More than a third of state-run psychiatric hospital beds are empty because of staffing shortages. State lawmakers are now being asked to look again at pay increases to recruit more healthcare workers.
About 30 percent of the positions in state psychiatric facilities are vacant, resulting in more temporary workers and fewer patients getting treatment. Workers there got pay raises and bonuses last year, resulting in a lower turnover rate.
But Mark Benton of the Department of Health and Human Services says more needs to be done.
"We're left with, still, challenges around competitive pay. We are not seeking, nor asking, that we match dollar for dollar for perhaps what Duke hospital may pay one of their nurses or physicians and other staff, but we very much need to be in the ballpark. And where we are is in one of the outlying parking lots," Benton said.
State health officials also told lawmakers that North Carolina ranks 38th in the country for access to mental health care, and that all but 6 of the state's 100 counties have a shortage of mental health professionals