Helen Farabee faces budget crisis

Jan. 24--With rising costs and a shortfall of funds, the Helen Farabee Center said they are facing a serious budget crisis.

Director Roddy Atkins sent out a letter last week to sponsoring agencies, which include 19 North Texas area county commissioners' courts and the city of Wichita Falls, informing them about the situation and asking for any helpful solutions.

Atkins said the center ended fiscal year 2016 with an operating loss of $1.29 million and they expect a $1.09 million loss in 2017. The center is pulling from reserve funds to cover these shortages, but the reserves will not last forever.

Atkins said funding for the Helen Farabee Center comes from the state, Medicare/Medicaid, private insurance and local funds. For several years, Texas has been toward the bottom of the list in funding for mental health. According to the State Mental Health Agency while the United States average spending each year per capita for fiscal years 2004-2013 for mental health is $119.62, in Texas it was $40.65.

"Over time, much of our appropriated funding from the state has moved from general to categorical, meaning we can only spend it for specific purposes and functions," Atkins said in the letter. The change reduces the centers flexibility in providing services and will not cover shortages in some areas. For instance, he said, they may have funds to cover a psychiatric stay for an uninsured individual, but the funds would not pay for staff salaries and other operating costs for the facility.

Atkins said access to reserve funds is becoming more and more difficult as more programs depend on reimbursement systems and the center may not get funds back for six to 12 months. The director said the problem is not that there is less funding from the state or other sources, but the steady amount of funds are not keeping up with increasing costs.

"The driving factor in the shortfall is that over time state-appropriated funds and Medicaid reimbursement rates have not kept up with the cost of service delivery and service expectations," he said.

Like any business, the Helen Farabee Center said they must increase salaries to retain quality staff, bring on additional staff for new requirements, pay for increasing health insurance, equipment, and other costs without additional income.

"In general, Medicaid rates ... do not cover the costs (of services provided) and have to be supplemented with other funds," he wrote.

Atkins said he and staff are currently evaluating all of their programs and services, looking for additional efficiencies that can be gained. He said the center will work to minimize the budget crisis' impact on staff and the community. Recommendations will be evaluated at their next board meeting February 2.

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