Missouri Department of Mental Health Archives

What we’re watching next week in Missouri Legislature: budget, oversight hearings and MLB antitrust exemption pushback

April 17, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The proposed state operating budget will be heading to the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee in Jefferson City next week for daily hearings and for consideration. The state Constitution requires lawmakers to approve a balanced budget by early May.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) and State Rep. Brad Hudson (R-Cape Fair) have a discussion on the Missouri House floor on April 1, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House approved a $34.1 billion state operating budget this month, a budget which does not contain funding for Medicaid expansion. It includes a $76 million increase for foster and adoptive children, including a 45 percent increase to the clothing allowance for foster teens.

Kids Win Missouri policy director Craig Stevenson says the House budget provides unprecedented support for the kinship and foster families who care for the thousands of children in Missouri foster care. The state Department of Social Services (DSS) notes there are currently
13,939 foster care children in Missouri.

“It increases everything from the maintenance, the monthly maintenance payments that foster guardian and adoptive parents get. But then also increases important things like the diaper allowance for people who are caring for infants,” Stevenson told Missourinet this month.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) tells Missourinet that he will not be testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee next week. He says Committee Chairman State Sen. Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby) will be the Senate handler.

The House has also approved a budget blueprint from Chairman Smith that directs dollars slated for Medicaid expansion for other programs. Smith says it’s a $342 million bill. That includes $88 million for long-term care in nursing facilities, $15.5 million for k-12 school transportation, $2 million for adult high schools, $11.6 million for the Department of Mental Health (DMH) for alcohol and drug abuse treatment, $53 million to DMH for adult community programs and $30 million for programs like respite care, adult day care and home-delivered meals.

House Special Committee on Government Oversight Chair Rep. Jered Taylor (R-Nixa) speaks on the Missouri House floor in April 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Democrats in the Missouri Senate are expected to try to restore funding for Medicaid expansion, which was approved by 53 percent of Missouri voters in August.

The issue of oversight will also get more attention next week in the Missouri House.

The House Special Committee on Government Oversight plans Monday and Tuesday hearings about operations within the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR). The issues at faith-based boarding schools like the now-defunct Circle of Hope will likely be discussed again.

Prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation will be heard by the Missouri House Veterans Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The committee will hear testimony from bill sponsor State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City). The Senate has given final approval to PDMP, which is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) supports PDMP, saying it provides a layer of protection against drug and dependency and dangerous drug interactions.

Meantime, the Missouri Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee meets Tuesday to hear testimony from State Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) about his resolution, which urges Congress to end Major League Baseball’s (MLB) federal antitrust exemption. Senator Brattin’s resolution is in response to MLB’s decision to move the All-Star game from Atlanta because of Georgia legislation requiring photo ID.

“This is yet another instance of corporate virtue signaling and sports stoking the culture wars in this country,” Brattin said last week. He also says MLB is undercutting the basis of its antitrust exemption. He notes the exemption has been in place since a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Critics of the Georgia law say it will make it more difficult for minorities and the elderly to vote.

Missouri’s gasoline tax will also be discussed this week. The Missouri House Transportation Committee meets Wednesday afternoon at 5 to hear testimony from Pro Tem Schatz (R-Sullivan) about his bill, which increases the state’s gasoline tax by 2.5 cents each year, for a total of a 12.5 cent per gallon increase by 2025. The GOP-controlled Missouri Senate has already given final approval to the bill.

Missouri’s 17-cent per gallon gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996.

From Bellefontaine Habilitation Center to labor, Missouri’s Walsh known for protecting her district (AUDIO)

December 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who’s finishing her 16th and final year in Jefferson City is most proud of her successful team effort to prevent the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center in her district from closing.

State Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, presides over the Missouri Senate in Jefferson City on May 13, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

The facility is operated by the Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities, which is part of the state Department of Mental Health (DMH). State Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, notes former Governor Matt Blunt (R) and some others proposed closing the facility in 2005.

