Winneshiek Medical Center officials praise KCRG-TV story about Iowa's mental health system

When KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids wanted to profile the problems being experienced by people using Iowa's mental health program, they came to Decorah.  The resulting story,  http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/mentally-ill-wait-as-hospitals-struggle-to-find-available-beds-20150223, is being praised by members of the Winneshiek Medical Center Board of Trustees and administration, who admit it's often difficult for people in this part of the state to get the care they need for a loved one.
 
KCRG's story included an interview with Angela Gullickson of Decorah, who waited nine hours in the emergency room of Winneshiek Medical Center last summer as hospital staff called across the state, trying to find an open bed for Gullickson's angry 7-year-old whose "oppositional defiant disorder" and "reactive attachment disorder" makes him want to hurt himself or others. The hospital staff found a bed in Council Bluffs, which is more than a five hour drive.  Gullickson was planning to hit the road with her son when the Council Bluffs hospital called to say the bed had been taken.  Gullickson then had to take her son home.
 
WMC Board member Judith Robinson was among the people praising the report, saying "proximity and immediacy" are important in getting treatment for people with mental illnesses—and sending someone almost six hours away, of course, does not fit those categories.