8/20/2008 5:26:18 AM
Located in the Piney Woods of east Texas, Nacogdoches County has a population of approximately 61,000. The county seat and largest town of Nacogdoches is located 140 miles northeast of Houston and has a population of 34,000. Stephen F. Austin State University (enrollment: 11,500) is located in Nacogdoches and contributes cultural events to the region.
Community leaders recognized that Nacogdoches County lacked adequate mental health facilities. They admitted that individuals in crisis often become “hot potatoes,” being passed from one mental health facility to another due to a shortage of beds for overnight care. This shortage, leaders concede, places an inordinate burden on law enforcement and emergency rooms. The community collaborative will expand and improve early intervention services so less serious episodes are treated before escalating into full-blown crises.
A predominately rural community, county demographics differ from Texas as a whole. Eighty percent (80%) of the County’s population is 18 years of age or older, as compared to 72% of all Texans. Fewer Hispanic individuals live in Nacogdoches; only 14% of the population is Hispanic as compared to 35% of all Texans.
Nacogdoches County is a less affluent community. The county median household of $31,000 is approximately 25% below the Texas median income of $41,600. This lower household income does not translate into a markedly increased poverty rate. Fifteen percent (15%) of the population lives below the poverty level, a similar proportion (16%) as in all of Texas.
Nacogdoches County serves as an agriculture and manufacturing center. Agribusinesses include cattle, dairy products, poultry, grain and timber. Manufacturing plants produce feed and fertilizer, valves, business forms, transformers, bricks, motor homes, poultry products and sealing components. Education and tourism are also major industries.
A rural area, the county faces mental health workforce shortage challenges and is currently working with Stephen F. Austin State University to recruit students into the health professions.
The collaborative is comprised of consumers, community leaders, hospital administrators, health care providers, law enforcement, and judges. The collaborative will assess community needs and determine appropriate transformation plans. In addition to MHT-SIG funding, the project has been funded by planning grants from the Burke Center and HRSA, and in-kind contributions. The projected budget for the crisis facility (see below) is $1 million annually.
Goal: To establish a mental health crisis service center.
Plan: The community collaborative will consult with experts to establish:
The collaborative is in the early stages and has not devised specific evaluation measures.
The Nacogdoches Community Collaborative has begun work on an aggressive plan to build and operate a Triage Crisis Center in their community. Drawing on the experience of other Texas communities, collaborative leaders have already reached out to more experienced communities such as Bexar County, for guidance and support. Their experiences will serve as a blueprint for other rural communities in Texas seeking to establish crisis centers.
Achieving the vision of a transformed Texas mental health system will take collaboration, innovation, and hard work. Each of the eight communities will collaborate with state partner agencies (TWG members), community stakeholders and consumers, and one another to craft solutions to their specific workforce and service challenges. On the path to transformation, these community collaboratives will learn lessons they will be able to share with other Texas communities seeking to transform their own mental health systems.
Tim Hayward, Administrator, Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital
1204 Mound Street
Nacogdoches, TX
75961
936.568.8520
haywardt@nacmem.org