“It’s a home for folks with developmental disabilities, and people would often call them children but they’re grown adults who have been there since childhood. Many people have lived their whole lives there,” Walsh says.

The center serves residents with developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Former Governor Blunt cited allegations of abuse, for his 2005 proposal to close the facility.

Then-State Rep. Walsh and then-State Sen. Tim Green, D-Spanish Lake, helped to secure $20 million in improvements at Bellefontaine, which built four new buildings and renovated others. Walsh says while the old facility looked like a prison, it’s beautiful campus now.

The facility opened in 1924.

Senator Walsh credits former State Reps. Jim Mulvaney, D-Florissant, and Walter Meyer, D-north St. Louis County, for fighting to protect the facility as well, when they were in office.

“Mulvaney came to me when I was first elected and he said I don’t care what you do. He says but don’t get too big of a head and make sure you take care of the folks on Bellefontaine Road,” says Walsh.

Former Representative Mulvaney, who served in the House from 1967-1975, was referring to Bellefontaine Habilitation Center.

Gina Walsh was elected to the Missouri House in 2002 and served four terms from 2003-2010. She was elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2016.

During an interview with Missourinet last week reflecting on her 16 years of legislative service, Senator Walsh was candid about her priorities and the importance of keeping your word.

She admits she was “noisy and loud” on the Bellefontaine issue. She says it was and is important to keep those services in her district and across the state. She says if lawmakers wanted help from her in Jefferson City on the budget, they had to guarantee her funding for the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center.

Walsh is also known at the Capitol for being pragmatic. She says she compromised with Republicans many times over the past 16 years, to protect labor unions.

Senator Walsh notes there are currently only eight Democrats in the 34-member Missouri Senate, and 47 House Democrats in the 163-member chamber across the Capitol Rotunda. When Walsh entered the House in 2003, there were 73 House Democrats.

“I took a lot of heat from my labor community through the years. Some of them thinking I was giving away everything but the kitchen sink,” Walsh says. “But you have to compromise to accomplish, to save things a lot of times.”

Walsh praises Missourians for overwhelmingly rejecting a right-to-work referendum in 2018. She campaigned against it, across the state. More than 67 percent of Missourians voted against Proposition A. The vote was about 937,000 to 452,000. Walsh notes it was defeated in almost every county.

Right-to-work says a person cannot be required to join or refrain from joining a labor organization, as a condition of employment.

Walsh also says it’s important for labor leaders to remember that GOP right-to-work bill sponsors were also all re-elected in 2018. She’s referring to State Reps. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, and Don Rone, R-Portageville. She says there are Republicans and independents who also belong to organized labor.

Walsh says her sprawling 13th senatorial district has the largest number of labor union households in Missouri. She says it used to be all building trades like pipefitters, carpenters and bricklayers. While there are still building trades members, there are also teachers and members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in the district.

She says unions provide a way of life, and helped build the middle class.

Walsh says the best part of her job as a legislator was answering the phone and helping people, emphasizing the importance of constituent service.

She says while she’ll miss serving in the Capitol, she looks forward to her new full-time job with a labor union.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with State Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, which was recorded on December 21, 2020:

Missouri Mental Health Department reports 705 COVID-19 cases, 8 deaths

October 23, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Department of Mental Health reports 705 residents and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 since March. Four employees and four patients have died as a result of the virus. The deaths have been in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas.

Missouri Mental Health Department reports 705 COVID-19 cases, 8 deaths

Department data shows the largest outbreaks have been at the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in Farmington and Bellefontaine Habilitation Center in St. Louis.

