As I have previously reported in a KellyGram, I am proud to serve on the MIRCI Board and given the Mike Kelly Law Group’s involvement in mental health issues through Disability, Personal Injury, and Workers Compensation, their mission is right up our alley!

I received the recent most Newsletter from MIRCI, and it explained how a South Carolina state agency had performed a detailed study of the costs savings that MIRCI saves our healthcare system in South Carolina. The 2022 study shows the following reductions to healthcare costs:

• Hospitalizations decreased by 41% the year after starting MIRCI services.

• Hospitalizations related to mental illness or substance use disorder decreased by 69% after starting MIRCI services.
• Emergency room visits where mental illness and substance abuse were the primary reason for the visit decreasing by 56%.
• Schizophrenic disorder, the most common reason for mental illness visits to the emergency room, dropped by 56%.
• Considering all hospital services combined (inpatient general, inpatient specialty and emergency department visits), total charges for services in the year following MIRCI enrollment were almost $5.7 million less than charges for services in the year prior to MIRCI enrollment.

MIRCI, led by Executive Director Julie Ann Avin told me that even during the pandemic these results affirm the quality of the mental healthcare MIRCI critical teams provide. Keeping people in their homes is so much preferred over hospitalization and it saves the healthcare system big money!

If you are looking for an opportunity to be involved as a volunteer or to donate to a worthy non-profit organization, then I highly recommend MIRCI. I know firsthand that mental illness is a devastating condition that affects your loved one and their families. MIRCI’s mission is truly divine, and I support it 1000%!