Letters To The Editor, Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Right mental health treatment needed at right time

Dear Editor:
There is a missing piece in the current Senate Bill 169 on Gov. John Hickenlooper’s Desk: Psychiatric Care.

Being placed in a hospital or a jail in the middle of a mental health crisis tops any person’s worst-day-ever list. None of us hopes to reach that point, nor do we, our family members or friends suffer through such a time without proper psychiatric care.
Much of the conversation surrounding SB169, which aims to broaden the location where a person can be held under an emergency mental health procedure, focuses on redefining the hold location rather than on the type of treatment offered during a crisis. This focus is shortsighted and overlooks the fact that people in crisis need access to the right treatment at the right time. Psychiatric treatment, the missing piece of this conversation, is simply the right treatment to offer those when they need it most. 
While SB169 offers some improvements over the current system, it does not ensure that those who need mental health treatment have adequate access to psychiatric care. The driver in this statewide problem is that we do not have enough psychiatric hospital beds, period.
Colorado’s Western Slope, for example, lacks some 32 psychiatric hospital beds needed to care for its population. And the number of people in crisis continues to grow.
Mind Springs Health’s Building Sanctuary, Rebuilding Lives plan seeks to remedy this situation by essentially doubling the size of its West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction, the only psychiatric hospital between Denver and Salt Lake City. But so much more needs to be done.
We need to think and act beyond SB169 to secure the mental health care facilities essential for bringing about lasting health and resilience in our communities throughout Colorado.
Sharon Raggio
President and CEO
Mind Springs Health
Grand Junction

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  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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