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Changes Coming In 2025 To Iowa’s Mental Health System

December 24, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– Some big changes are coming in 2025 to a system that delivers mental health services in Iowa. Dickinson County Supervisor Kim Wermersen is currently Chairman of the board of directors of the Sioux Rivers Mental Health Region, which oversees mental health services in a number of counties in the region. Wermersen says the state plans to merge and realign the regions in 2025. He says Dickinson and Emmet counties will be going to a new district to the east, while the other counties currently in the Sioux Rivers region will transition west. Wermersen told the Board of Supervisors Monday the governing board of the Sioux Rivers Mental Health Region discussed the changes at a recent meeting…

“We did discuss at length, too, the new leadership. It’s going to be primary care for the entire state, so there are not going to be district separations any more, it’s going to be one leader for all of that. We also discussed the transition. We’ll start that in January obviously and how that’s going to affect all of our counties. It will have an impact. Everything it sounds like will be run, for us, out of Fort Dodge or maybe Des Moines, so it’s going to be different.”

Officials have also expressing concern the changes may result in additional red tape, possibly causing delays in getting services to those who need them. Wermersen gave his update at a recent Dickinson County Board of Supervisors meeting.

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