Center for Addiction Medicine

Left out in the cold

Friday, March 29, 2002

Two Cents:

Kevin Rademacher

Southern Nevada has been grabbing international headlines for its ability to turn neon lights and slot machines into America's fastest-growing city.

When weighed against the City's checkered past, skeptics might ask how a city so firmly entrenched in a solitary, and somewhat tainted, industry could achieve such success.

The list of local attributes is long, but at the root of our success are people.

The freedom provided by this community has allowed many residents to follow their entrepreneurial spirit and carve out a comfortable lifestyle in the process.

Not all, however, have found our desert accommodating.

Medical care is big news these days with a malpractice insurance battle and corresponding tort reform war raging. The unending search for nurses has drawn attention from reporters and political animals alike. Everything from crowded emergency rooms to trouble in trauma units has received local attention.

Few, however, have taken up the cause of mental health in Southern Nevada.

Dr. Michael Levy is a private practice physician focusing on addictive diseases. His practice is the only one of its kind in the state, and it's a tough way to make a living these days as society continues to look down on mental health and, by way of association, the problems of substance abuse.

Levy's practice is suffering from dwindling HMO reimbursements that take longer and longer to arrive at the doctor's doorstep.

"Basically, we work for co-pays," Levy said.

The situation doesn't get much better beyond his office door. Care for those dealing with mental health issues is not easy to come by. Southern Nevada has just one local, in-patient, private hospital serving mental health needs in Southern Nevada. The facility has just 80 beds.

"There are a small number of psychiatric beds and long waiting lists," Levy said.

Tucson, Ariz., has half the population and more than half a dozen private, mental health facilities.

The same financial issues looming over Levy's practice are hampering the development of other facilities here. Why would local hospitals, already strapped financially, add mental health beds that won't turn a profit?

Looking for answers to the problem is anything but easy. Without a local commitment to tackling the problem, nothing will change. Private dollars are not being spent on mental health and there would appear to be an embarrassing lack of political will to do much about it.

This in a 24-hour city that pushes its work force to the edge in manning our opulent mega resorts. Yet our community has not established a safety net for those under the unique strains of our existence.

Meanwhile, the city is struggling to deal with the local homeless population, many of whom are dealing with mental health and addiction issues. Society has somehow allowed these people to fall through the cracks, and sweeping them off our city's streets is not going to solve a thing if there is nowhere to go.

If images of homeless don't spark Southern Nevada to act, what about the colleague in the next cubicle? What is our labor pool losing if businesses have nowhere to turn when a quality employee can't get help for addiction?

Southern Nevada can't really enjoy its time in the sun if we are going to leave so many out in the cold.

Kevin Rademacher is managing editor of the Business Press. He can be reached at 871-6780.