San Carlos Park tragedy sparks mental healthcare concerns

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A mother is heartbroken after she says her son, Jeremiah Johnston, shot and killed his wife then himself in San Carlos Park on Friday.

Tammy Rawson says her son was treated for paranoid schizophrenia at SalusCare located on Evans Avenue.

She says Friday’s tragedy is another example of the state’s mental health system failing a patient.

“The mental health system in this state let another mentally ill person down. They let him down.”

The question on many people’s minds is, could the tragic shooting have been avoided if Johnston got the care he needed? WINK News investigated Rawson’s concerns about Florida’s mental healthcare system and found some startling statistics.

“As much as he’s been Baker Acted and as much times as he’s been to SalusCare, you’d think they’d have done a better job of his medication. You’d think they would’ve asked more questions,” said Rawson.

Kevin Lewis is the CEO of SalusCare, Southwest Florida’s largest provider of mental healthcare.

“It’s a tragedy that impacts staff, it impacts all of us here that do this work. We’re incredibly sad and devastated when these types of things occur,” said Lewis.

Lewis wasn’t able to comment on Johnston’s treatment, but he did talk about a severe lack of mental healthcare funding seen everywhere in Florida.

“The national average is around $120 per person and Florida funds it around $39 per person.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, that places Florida 48th in the country in mental healthcare funding.

Lewis says clinics are under resourced and sometimes patients in their crisis unit have to wait 2-3 months for admission to a hospital.

“Incredibly frustrating for staff involved, it’s frustrating for families, it’s frustrating for patients,” said Lewis.

“It’s not acceptable, so I want to make sure that we change that,” said State Representative Heather Fitzenhagen.

She calls it a “black eye” for Florida and says it’s a goal of hers to continue to fight for more funding.

“Mental health is equally as important as physical health, and if we don’t address the mental health problem that we have in our community and in our state, the default for that is tragic instances like just occurred,” said Fitzenhagen.

Fitzenhagen says with Florida’s recent budget concerns, especially when it comes to healthcare, it won’t be an easy task.

State Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto says she will also continue pushing for increased funding.