538 STAFF
3 – Albany Regional Office
58 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
27 – Center for Behavioral Medicine – Kansas City
24 – Central Office
41 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
17 – DDTC St. Charles Habilitation Center – St. Charles
45 – Fulton State Hospital – Fulton
10 – Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital
17 – Higginsville Habilitation Center
1 – Joplin Satellite Office – Joplin
4 – Kansas City Regional Office – Kansas City
1 – Kirksville Satellite Office – Kirksville
8 – Metropolitan STL Psychiatric Center – St. Louis
38 – Northwest Community Services
33 – Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center
2 – Poplar Bluff Regional Office
1 – Sikeston Regional Office
83 – Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center – Farmington
31 – Southeast Missouri Residential Services – Poplar Bluff
12 – Southeast Missouri Residential Services – Sikeston
22 – Southwest Community Services
50 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis
10 – St. Louis Regional Office – St. Louis

159 PATIENTS/RESIDENTS/CONSUMERS
16 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
14 – Center for Behavioral Medicine – Kansas City
17 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
6 – DDTC St. Charles Habilitation Center – St. Charles
1 – Fulton State Hospital – Fulton
1 – Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital – St. Louis
1 – Metro St. Louis Psychiatric Center
14 – Northwest Community Services
19 – Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Joseph
17 – Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center – Farmington
21 – Southeast Missouri Residential Services – Poplar Bluff
5 – Southeast Missouri Residential Services – Sikeston
3 – Southwest Community Services – Nevada
24 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis

4 STAFF DEATHS
1 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
1 – Kansas City Regional Office
2 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis

4 PATIENTS/RESIDENTS DEATHS
1 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
2 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
1 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis

705 – TOTAL POSITIVE CASES and DEATHS

Missouri Governor’s office: four staffers who’ve tested positive for COVID have fully recovered

October 5, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri governor’s office announced late Monday afternoon that four staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus this year. The governor’s office issued a news release, saying the staffers tested include governor’s office staff, governor’s mansion staff and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Governor Security Division.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s temperature is checked at Compass Health in Wentzville on September 17, 2020 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The governor’s office says Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson have both fully recovered from COVID, and have returned to their normal schedules. They both tested positive for COVID on September 23.

“Teresa and I are so grateful that we are two of well over 100,000 Missourians that have recovered from this virus,” Governor Parson said, in a written statement. “We are glad to be back and want to again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are humbled every day to be surrounded by such great people across the state.”

The governor’s office says all staff meeting the definition of close contact were tested, after the governor and first lady tested positive. The office says the four staffers who tested positive have fully recovered.

The governor says the office continues all normal business operations and duties, at this time.

Meantime, Missouri officials say 1,842 state employees have tested positive this year for COVID-19.

The state Office of Administration (OA) says the department with the largest number is the state Department of Corrections, which has seen 646 cases. The state Department of Mental Health (DMH) has had 393 cases, and the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) has had 211 cases. OA says 1,259 of the 1,842 state employees have recovered.

OA says the numbers represent the total number of state employees who’ve tested positive in 2020, as of Friday. Missouri currently has 52,863 state employees.

Missouri continues to have spike in crisis calls and requests for services during COVID-19

July 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer says mental health providers in rural and urban Missouri are experiencing significant increases in crisis calls and requests for services. During a Capitol press conference, he says state officials recognize the COVID-19 crisis will contribute to increases in depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and other challenges. Gov. Mike Parson has authorized $10 million in federal coronavirus funding to help Missouri’s community behavioral healthcare providers.

Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer

“Many of those providers have seen significant losses, along with increased costs. These funds will be essential to preserving access to care during a time when the need has never been greater,” says Stringer.

He says the funds can help with staffing levels, improve technology and boost abilities to reach and serve people through means other than traditional in-person care.

Missouri is also putting $620,000 of CARES Act funding toward continuing a public awareness campaign about suicide prevention.

“We hope to reach all Missourians who are in suicidal crisis as well as their friends and loved ones who can help intervene,” says Stringer. “And we will have a special focus on middle-aged men in rural areas. That group has the highest suicide rate of all.”

The department is once again partnering with the National Crisis Text Line to encourage Missourians to text a counselor when experiencing a crisis. The agency’s information about suicide prevention can be found by clicking here.

Parson has also authorized $20 million in federal aid for Missouri’s behavioral health and developmental disability services. Stringer says the funding is available for qualifying group homes, supported living, adult daycare and employment providers.

“Our contracted community providers, who as a result of the pandemic, have also lost revenue due to disruptions in service while incurring additional costs for things like testing, PPE and overtime,” says Stringer.

