The Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, with a history going back 138 years to its beginning in 1879, faces a road ahead that would benefit by how two key staffing challenges are met.

One of the challenges is to get the Colorado Legislature’s approval of Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget request for salary increases of $13 million in 2018 and $26 million in 2019 for state-run patient-care facilities – notably including CMHIP. Another challenge is to hire a strong, committed leader as CMHIP’s next superintendent.

Robert Werthwein, the state Department of Human Services director of behavioral health, said the raises would amount to about 20 percent over two years and essentially match the raises already given to about 200 CMHIP nurses. Nurses’ raises already have been approved by the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.