DELLINGER URGES SUPPORT FOR "DIX 306" AND "DOROTHEA 365"

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR LT. GOVERNOR CALLS FOR PRESERVATION OF 306-ACRE DIX CAMPUS AND YEAR-ROUND, 365-DAY GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

DELLINGER PRESSES FOR PASSAGE OF MEANINGFUL MENTAL HEALTH PARITY INSURANCE BILL, INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF TRIANGLE HOSPITAL BEDS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS, AND CREATION OF WWW.DOROTHEA365.COM

(7/02/07) Raleigh - Hampton Dellinger, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, today announced his support for the "Dix 306" destination park plan, while calling on state and local government officials to join him in committing to "Dorothea 365"—a year-round commitment to comprehensive mental health services.

Dellinger called on state lawmakers to signal their support for "Dorothea 365" by passing a meaningful mental health parity bill and increasing funding for mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse programs. He urged Raleigh and Wake County government and hospital officials to agree on ways to make more beds available for patients with acute psychiatric symptoms as Dix's closing nears. Finally, he applauded the work of mental health advocacy groups and urged them to create a website — www.Dorothea365.com — where private, public, and non-profit sector supporters of improved mental health services can collaborate.

Dellinger called the 306 acres of the Dix campus a "truly unique" public green space, which, if preserved, could provide both an "urban oasis" and a spark for sustainable growth in surrounding neighborhoods. He urged state leaders to negotiate with Raleigh city officials with the goal of preserving all 306 acres of the Dorothea Dix campus for public use.

"This kind of open space opportunity comes along once in a city's lifetime," Dellinger said. "Government's responsibility to preserve such sites and to assist those North Carolinians in need of mental health services should not be pitted against each other. I call on state and local leaders to signify their support for open space and mental health by signing onto 'Dix 306' and 'Dorothea 365'."

A copy of Dellinger's complete statement is below.

STATEMENT BY HAMPTON DELLINGER,
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR LT. GOVERNOR,
IN SUPPORT OF "DIX 306" AND "DOROTHEA 365"

2 July 2007

Dorothea Dix devoted her life to caring for those who could not fully care for themselves, and to building a community that was willing and able to follow her example. By protecting and wisely developing the land surrounding Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, we can honor both pillars of her life’s work, revitalizing our mental health system and furnishing for this generation, and the ones to come, an incredible gathering place.

These 306 acres are truly unique. Few cities, and no growing state capitals, can claim the kind of natural beauty that these rolling hills, lush meadows, and ancient oaks give us. Anyone who has paused for a moment among the trees that give the City of Oaks its nickname cannot help but appreciate this rare urban oasis.

In a magnet city like Raleigh, large public spaces like this one are all but impossible to create.  Fortunately, the Dix campus has been publicly owned for more than a century and a half already, so unlike most major projects this one can be achieved simply by working out an agreement between the state, which now owns it, and the city, which seeks to become its new custodian. This kind of opportunity comes along once in a city’s lifetime, and I hope that Raleigh and state officials will quickly reach an agreement that serves the needs of all interested parties, including the city, the state, and the mental health community.

The place to start is directing the proceeds of the sale to the state Mental Health Trust Fund.  Of course, the proceeds from the deal must only be the beginning of a larger state financial commitment to mental health reform.  On the other hand, failing to protect the Dix 306 in the name of an incremental increase in mental health funding paid for by developers would not only cause a short-sighted sacrifice of one of the city’s most beautiful natural spaces, it would also unfairly and unnecessarily turn two vital causes --open space preservation and improved mental health services -- into foes.

We North Carolinians know that the best traditions of the past always go hand-in-hand with building a better future. The Dix 306 is no exception. The City of Raleigh and community groups have proposed plans that would preserve the historical heritage of the Dix 306 while encouraging economic growth in surrounding neighborhoods.  Whatever the ultimate details of the adopted plan, the important thing now is to commit ourselves to protecting the land and listening to the voices of all interested parties, including nearby property owners, private developers, state agencies, and the mental health advocates. Like all great urban green spaces, the Dix 306 could become an “active oasis” that encourages surrounding targeted and sustainable growth, and adjoining mental health-related services, while providing a scenic connection between downtown Raleigh and the North Carolina State campus.

But Dorothea Dix’s legacy reaches far beyond these 306 acres.  Dix embodied and advanced a commitment to mental health care that changed not just Raleigh, not just North Carolina, but the entire nation. The best homage we can pay her transformative work is not just a park, but a network of comprehensive, user-friendly mental health services that gives North Carolinians facing mental illness the care they need and deserve. In addition to supporting the Dix 306, I call on government officials to join me in committing to " Dorothea 365"—an every day, year-round commitment to providing comprehensive mental services to those who need them. As we have learned over the last five years, mental health reform deserves and demands our constant commitment.

Just like the site of the Dorothea Dix hospital, North Carolina’s mental health system is in transition. And while protecting the future of the Dix 306 is enormously important, improving our state’s health services is just as crucial. Since the Dorothea Dix Hospital itself is scheduled to be closed soon, we must redouble our commitment to ensuring a smooth transition for the patients and staff.  Managing that transition means working with local general hospitals to ensure that adequate beds are available for mental health emergencies in Wake County, and all of our communities.  We must bring together a wide array of mental health services and make them easily accessible to those who need them.

As part of this transition, we must also ensure that community-based care is not only available, but adequate, well-funded, and well-managed.  North Carolina’s ranking as one of the worst states in terms of per-capita funding for mental health must change.
The transition has been difficult thus far, too difficult for too many patients and their families.  When the system comes up short, the mentally ill all too often end up in jails, general emergency rooms, and senior care facilities, none of which are properly equipped to meet the unique needs of the mentally ill. This is not fair or equitable for anyone. The mentally ill do not get proper services, and the public ends up paying police officers, rather than mental health professionals, to respond to mental health crises. Although the state is currently committed to privatizing the mental health system, and while we consider private development around the Dix 306, we must never forget that caring for the mentally ill is ultimately a public responsibility. 

We must also have better coordination between local management entities and contract providers, particularly in cases involving individuals subject to court ordered outpatient treatment.  For the health of those individuals and the safety of the public, we must have accountability and adequate oversight in every case.

And while government officials and providers work to put the proper infrastructure into place, there are certain important steps that the legislature can take now. At the top of that list is establishing meaningful mental health parity so that insured adults and children can get the diagnoses and treatment they deserve. The House has recently passed a bill providing for parity, and I call upon the full Senate to approve a similar measure without delay.  Before final passage, members of both chambers should agree to expand coverage for substance abuse treatment and the range of mental illnesses, particularly those afflicting children.

We must do more to ensure that these initiatives and others like it live up to our ideals, and to those of Dorothea Dix, by guaranteeing that our mentally ill citizens receive proper care.

Dorothea Dix may have done more than any one person to guarantee that the mentally ill get the services they need and deserve. But on an even broader level, she opened people’s eyes about what it means to be a community, and what we owe to each other.  I encourage mental health advocacy groups to establish a website — www.Dorothea365.com — similar to www.Dix306.com.  The domain name is available.  I encourage its development by friends of improved mental health services so that private, public, and non-profit sector supporters of improved mental health services can gather in a “virtual” space to collaborate and celebrate the life of a remarkable advocate who for a time in the 19th century called North Carolina home.

The goals of “Dix 306” and the ideals captured by the concept of “Dorothea 365” could preserve the commitment to mental health and to a vibrant community which defined Dorothea Dix’s life’s work.  I know of no better monument to her.

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An Adobe PDF version of the plan is available here.