Thanks to the oversight of Merit Health River Region’s out-of-state parent company, Warren County is the latest in a string of health care casualties plaguing the state this year.

Sure, looking at the distance between River Region and Merit Health Central in Jackson on a map might make “consolidation” of these services seem like a logical idea for the Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems. But when one considers the strain this puts on Mississippi’s already crippled mental health care system, this decision couldn’t have come at a worse time.

With St. Dominic’s in Jackson closing its mental health unit and firing its staff and the closure of River Region’s Vicksburg-based behavioral health unit on June 30, patients in need of mental health services are essentially forced to be funneled to Merit Health Central. And from what we’ve seen and heard from officials, Central can’t handle the influx of patients.

Merit Health River Region is just that — a regional hospital. By eliminating this essential component of its health care offerings, Community Health Systems not only hurt Vicksburg and Warren County residents but also people in nearby Claiborne, Sharkey and Issaquena counties.

That’s an estimated 60,000 people who now have to travel a minimum of 35 miles to access inpatient mental health services.

At the county government level, the procedure for mental health commitments has been pushed to the hilt, with our chancery clerk being forced to run a mini admissions clinic and scramble to help those in need find placements in care facilities and get stabilized. That’s not a long-term solution for any party involved.

While this change was reportedly made in the name of “consolidation,” as the hospital system said in a statement, it doesn’t take much to read between the lines. It’s cheaper to staff one facility than it is to maintain separate facilities in multiple communities. While it’s been said that closing River Region’s behavioral health unit was a “business decision,” it’s a shame that the well-being and quality of life for people in our area wasn’t important enough to justify keeping the Vicksburg facility open.

Now, public officials have to invest their time and resources in resolving the problems caused by the closure, and individuals and families suffering from mental or behavioral health issues are facing even more challenges in their efforts to get help.

Getting access to much-needed health care shouldn’t be an ever-increasing burden for the citizens of Vicksburg and Warren County or for the citizens of the state at large.