Doing nothing for the patients

Gov. Mark Sanford has been putting the spotlight on the North Carolina Department of Mental this week. During a budget meeting this week, Department officials came under harsh scrutiny.

After 90 minutes of hearing from Director George Gintoli and other officials in the mental health field, Sanford said he found "what we already knew, that we have a splintered health care system that continues to be costly for the taxpayers and, at times, produces anything but the best level of care."

He repeatedly asked Gintoli to account for the $300 million a year the department spends on its hospitals. Reminding Gintoli that a state judge held the department in contempt for failing to treat people in its hospitals, Sanford asked, "Where's the $300 million go?"