Supervisor Wilson Works to Save Indio Mental Health Center
Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson is fighting to fend off potential closure of the Indio Mental Health Rehabilitation Center, which is facing the budget axe.
“We are working to find alternatives to shutting down the facility, because we are well aware of the critical importance of its mission,” Wilson said. “I’ve asked CEO Larry Parrish and Mental Health Director Jerry Wengerd to address this problem and fix it.”
“This cut was proposed only this past Tuesday, and we have hardly had time to get our hands around the issue. Even in the worst-case scenario, the facility will not close overnight.”
Supervisor Wilson said that the proposal was for a phased transition of the facility from its current Indio location to other facilities in Riverside that would provide suitable care. Even so, the supervisor said that a closure of the Indio facility is unacceptable.
The Mental Health Rehabilitation Center relies primarily on County General Funds, and the county is facing a major decline in revenue caused by decreased property values. The Mental Health Department is struggling with the budget crisis and has been looking at how to respond to the need to decrease costs. Complicating the possible solution to the shortfall is the fact that the 34-bed Rehab Center does not qualify for any Federal Medi-Care and Mental Health Services (Prop. 63) Funding.