• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Health / Medicine / Centerville’s mental health crisis center to close

Centerville’s mental health crisis center to close

October 10, 2017 By Radio Iowa Contributor

The head of a mental health crisis center in southern Iowa expects it to close at the end of the month due to a lack of funding.

Jackie Sharp, executive director of Oak Place in Centerville, says after a grant ran out, the regional mental health authority has refused to fill the funding gap. And state officials haven’t set up rules that would let Oak Place bill Medicaid for services to patients.

“I don’t put a lot of faith in us continuing after October 31st,” Sharp says. “I think my alternate plan is to take care of the graduates that we’ve had and help my staff transition.”

The center opened three years ago and has won praise for providing economical care in rural Iowa, where mental health treatment options are scarce.

“Without funding, we’re closed,” Sharp says. “And I have a fear for the other 10 crisis stabilization homes in the state, that they will follow our lead and close due to lack of funding.”

Sharp made her comments on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River” program.

The Centerville facility serves patients from Appanoose County and three other neighboring counties. Advocates say once the center closes, the state will pay about $900-per-day for psychiatric hospital stays for a Medicaid patient who’d get significantly less expensive care, closer to home, in Centerville.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katarina Sostaric; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Health / Medicine, News, Politics / Govt

Featured Stories

Speakers at trooper’s funeral describe Sgt. Smith as selfless, man of faith

Iowa unlikely to join 26 states with hands-free driving laws

Reynolds says Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause manageable

Iowa State Patrol tactical team leader killed in Grundy Center stand-off

Finalists chosen for the state’s top burger

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

High school sports and activities to pause for one week in July

Hawkeyes add post player

UNI’s Warren agrees to contract extension

Iowa State signs Kansas transfer

Drake elevates Pohlman to head women’s basketball coach

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC