Sorely Needed Leadership

Who would want to take the helm of a department buffeted by a year of turmoil, five separate audits and a feud between two of Ventura County’s strongest political personalities?

Dr. David Gudeman would. And for better or worse, he is now director of the county’s mental health department.

Gudeman, a psychiatrist, got the promotion in the worst possible way: appointed by the Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote, with the minority vigorously objecting. The louder of the nay votes came from Supervisor Susan Lacey, whose philosophical feud with county Health Care Director Pierre Durand (Gudeman’s boss and advocate) lies at the core of the chaos that has plagued Ventura County’s efforts to help the mentally ill for more than a year.

How best to steer this troubled department onto a calmer course? By focusing on the needs of the clients and devising programs to meet them.

We are heartened by the speed with which Gudeman won the support of the county’s vigorous advocates for the mentally ill. They had long clamored for the county to pay more attention to the need for housing for the severely mentally ill. As interim director, Gudeman drafted an ambitious $3-million housing proposal, including a 30-bed residential facility, and hired a specialist to develop a long-term housing plan. The advocates praise him for listening and responding--not a bad policy for any public official.

The root of most of Ventura County’s mental health controversy is money, specifically attempts to get higher levels of Medicare and Medi-Cal reimbursement for services those agencies view as social rather than medical. At least five audits by federal and state agencies are reviewing those fiscal practices. They could result in a loss of millions of dollars in Medicare and Medi-Cal funding. Further, the state Department of Mental Health recently announced that it may strip the county of $5.4 million a year unless it fixes what auditors consider a deterioration in services for people with mental illnesses.

Ventura County has no shortage of residents with mental health needs, and no shortage of well-trained, well-meaning public employees eager to help them. What has been lacking is strong and effective leadership. We wish Dr. Gudeman well as he seeks to provide it.