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Volume5 - Number 1 January/February 1999
photo: Mental Health Planning Executive Committee.

Mental Health Planning Executive Committee

Mental Health Planning Council
Executive Committee Elects Officers

Members of the Tennessee Mental Health Planning Council recently elected officers to head its executive committee for 1998-99.

The council, comprised of a group of professional and lay persons, advises the DMHMR of the needs of persons with mental illness.

The council has 56 voting members of which 51 percent must be consumers or family members.

The council and its executive committee monitors, reviews and evaluates the allocation and adequacy of services within the state.

George Haley of Nashville, former president of NAMI Tennessee is council president and Robert Benning, chief executive officer of Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital in Oak Ridge, is vice president. They are assisted by co-secretaries Joan Lanier of Dyersburg and Sita Diehl of Nashville.

The executive committee also includes the chair from each of the state's seven regional planning councils and three at-large members. They are:

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Region I-Ron Harrington, senior vice president, Frontier Health, Johnson City.

Region II-Benning.

Region III - Bobby Freeman, Ph D., chief executive officer and president, Volunteer Behavioral Health, Cookeville.

Region IV-Elliott Garrett, director, Adult Mental Health and Alcohol & Drug Services, Dede Wallace Center (Centerstone) Madison. Region V-Katrina Gay, southeast representative for NAMI.

Region VI-Bonnie Rice, Carey Counseling Center, Trenton.

Region VII-Deborah Farrell, executive director, NAMI Memphis.

At-large members include Lee Cochran of Memphis, Paula Stockdale of Paris (director of the BRIDGES Program for Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association) and Linda Blackburn, Pathways, Jackson.

The council has seven special support committees and the TennCare Partners Roundtable.

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Revision Commission Considers Changes; Adds New Members

Finance and Administration Commissioner John Ferguson commended the Title 33 Revision Commission at it's first meeting in November for its efforts to recommend revisions in laws which govern the delivery of services to persons with mental illness, mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

Speaking on behalf of Governor Don Sundquist, the commissioner encouraged the group to construct the recommendations as if there were no controlling interests other than the law.

The commission has until January 1, 2000 to consider revisions which support the availability of and access to services and protection of the rights of individuals. Such relevant areas as services for children and laws governing the provision of alcohol and drug services are also included.

Other laws which affect people with mental illness or developmental disabilities including the established mission, vision, values and principles guiding both systems will also be considered.

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Governor Sundquist also appointed two new members to the commission. They are Irene Russell of Surgoinsville, executive director of the TN Mental Health Consumers' Association and Bonita Scott of Lexington, an active member of People First, a self-advocacy organization dedicated to promoting opportunities for people with mental retardation.

The governor also added two new ex-officio members. They are Dr. Stephanie White-Perry, assistant commissioner of the Department of Health's Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services and George Hattaway, commissioner of the Department of Children's Services. The commission plans to meet monthly or as needed. Committee meetings and public hearings are to be part of the process.
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