Doug Varney, commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Mental HealthNASHVILLE -- Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday the state has no immediate plans to shut down Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga as part of the state's new "patient care transformation" initiative.
"There's nothing anticipated at all at this point in time," Haslam said. "I can't say that 10 years from now that won't happen. We have no plans right now regarding Moccasin Bend."
Haslam is expected to hear from mental health officials today during budget hearings.
On Friday, Mental Health Commissioner Doug Varney announced proposed changes in the state's Mental Health Department, including the June 30 closure of the 160-bed Lakeshore Mental Health Institute in Knoxville.
He said shutting down Lakeshore and relying on private contractors is part of a decades-old trend of relying more on community-based providers in an era where improved medications make it possible to stabilize the mentally ill more easily. Studies show community-based services have better outcomes, Varney said.
Lakeshore, which had about 90 patients on site last week, has about 360 employees.
According to a count taken Sunday, Moccasin Bend has 115 patients, officials said. According to the 2011-12 state budget document, Moccasin Bend, which opened in 1961, is licensed for 125 beds and was projected for this budget year to have 365 employees and be at 85 percent occupancy.
Moccasin Bend is one of five regional institutes operated by the state. In the 1990s, the Sundquist administration included eventual closure of the facility as part of a state "master plan," but that incurred the wrath of local state legislators, who forced state officials to abandon the proposal.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.