Mental Health

The Montana State Hospital’s forensic unit has been struggling for years to keep up with the number of inmates criminally committed to the facility. That’s led to long wait times in jail cells for inmates awaiting treatment. State health officials said they have a way to fix the problem.

Dozens of people gathered in Helena on Monday night to protest the closure of a Intermountain Residential, a mental health program that treats young children.

Health department officials are asking legislators to change criminal commitment laws amid a bottleneck at the Montana State Hospital.

In recent years Montana has seen one of the largest increases in suicides nationwide.

Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is recommending construction resumes on a project updating the wastewater treatment facility at the Montana State Hospital. The state issued a stop work order earlier this month, after learning that 3 million gallons of partially treated wastewater had leaked into Warm Springs Creek.

Soon, Montana veterans will be able to receive mobile treatment for depression. It’s part of a first-of-its kind effort for the VA.

A mental health facility for helping those in crisis may reopen its doors in Lewis & Clark County. State funding is giving crisis services in the county a boost.

The federal government has chosen Montana to be one of 15 states that will have a chance to receive enhanced funding for behavioral health providers.

Montana health officials have released a report outlining ways the state could improve its mental health crisis system. The state is following through on some of the larger recommendations.

A Kalispell mental health clinic closed its doors in February due to alleged Medicaid fraud. Roughly 200 patients are now without mental health care.