Department spokesperson Debra Walker tells Missourinet the information to apply is being sent directly to providers.

102 Missouri mental health workers, 51 patients test positive for coronavirus

June 10, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Department of Mental Health says 102 workers and 51 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus. Four patients have died from complications of the virus.

The department has a collective 9,000 workers and patients.

Acting Deputy Director Debra Walker tells Missourinet 104 of the individuals who tested positive have fully recovered.

102 STAFF
1 – Albany Regional Office
22 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
2 – Center for Behavioral Medicine – Kansas City
29 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
9 – DDTC St. Charles Habilitation Center – St. Charles
3 – Fulton State Hospital – Fulton
1 – Higginsville Habilitation Center
2 – Kansas City Regional Office – Kansas City
2 – Metropolitan STL Psychiatric Center – St. Louis
5 – Northwest Community Services – Marshall
1 – Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center – Farmington
24 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis
1 – St. Louis Regional Office – St. Louis

51 PATIENTS/RESIDENTS
8 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
16 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
6 – DDTC St. Charles Habilitation Center – St. Charles
1 – Metro St. Louis Psychiatric Center
20 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis

4 DEATHS
1 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
2 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
1 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis

Walker says all employees are required to wear masks in patient areas. Patients who have tested positive for the virus are isolated from other patients.

49 mental health workers, 34 patients test positive for coronavirus in Missouri

April 25, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Department of Mental Health says 49 workers and 34 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus. Three St. Louis area patients have died from complications of the virus.

The cases involve a variety of sites. Those listed in bold are psychiatric hospitals.

49 STAFF
1 – St. Louis Regional Office – St. Louis
1 – Kansas City Regional Office – Kansas City
1 – Center for Behavioral Medicine – Kansas City
1 – Fulton State Hospital – Fulton
2 – Metropolitan STL Psychiatric Center – St. Louis
13 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis
13 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis
16 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis
1 – DDTC St. Charles Habilitation Center – St. Charles

34 PATIENTS/RESIDENTS
19 – St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center – St. Louis
8 – Bellefontaine Habilitation Center – St. Louis (including one death)
7 – DDTC South County Habilitation Center – St. Louis (including two deaths)

Department spokeswoman Debra Walker tells Missourinet all employees are required to wear masks in patient areas. Patients who have tested positive for the virus are isolated from other patients.

Missouri Senate panel wraps up work on $5.8 billion coronavirus response plan

April 7, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri Senate committee with a say in the state’s piggy bank has sifted through Gov. Mike Parson’s request for $5.8 billion in extra cash during the current state budget year. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee did the work while some of them donned protective masks and kept their social distance from one another. The committee hearing was live streamed so the surroundings were absent of some staffers, lobbyists, media and members of the public.

The funding plan, which would be used in the state’s response to the coronavirus, includes $5.1 billion in federal funds, $247.5 million in state dollars and $379 million in other funding. When the federal money would come in, exactly how much Missouri would get and if it will be a lump sum or a round of payments is unknown.

Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on April 7, 2020. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the hearing was live streamed and some committee members wore face masks.

Some of the highlights of the request include about $1 billion in federal funds to Missouri communities and $900 million to the Missouri Department of Public Safety to help the state and local governments pay for protective equipment.

During the committee hearing, State Budget Director Dan Haug says the market on personal protective equipment to fight the coronavirus is ridiculous.

“We think a 90-day supply, which would take us through the end of the fiscal year of PPE – the personal protective equipment, is about $150 million,” he says. “That’s very fluid. I will tell you we had an order for PPE for 30 days. It cost us 18 million dollars. A week later, it cost us $40 million.”

Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, says she represents counties with zero personal protective equipment.

“Not for firefighters, not for law enforcement, not for their health care providers – nothing. So, I hope that we have the access to be able to distribute that money around the state and not just two communities only,” says Riddle.

