The hearing for the Rider 55 proposal will be in Lubbock tomorrow at the Holiday Inn downtown located at 801 Ave. Q.  The part of the hearing discussing the closure and consolidation of the state hospitals will be from 6-8 pm.

 

This proposal is one that everyone in NAMI Texas needs to participate in and know about.  From my understanding, the state is considering shuting down one of the four or five state hospitals that are still in operation today.  Why should NAMI Lubbock and LRMHMR be interested in this?  As of right now, public mental health, inpatient services go to Sunrise Canyon in Lubbock, which is a 30 bed unit.  Sometimes, those 30 beds are full and they have to send patients to the Big Spring state hospital two hours away.  This costs money to transport these patients; sometimes it happens and there's nothing we can do.

 

Under Rider 55, the Big Spring hospital could be closed.  This means that Sunrise Canyon, if it is full, would then have to send patients to San Angelo, which is three plus hours away.  What does that mean?  That means it will cost us, the taxpayers, more money to transport.

 

Point made, we all need to be educated about this issue and your voice needs to be heard.  Today, you have the opportunity to tell the state what you think about this.

 

It has also been confirmed that Jackie Shannon, former NAMI National President, will be coming from San Angelo to be in attendance for this important issue.  If you haven't met her, this would be a great opportunity to do so.

 

For more information, visit this website below:

 

 

Hope to see all of you there!

 

Andy Gibson
Consumer Network Director
NAMI Lubbock
(806) 783-9268
(806) 773-7368
http://namilubbock.nami.org