**MEDIA ADVISORY**
THURSDAY: Iowa Democratic Party Chair Discuss Reynolds’ Mental Health Crisis with Grinnell Community
This Thursday, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price will be travelling to Grinnell to talk to members of the community that have been affected by Reynolds’ grave mismanagement of Iowa’s mental health system.
Kim Reynolds has cut $4.3 million from Iowa’s Department of Human Services, the department that manages mental health services. These cuts come as Reynolds’ privatized Medicaid mess has forced mental health facilities to close, cutting off access to mental health care for thousands of Iowans, particularly affecting those in rural communities.
Under the Reynolds-Branstad administration, fourteen medical and mental health facilities have been shut down due to lack of funding from the state and private health insurers. Five of these facilities were closed due to a lack of funding from Reynolds’ disastrous privatized Medicaid program, including the Central Iowa Family Planning Clinic, which served nearly two thousand patients.
In one instance, three long term patients in a Clarinda hospital died after having to be transferred because the facility was closed.
According to a report from the Treatment Advocacy Center, Iowa only has 64 mental health beds for adults, putting us dead last in the nation for emergency mental health services.
Iowans deserve a Governor who will prioritize their health and wellbeing over corporation and campaign donors; it is clear Kim Reynolds is not that Governor.
Members of the press who are interested in attending the event with Troy Price should RSVP to Sydney McDevitt at smcdevitt@iowademocrats.org.
POWESHIEK COUNTY
WHO: Troy Price and Members of Grinnell Community
WHAT: Mental Health Roundtable
WHEN: Thursday, September 20 1:30 PM
WHERE: Poweshiek County Dems Office, 928 Main St, Grinnell, IA