An estimated $600 million would be reserved for temporary hospital sites – roughly $100 million each for three months. Whether or not the state actually needs these places as hospital overflow locations will depend on the severity of the respiratory virus throughout the state. Under the plan, the state would hire 199 full-time equivalent temporary employees to help at these sites.

Another big chunk of cash – $1.5 billion in federal funds – would be for K-12 public schools and $304 million in federal dollars would aid Missouri’s colleges and universities.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health could get $22 million in federal money to help with crisis counseling, suicide prevention programs and individuals with developmental disabilities.

For the Missouri Department of Social Services, the state would provide nearly $334,000 to help with additional nursing care, $528,000 in federal money to help victims of domestic violence and $40 million in federal funding for nursing homes.

Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Missouri nursing homes, specifically about personal protective gear. Eigel, a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus, said they need additional funding and offered an amendment to prioritize $125 million for the care centers. Haug said the amendment would result in cuts to other places in the budget.

Several members voiced support for Eigel’s proposal, including Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville. He cites a nursing home in his district on the brink of closure.

“Possibly within three to four weeks, there’s going to be 100 and some people who will have to relocate. There’s no place for them to go in the area and I just think it’s the wrong thing to do,” says Cunningham. “My concern is where else can we go to get money if we can’t do this. This is a population that definitely needs it.”

Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, left the line open for later discussion.

Hegeman has requested a monthly tracking for lawmakers to know where the money is coming from and how it is being spent. Haug says the state is working on getting this system in place.

The Senate committee has taken the governor’s position in some cases. In other cases, it’s taken the House Budget Committee’s or has come up with its own changes.

The full Senate plans to take up the package on Wednesday. The plan would then move on to the Missouri House of Representatives.

To see the governor’s full list of recommendations, click here.

Coronavirus outbreak expected to increase drug and alcohol addiction in Missouri

April 5, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

COVID-19 related limits have made many Missourians feel cooped up at home. Getting out and staying active serves as an outlet for people, especially those battling drug and alcohol addiction. Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer expects an increase in the number of people who mishandle these substances and who struggle with anxiety and depression problems. He says some of the consequences of the coronavirus can be too much for some people to deal with.

Mark Stringer (Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Mental Health)

“Like people losing their jobs and having mounting debt and being worried about loved ones, things like that that can really push people over the edge and into some either behaviors that cause some problems later or sooner or some sort of mental illness,” he says.

Stringer says Missouri providers continue to work with those struggling with addiction, even though some traditional group meetings and programming are not available during the health crisis.

“They’re doing it by telephone, by telehealth. They’re doing virtual groups, for example – minimally staying in phone contact with the people they serve. For the general public, there are some pretty good online sources of information. Alcoholics Anonymous’ website has got quite a bit of resources,” says Stringer.

Missouri has four Recovery Community Centers – two in St. Louis, one in Kansas City and one in Springfield. They are a peer-based supportive community for individuals with opiate use disorder. While they may not be physically open or have very limited hours of operation, they too are retooling in light of the physical distancing guidance. These centers are offering recovery services over the phone and using online Zoom conferencing or other online tools for access to both local and national supports.

Some are hoping to re-open on a limited basis, as soon as personal protective equipment becomes more available, and will follow all CDC protective and preventative guidelines. Some of these centers continue to provide access to free naloxone – the opioid overdose reversal agent.

Stringer says there’s been about a 15% to 20% increase in the number of calls through the state’s 24/7 general behavioral health crisis hotline. The Access Crisis Intervention hotline – operated by the state’s Community Mental Health Centers – gets about 70,000 calls per year.

“A lot of those were people who are getting mental health or substance misuse disorder services and are concerned about their services continuing and being able to get the medications they need and things like that,” he says. “But then a lot were new callers too, people who weren’t in our system who were just experiencing a lot of stress and related problems because of this situation we are in.”

The ACI line offers online recovery support options: “In the Rooms – Global Recovery Communities,” “Weconnect and Unity Recovery,” and “Smart Recovery”.

The Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare offers a mobile app called MyStrength.

