase, county officials said, and right now many of themare taken to facilities in Austin,San Antonio, Waco and Kerrville.
“Access to in-patientpsychiatricservices has truly become a challenge,” said Landon Sturdivant, deputy chiefexecutiveofficer forHill CountryMental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers. “Historically wewould'veused statehospitals, but that system is predominantly forensic,so thathaspushed us to move toward private psychiatric hospitals in communities.”
Increasing need
Hays is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, with its population increasing 53.5% since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The county is home to more than 241,000residents,up from just over 157,000 in 2010. The increase in population has meant an increase in need for mental health services and funding to support them. Sturdivant said Hays' program is funded through a fixed state contract thatdoes not keep up with the increase inpopulation.
Tucked away in a small facility west of Interstate 35 in San Marcos is the Scheib Mental Health Center, a facility thatprovides mental health and mental disability services to residents of San Marcos and Hays County through Hill CountryMental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers.
In the 2020-21 fiscal year, Sturdivant said, the facility sawa 12% increase in mental health crisis activations,and many calls come from hospitals, schools and jails.
The need for outpatient services such as peer support groups, case management and counseling has also increased, especially in the aftermath of the weeklong February freeze and as the pandemic continues.
Thecenteroffers a range of services to youths and adults, including peer support groups, skills training, medical management and counseling.Severalother facilitiesin the area offer similar services toarearesidents.
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Sturdivant said the ScheibCenter serves up to 2,000 Hays County residents a month,andthat number is expected to continue to increase.
“It was made abundantly clear that the need was so strong during the pandemic andduringthe freeze and energy failurethat we have to pushaggressivelyto bring this to light,” Becerra said. “Because right now, if someone is having anepisode, they will go to our jail, unfortunately,or places liketheERthat areovercrowdedandare not equipped to deal with this.”
Becerrasaid the county haspartnerships with area facilitiesbuteverythingis typically booked, and often peoplehave to sit in places waiting for some kind of care—sometimes for days, weeks or months at a time.
Staying close to home
Placing a new mental health facility inHays Countyoffers amore efficient use of tax dollarsand brings people closer to their support systems, which is apriority for patients who are recovering, county and mental health community leaders said.
Tod Citron, chief executive officer for Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers, said this new project would help keeppolice on the streets and providedirect care to patients in need at a faster rate.
Law enforcement, Citron said, spends between four and six hours working a mental health case, including picking up a patient, admission into a facility and the drive time involved.Thatburden has become more apparent during the pandemicwith the increase in calls. The exposure to the coronavirus also limited available psychiatric beds, further fueling a need for more options.
Family involvementis also necessary for patients,Sturdivantsaid. Having a local mental healthfacility allows low-income families to visit their loved ones, he said, andallows patientstoengagein local group therapies and other services in their hometown.
“We want to keep people close to home,” Sturdivant said. “Keeping familyinvolvedthroughout thecourse oftreatmentis critically important. Keeping lawenforcementon patrolas opposed to spending many hours on the roadtransporting someonehalfway across Texasis critically important."
Incorporating outpatient andinpatient services intoafacility withother support servicesisalsocritically important, he added.
The goal, Becerra told the American-Statesman, is to build a new facility that would provide both inpatient and outpatient services with about 48 bedsand could serve residents in Hays County as well as in neighboring Caldwell, Guadalupe and Comal counties.
He hopes the center would include a judicial court, a military veterans wing and plenty of open space. A similar facility was designed for Uvalde County, and Sturdivant said it is expected to cost about $11 million per year.
A request forproposals, which woulddeterminethefirm hiredto conduct the assessment,closedDec. 21. Becerra hopes the design, funding and menu of servicesthat will be available to patientscan be determined by fall 2022and the county can break groundbyDecember2022.
