FLEMING ISLAND – When the 2024 Florida Legislative Session wrapped up in March, Rep. Sam Garrison (R-Fleming Island) reflected and recapped the time at the Capitol in an interview with Clay Today.

This year, healthcare, specifically behavioral health, was a major focal point in Tallahassee.

Garrison, who is Chairman of the Health Care Appropriations, sponsored HB 1617. If signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the bill would fund at least $300 million in grant funding over three years to behavioral health teaching hospitals.

Garrison was humble when asked about his bill. He said it was a partnership with Sen. President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), who encouraged the companion bill in the Florida Senate.

“It was Sen. President Passidomo’s brainchild,” he said.

Passidomo has spearheaded the “Live Healthy” proposal to increase the number of doctors in the state and expand access to health care. This is a tenant that Garrison believes in as well, and one that he has applied to the burgeoning, gloomy mental health crisis in the Sunshine State.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health challenges. Nearly 2.9 million adults have a mental health condition. Nearly 800,000 adults in Florida did not receive mental health care, with nearly half citing health care costs as the reason.

The companion bills in the House and the Senate aim to address the growing mental health crisis by granting university hospitals funding to give mental health care to patients in the state hospital system.

The four behavioral health teaching hospitals that currently qualify are USF Tampa General, UM Jackson Memorial, UF Health Jacksonville and UF Shands Gainesville. Garrison is hopeful that the program will be expanded to include Florida State University College of Medicine.

It would give healthcare to patients who need it. It would train aspiring medical professionals. It would relieve the burden placed upon Florida’s state hospitals.

Garrison calls it “a triple win.”

The goal is to address what Garrison calls the “Doctor’s Cliff,” a demographic phenomenon in Florida where physicians are retiring faster than population growth.

The idea is to make Florida a top destination for aspiring physicians, physician assistants, nurses and other healthcare workers. With the added bonus of making our state healthy.

The representative explained why the mental health crisis is his No. 1 legislative concern.

“Talk to anyone – old, young, male, female. Talk to folks and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone not touched by this issue,” Garrison said.

It manifests in various ways, he said.

“Substance abuse is rampant. Opioids. Alcohol. You don’t have to look far.”

He continued.

“We have an emerging challenge and want to be on the cutting edge.”

Now back home, Garrison is pleased with how the legislation session turned out, especially for Clay County.  He says the partnership between legislative delegations and local governments sets the county apart.

“This was a great year for Clay County. The county government has been great partner. Clay Day helps hammer home the message. The county has earned a favorable reputation in Tallahassee.”

The county was able to reel in millions of dollars of state funding for roads, trails and other infrastructure needs. The needs were made apparent during the Clay Day celebration, during which requested legislative requests were bundled with boxes of Sweet Sensation cookies to “sweeten” the pitch.

How could a representative resist?