Compass Health Network, a behavioral health organization with sites stretching from western to eastern Missouri, has also created a special Emergency Access Disaster Hotline. If immediate access to services is needed, individuals can call (888) 237-4567 or visit http://compasshealthnetwork.org for more information.

The department’s website also has several online support options for the general public. Click here for other resources the department recommends.

Highlights from today’s press briefing about COVID-19 in Missouri

March 26, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

At least 502 people in Missouri have tested positive for the coronavirus, compared to yesterday’s count of 356. The latest state data shows the age range with the most cases is 50 to 59-year-olds. They have 114, compared to the next leading age group of 20 to 29-year-olds having 88 cases.

During a press conference today, State Health Director Randall Williams says Missouri continues to make changes to better monitor the outbreak.

“We do track negatives. We changed our regulations so that we know we that we have done more than 6,000 tests here in Missouri,” says Williams.

Missouri is currently only testing nursing home and assisted living center residents who show signs of the respiratory disease. Gov. Mike Parson says he would be willing to get everyone in the facilities tested if that was possible.

“As much as I would like to help everyone that could be able to be tested today that wants to be tested, the reality of it is we don’t have the tests,” says Parson. “They don’t have it nationally. So, we have to prioritize who we are going to test and who we are not.”

Parson says priority goes to those out on the front lines, especially healthcare workers, first responders and those with symptoms of the virus.

Missouri has relaxed some requirements to make it easier for truck drivers to deliver essential goods during the coronavirus outbreak. State Transportation Department Director Patrick McKenna says the agency will continue to look for ways to ease the challenges facing its transportation partners during this critical time.

“We’ve relaxed the hours of operation for motor carriers, to give them more flexibility for transporting goods,” says McKenna. “We’ve eased restrictions to allow for heavier than normal truckloads of emergency supplies and equipment to travel on all Missouri highways, including interstates.”

To ensure the continued transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and individuals, the Missouri Department of Revenue has also issued the following extensions in coordination with MoDOT:

• Sixty-day extension of driving privileges: This extension applies to individuals with CDL or non-CDL license expiration dates of March 1, 2020, through April 30, 2020. For example, an individual with a CDL expiring March 1, 2020, will have until May 1, 2020, to complete the required license renewal in their local license office.

• Extension of CDL medical certificates: This extension applies to individuals holding a CDL or CLP with a current medical certificate that has been issued for a period of 90 days or more and has an expiration date of March 1, 2020, through April 30, 2020. These individuals have been granted an extension of their medical certification until June 30, 2020. This relief will give Missouri’s commercial drivers additional time to complete the required medical exam and to submit an updated medical certificate to their local license office so their Missouri driver record can be updated.

• Both of these extensions have been applied automatically, so no additional action is required by eligible drivers to qualify.

McKenna says rest areas around the state are also being cleaned and disinfected on a more frequent basis.

Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) Director Mark Stringer says the agency serves people of all ages with mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Department helps about 170,000 people a year through both institutions and community programs.

To ensure the department’s services continue with as little disruption as possible, it has worked with partners across state government to make it possible for community providers to do much of their work by telephone, rather than the traditional face-to-face requirement. Service providers have also dramatically increased their use of telehealth, and the agency is exploring ways to stay in touch with people who cannot afford cell phones or extra minutes.

For psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centers, DMH has worked with other state departments to share best practices, policies, and procedures during times of crisis. Public visitation is temporarily suspended at all DMH facilities and offices statewide.

Stringer says the Federal Disaster Distress Help Line was created for times like the current coronavirus outbreak. Stringer encouraged citizens struggling to cope with the health crisis to contact the 24/7 hotline.

“It is staffed with mental health professionals who can talk with you and if you need more help than they can provide, they can connect you with services here in Missouri,” says Stringer. “Specially, they can connect you with our Access Crisis Intervention System or ACI.”

Stringer says the ACI, which is free and confidential, is staffed with professionals linked to state certified mental health and substance misuse services.

Click here for the Federal Disaster Distress Help Line. Click here for the Access Crisis Intervention System.