Budget shortfall forces mental health facility to cut clients


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SALT LAKE CITY — Several hundred people who receive services from Valley Mental Health in Salt Lake County have received, or will soon get, a letter stating they will have to seek service and treatment elsewhere.

Valley Mental Health receives a third of its budget from the county. The money is in the form of federal Medicaid reimbursement funds, which the county passes through to Valley Mental Health.

However, there's less money this year. A small group met with the Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams to ask for help Wednesday.

"We are serving the same number of clients for about $5 million dollars less in revenue, and we maintained that for as long as we could," said Gary Larcenaire, president and CEO of Valley Mental Health.

Valley Mental Health provides mental health, substance abuse and other services to more than 10,000 clients throughout Salt Lake, Tooele and Summit counties. Now, faced with a cutback in reimbursement funds, the facility is making some adjustments; it's asking clients who are doing well with their treatments to transition to other mental health care providers.

"We believe that those clients are most capable of making this transition successfully," Larcenaire said.

Not everyone agrees. Wednesday morning a group of men and women, who have used Valley Mental Health services for years, presented McAdams with a letter asking the county council to reevaluate the decision by Valley Mental Health.

However, she said the change is a big deal given the circumstances.

"It's hard to make changes," she said. "It's difficult. I mean we're dealing with mental health here, something that's very fragile."


It's hard to make changes. It's difficult. I mean we're dealing with mental health here, something that's very fragile.

–Ginger Phillips


Following Wednesday's meeting, the mayor said he would look into it, adding that he's already taken issue with the way the facility has approached the shortage and notifying its clients.

"I have expressed my outrage to Valley Mental Health at the way in which they have announced this reduction in their clients," McAdams said.

He said he wants an audit conducted of facility's entire operation.

"If the mayor wants some additional information from us, we'll be happy to cooperate," Larcenaire said.

Valley Mental Health has sent out letters to 750 clients already and they could send out as many as 2,000. Those who receive a litter and feel they should continue to use the services can appeal.

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Keith McCord

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