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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Tinley Park Mental Health Center (MHC) is an
3 essential element in the network of mental health care
4 providers serving Chicago's south side, south suburban Cook
5 County, and Will, Grundy, and Kankakee counties; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Community-based agencies in this region provide
7 outpatient therapy, housing assistance, and case management
8 for many thousands of individuals with mental illness; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC effectively functions as a safety
10 net for community-based agencies that can refer mentally ill
11 individuals to Tinley Park MHC when they are in crisis and
12 represent a danger to themselves or others or are in need of
13 more intensive psychiatric services; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC is a nationally accredited, highly
15 regarded treatment center which offers an exceptional and
16 comprehensive range of medical, social, and psychiatric
17 supports to clients in acute phases of their illness; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC also functions as an essential
19 alternative to incarceration for individuals with mental
20 illness who engage in anti-social behavior that brings them
21 into contact with law enforcement officials; and
 
22     WHEREAS, The communities served by Tinley Park MHC already
23 suffer from a shortage of affordable, accessible mental health
24 services; and
 
25     WHEREAS, With over 140 beds, Tinley Park MHC is the largest
26 inpatient psychiatric treatment center in the region, with more
27 than 2,000 admissions annually; and
 
28     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC has excelled at stabilizing

 

 

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1 individuals in crisis and aiding them to return to independent
2 lives in their communities, with an average length of inpatient
3 treatment of just ten days; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC maintains close working
5 relationships with community-based mental health agencies and
6 services, jointly developing discharge plans, linking patients
7 with community resources, and providing transition services;
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, Those private hospitals in the region that do have
10 inpatient psychiatric units frequently refer their poorest and
11 most difficult patients to Tinley Park MHC and few have the
12 comprehensive level of services that Tinley Park MHC offers;
13 and
 
14     WHEREAS, As a State-operated facility, Tinley Park MHC
15 treats patients who have no insurance or who have exhausted
16 their mental health coverage and is the only mental health
17 resource in the region that reliably provides inpatient
18 treatment to those who cannot pay; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The costs at Tinley Park MHC are more than 50%
20 below those of comparable private hospitals in the area; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Although the Department of Human Services' (DHS)
22 FY05 budget includes full-year funding for Tinley Park MHC, the
23 budget narrative states that the budget is premised on the
24 "closure and sale of the Tinley Park mental health facility";
25 and
 
26     WHEREAS, DHS has established a Metro South Planning Task
27 Force to develop the best possible network of services for the
28 Chicago "Southland" region; and
 
29     WHEREAS, The Cook County Board and more than two dozen

 

 

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1 Southland elected officials, as well as professional and
2 advocacy organizations, have spoken out against closing Tinley
3 Park MHC; and
 
4     WHEREAS, This broad consensus makes clear that closing down
5 the Southland region's only public inpatient mental health
6 center would violate the will of the affected communities; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC has a dedicated and skilled
8 workforce with a unique body of experience in treating the most
9 severely mentally ill; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Tinley Park MHC is not an aged or dilapidated
11 facility; in fact, it is newer than many of the private
12 hospitals in the region; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
15 CONCURRING HEREIN, that Chicago's South Side, Southern Cook
16 County, Will County, and Kankakee County, all of which are now
17 served by Tinley Park MHC, must continue to have a public
18 inpatient mental health facility that can appropriately serve
19 the most severely mentally ill; and be it further
 
20     RESOLVED, That if the Metro Task Force determines that the
21 current Tinley Park MHC facility cannot continue to meet the
22 needs of these communities, a new facility should be purchased
23 or built; and be it further
 
24     RESOLVED, That Tinley Park MHC should remain open at its
25 current location unless and until a new DHS-operated inpatient
26 mental health center is opened in the Southland region; and be
27 it further
 
28     RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services maintain
29 its full admission and service capacity at the Tinley Park MHC;

 

 

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1 and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services should
3 continue to work to foster a comprehensive array of services
4 throughout the region; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to
6 the Secretary of Human Services.