A state-funded dental clinic for the mentally ill and intellectually disabled, all of them MaineCare recipients, is targeted for closure due to state budget cuts, something that patients and staff say would be "devastating" for its clients.![1-30-dental-clinic-1]()
“I believe that Clinical Services is providing a very important need for the community, and without them it would be horribly devastating for patients who are totally incapable in wheelchairs and with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy,” said Bruce Merson of Portland, who said he is a patient at the clinic.
Located at 63 Preble St., Clinical Services is part of Riverview Psychiatric and is a state-funded facility. The state biennial budget now under review calls for its closure effective June 30, according to Doug Gardner, director of Health and Human Services for the city of Portland.
Clinic personnel recently issued a letter urging the public to write to legislators in a bid to keep the clinic open. Merson is one of the clinic's biggest fans.
"It just helps with me personally that I can get the work done there with the anxiety that I have and they're willing to sit with me ... they're the fantastic people that they are," Merson said.
Dr. Mary Dowd, clinical director at Clinical Services, said patients are the most vulnerable in the state and have few other options.
"We serve 3,000 mentally ill and intellectually disabled patients, the problem with them getting services in the community is twofold," she said. "One is MaineCare (the state's Medicaid program) does not reimburse for dental services for adults except for emergency services, so they can't really go to community dentists unless the dentists are going to see them for free, and there are 3,000 of them. The other issue is behavioral, a lot of our patients are compromised and have a lot of behavioral issues, so that's another reason it's difficult for them to be seen in a community dental office."
Five hundred patients need sedation for dental services, something not readily available at other facilities, Dowd noted. The clinic's waiting list numbers 600 patients, she said.
Maine Rep. Ben Chipman, I-Portland, said he toured the facility on Monday and left with an appreciation of Clinical Services' importance.
"I concluded that this facility serves 3,000 plus patients who have no other option to get dental services," he said.
Chipman said he hope to convince other legislators that it's important to restore the funding.
"It's really frustrating that they would be on the chopping block at this point," he said.
"These patients would otherwise show up in the emergency room," Chipman said.
Chipman acknowledged the difficulty of developing a biennial 2014-2015 budget given a sluggish economy and rising costs.
"It's a balancing act for sure," he said.
Gov. Paul LePage, in a budget packet released earlier this month (http://www.maine.gov/budget), noted that Maine no longer can allocate about $600 million in one-time federal "stimulus" money, and he said that MaineCare now dominates state spending, even exceeding K-12 education funding. He also cited $40 million in reduced federal match rates for welfare programs as a hindrance.
LePage said his biennial budget eliminates about 200 positions and aims to save $30 million through elimination of programs.
Chipman noted that legislators are still conducting hearings on the 2013 supplemental budget, so "it's kind of early in the process right now" to tackle the biennial budget. But Chipman said the state appears to be at a "crossroads" of finding creative ways to raise revenue and argued city and state governments have tightened their belts.
"It's starting to take a negative toll on our community," he said of social-service budget cuts.
“I believe that Clinical Services is providing a very important need for the community, and without them it would be horribly devastating for patients who are totally incapable in wheelchairs and with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy,” said Bruce Merson of Portland, who said he is a patient at the clinic.
Located at 63 Preble St., Clinical Services is part of Riverview Psychiatric and is a state-funded facility. The state biennial budget now under review calls for its closure effective June 30, according to Doug Gardner, director of Health and Human Services for the city of Portland.
Clinic personnel recently issued a letter urging the public to write to legislators in a bid to keep the clinic open. Merson is one of the clinic's biggest fans.
"It just helps with me personally that I can get the work done there with the anxiety that I have and they're willing to sit with me ... they're the fantastic people that they are," Merson said.
Dr. Mary Dowd, clinical director at Clinical Services, said patients are the most vulnerable in the state and have few other options.
"We serve 3,000 mentally ill and intellectually disabled patients, the problem with them getting services in the community is twofold," she said. "One is MaineCare (the state's Medicaid program) does not reimburse for dental services for adults except for emergency services, so they can't really go to community dentists unless the dentists are going to see them for free, and there are 3,000 of them. The other issue is behavioral, a lot of our patients are compromised and have a lot of behavioral issues, so that's another reason it's difficult for them to be seen in a community dental office."
Five hundred patients need sedation for dental services, something not readily available at other facilities, Dowd noted. The clinic's waiting list numbers 600 patients, she said.
Maine Rep. Ben Chipman, I-Portland, said he toured the facility on Monday and left with an appreciation of Clinical Services' importance.
"I concluded that this facility serves 3,000 plus patients who have no other option to get dental services," he said.
Chipman said he hope to convince other legislators that it's important to restore the funding.
"It's really frustrating that they would be on the chopping block at this point," he said.
"These patients would otherwise show up in the emergency room," Chipman said.
Chipman acknowledged the difficulty of developing a biennial 2014-2015 budget given a sluggish economy and rising costs.
"It's a balancing act for sure," he said.
Gov. Paul LePage, in a budget packet released earlier this month (http://www.maine.gov/budget), noted that Maine no longer can allocate about $600 million in one-time federal "stimulus" money, and he said that MaineCare now dominates state spending, even exceeding K-12 education funding. He also cited $40 million in reduced federal match rates for welfare programs as a hindrance.
LePage said his biennial budget eliminates about 200 positions and aims to save $30 million through elimination of programs.
Chipman noted that legislators are still conducting hearings on the 2013 supplemental budget, so "it's kind of early in the process right now" to tackle the biennial budget. But Chipman said the state appears to be at a "crossroads" of finding creative ways to raise revenue and argued city and state governments have tightened their belts.
"It's starting to take a negative toll on our community," he said of social-service budget cuts.