Lawmakers work starts on mental hospital staffing shortage
July 16, 2021
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia s behavioral health commissioner told lawmakers Thursday about the spending she said is needed to make facilities safer after admissions at five state hospitals was halted amid a staffing shortage, including $75 million for salaries and pay increases.
“Our safety net is no longer safe,” Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner Alison Land told members of a subcommittee created in 2014 to study and improve mental health services. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Land said she wants to minimize the time that admissions are closed.
The department will use $25 million in emergency funding to bring out-of-state contract staff to hospitals where admissions are currently halted and for employee bonuses that Land hopes will be effective Aug. 1.
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