Number
180201
Version
ORIGINAL
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. RAINEY AND STAMPER,
Title
Resolution urging Milwaukee County and Ascension Wisconsin to work together to relocate the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division to the Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph Campus.
Analysis
This resolution urges Milwaukee County and Ascension Wisconsin to work together to relocate all or a portion of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division to the Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph Campus.
Body
Whereas, The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, estimates that, in Milwaukee County, there are 32,901 adults with a serious mental illness, 34,969 children with any degree of mental illness, and 18,317 children with a serious emotional disorder; and
Whereas, According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, in 2015, 9,185 individuals in Milwaukee County were hospitalized for a mental disorder, including 2,245 children; and
Whereas, Evidence has shown that childhood trauma is associated with poor mental, physical and social outcomes as adults, and that adults having experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences in their lifetime are at an even greater risk for such negative outcomes; and
Whereas, According to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment, 21% of adults in Milwaukee face risks of negative outcomes from repeated adverse childhood experiences; and
Whereas, The Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division provides care and treatment to adults, children, and adolescents with mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual disabilities through both County-operated programs and contracts with community agencies; and
Whereas, The Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division currently operates facilities at 9455 W. Watertown Plank Road, on the city’s far West Side; and
Whereas, The Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph Campus, located at 5000 W. Chambers Street, near the Sherman Park neighborhood, has been an important healthcare provider in Milwaukee for over 130 years; and
Whereas, Ascension Wisconsin recently announced plans to withdraw operations from a portion of St. Joseph’s one million square foot campus; and
Whereas, Relocating all or a portion of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division to the more-centrally located St. Joseph Campus would bring behavioral health services closer to residents of challenged surrounding neighborhoods, including Sherman Park; and
Whereas, Relocating all or a portion of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division to the St. Joseph Campus would help prevent the development of a health-care desert in the area; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that Milwaukee County and Ascension Wisconsin are urged to work together to relocate all or a portion of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division to the Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph Campus.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB171192-1
Dana J. Zelazny
May 8, 2018