Echo Press Editorial: Health bills make sense

The Echo Press has a reporter, Don Davis, at the state Capitol covering political issues and he provided stories this week on legislation that, in our view, make sense.
The proposals address health issues, which although unrelated, would bode well for our region.
Several mental health-related bills, for example, are being considered. One by Senator Lyle Koenen, D-Clara City, and Representative Dave Baker, R-Willmar, would expand mental health services for children with severe mental illnesses that the state Human Services Department can’t afford to treat.
It would allow 150 beds to be opened in up to six sites across Minnesota during the next three years. Baker explained why the legislation is needed: “We need to do a better job providing quality care that is available close-by, not hundreds of miles away from their family and their community.”
He added that the children who use these services are some of our most vulnerable and at-risk youth in the state and deserve the specialty care the facilities would provide.
Also, Senator David Tomassoni, D-Chisholm, has a bill to help mentally ill Minnesotans find jobs. He noted that more than half of Minnesota’s counties have no access to individual placement and support services and there are long waiting lists of people who need help.
Tomassoni’s bill would add $2.5 million in funding for the program in the next two years.
Another bill, which is moving through the House, would require a minimum number of nurses to be on duty at hospitals.
Linda Hamilton, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association explained why the legislation is needed: “As a patient, you’re in the most vulnerable position of your life and when nurses are taking care of too many patients at one time, the quality of care suffers.”
A recent Health Department study indicated what the nurses’ group called “a strong correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes.” Under the bill, a state panel would decide on the specific number of nurses needed.
It’s good to see the Legislature addressing pertinent issues that would help people in vulnerable situations, from children battling mental health issues to hospital patients needing the best care possible. We hope this focus on people – not partisan political distractions – continues at the Capitol.