Editor’s note: This story first appeared in The Waco Bridge’s July 7 newsletter.
McLennan County will continue to experience a shortage of mental health services even after receiving a financial boost in this legislative session, local officials said.
A provision in Senate Bill 1 provides an extra $5 million over the next two years for mental health screening and assessments, crisis services and post-crisis services at the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, the region’s mental health authority.
Other new legislation will fund a study for a possible new psychiatric hospital to replace the 48-bed DePaul Center, which closed in 2023, said state Rep. Pat Curry, R-Waco.
The $5 million will expand the capacity of the diversion center the Behavioral Health Network opened last year at 6500 Imperial Drive with inpatient beds and counseling services for those in a mental health crisis.
Agency CEO Ryan Adams is grateful for funding from the state Legislature for mental health. However, he stated more needs to be done.
“We’re happy to get additional funding for crisis services because there’s that demand out there,” Adams said. “But I think what people forget, if we funded the outpatient services fully and and we had a well-funded outpatient mental health system where our caseworkers were carrying reasonable caseloads and they were providing that one on one care that that they need, we could stop a lot of individuals from ever even accessing that crisis system, because once they access the crisis system, it’s that much higher cost system.”
The closure of DePaul at Ascension Providence left a shortage of behavioral health care in Waco, both for inpatient and outpatient services, Adams said.
The network had formerly partnered with DePaul, which had two child and adolescent psychiatrists. Now the network has only a part-time child and adolescent psychiatrist who works one day a week.
To fill the need for children and adolescents, BHN has to rely on telemedicine.
“That loss of that outpatient capacity is something that a lot of people don’t think of, that is just as devastating to us,” Adams said.
Oceans Behavioral Hospital is the only remaining psychiatric hospital, offering up to 48 inpatient beds. Adams said that the hospital can’t meet all of Waco’s needs. That means the network patients often have to go to Temple, Belton or even Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When it comes to what’s best for the patient, it’s always best to keep them as close to home as possible. So the loss of the inpatient beds was a huge issue,” Adams said.
The shortage of mental health resources has led to a greater need for those services, Adams said.
“It just kind of leads to this kind of perfect storm for this mental health crisis that we’re in,” Adams said. “And the Waco community is not alone in that. I mean, this is happening all across the country, and so it’s not unique to us, but I think it’s, it’s up to local communities and stakeholders to come together and find a solution.”
Curry, the Waco legislator, said the lack of options for those in mental health crisis puts pressure on the McLennan County Jail.
“Right now, the jail is our mental health facility, which is just sad,” he said at The Waco Bridge’s “Texas Decisions, Waco Impact” event on June 25.
