By Jill Fennema –

Last week Tuesday, Pipestone County voted to opt out of their agreement with Southwest Mental Health (SWMH). Three weeks ago, Luke Comeau, the SWMH Director, asked the board for an additional $225,000 over and above the $200,000 the county already budgets yearly for SWMH.

Last week, the Rock County board also voted to withdraw from SWMH. Both Rock and Pipestone have had a service agreement with SWMH for decades. The funding they provide goes through Southwest Health and Human Services (SWHHS), which refers people to places like SWMH for private counseling services.

In 2022, Pipestone and Rock counties each contributed approximately $200,000 to SWMH through SWHHS. Three weeks ago, Comeau requested that the funding for 2023 be increased to $850,000 total for both counties, or an additional $225,000 per county.

With the additional monetary requests SWMH had put forward earlier this month, and loss of services, the board needed to make a decision on their membership.

“We have been left high and dry. They pulled out of the county, ” Board Chairman Les Nath said, referring to the fact that SWMH closed their Pipestone office last year and anyone from the county wishing to use their services had to meet with a counselor or psychiatrist using telemedicine (by phone or by Zoom meeting) or drive to Luverne or Worthington, where they have physical locations.

The board voted unanimously to leave SWMH effective December 31, 2022, and work towards serving the people of the county with other providers.

Beth Wilms with SWHHS has been meeting with the county board. She has indicated that Western Mental Health out of Marshall will be willing to serve customers in Pipestone County. She also has contacts with two new providers in the county.

The board members commented that if other counties also opt out, SWMH could be dissolved and they could potentially get their initial investment back.

SWMH is a private, non-profit agency. It was established in 1959 by Cottonwood, Jackson, Nobles, Pipestone, and Rock counties.

When asked about the fact that commissioners had voted to end their affiliation with SWMH, Comeau commented, “High healthcare costs, due to the shortage of mental health professionals and general inflation, has forced many changes upon mental health providers and also presents challenges for counties to find ways to fund these services,” he said.

“Pipestone County and Southwestern Mental Health are committed to working together to ensure that the needs of Pipestone County residents continue to be met.  Over the next four months, discussions will center on how to best transition the care of patients as smoothly as possible.”