Considerations by state lawmakers to close one or more mental health institutions couldn't come at a worse time for the state.

Lawmakers are in fact looking at closing at last one of the state's four mental health institutions located in

Clarinda, Cherokee, Independence and Mount Pleasant are among the institutions under consideration for closure. Cherokee, the closest facility to Emmet County, is in a town that has been already hard hit by the closing of a packing plant and garment manufacturer over the past few years.

If Cherokee closed and Emmet County found itself having to make a long-term mental health commitment, the cost could be devastating.

"We utilize Cherokee Mental Health Institute as another resource for hospital bed. Especially for some of our more difficult patients we need them as a resource," said Emmet County Mental Health Director Dorothy Christensen. She also noted that Cherokee is better suited for long-term commitments. "The services at Cherokee Mental Health Institute are better suited for them," Christensen said.

As a cost comparison, Christensen said facilities at Spencer Community Hospital are $546 a day compared to $205 a day for Cherokee.

"I think it would be a big impact" if Cherokee were closed, Christensen said.

Those who go to state mental health institutions include both voluntary admissions and commitments without health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. In those cases, it's the county that picks up the tab.

The cost per patient served is one reason the state is looking at closing one of the institutions. The legislature ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services during the last session to come up with one mental health institute that it can close.

"The legislature, of course, that's a whole different arena," Christensen said. "Right now I think everything is on the table" as far as budget cuts are concerned.

Christensen said some people might argue that closing one of the institutions could prove to be a public safety issue. She pointed to a shift in public policy back in the mid-1970s when many of the mentally ill were de-institutionalized with the understanding that they would be placed on community-based services which in fact did not exist.

The same could apply to now. In fact, said Christensen, there could very well be a greater need for mental health in-treatment services than at any time in recent history.

"There have been hospitals that have closed their mental health units," Christensen said. "Now (the recession) is probably not the time to be looking at that as a solution" to dealing with the state budget, she said.

Christensen agreed that Iowa's mental health needs could be taking a back seat to economics - and politics.

"I think a lot of it's going to go to the economic impact on the area. To close one of those institutions is not a win for anybody."

We agree. While some may go so far as to argue that the state should not be in the mental health business, reality is that the state is. Look at them as an adjunct or alternative to the state prison system, a more cost-effective alternative to private care or whatever, but state mental health institutions do play a key role in the state's mental health program.

To close one of these institutions when there is already a waiting list to get into them would not only be foolish - it could be downright dangerous.

Public safety relies on having a place for people who are a danger to themselves or others.

If the legislators who want to close one or more of these institutions want to put their name on the dotted line and accept public liability for releasing people who should not be at large, fine.

However, the public needs to know that releasing upon society people who should be institutionalized is really no different than opening the doors of our prisons and letting people out. The public cold be endangered in both instances. Then again, perhaps closing one of the state's mental health institutions is merely a prelude to opening the doors of the state's prisons and wreaking that havoc upon society.

We have prisons and mental health institutions for a reason - for public safety.

Let's see if our lawmakers are willing to even give us that in January.