Fifty years ago, the same could be said about cancer. Decades of research and education have created higher standards of care -- and compassion - for those illnesses. It's time to apply the same standards to the treatment of mental illness.

The chaotic state of mental health care in North Carolina is destroying lives. Most disturbing are the stories of young people in our communities with acute psychosis, a possible symptom of schizophrenia. Psychosis is scary, but it's treatable. And, if caught early, many young adults with the condition can return to daily life with little to no interruption.

But the poor and uninsured have little hope of finding care. Intense shame keeps others from seeking treatment. Either way, bodies and minds deteriorate and local communities bear the burden for those who have little hope of recovery.

This chaos also wears on our mental health care workers. A friend in the Crisis Service at UNC Health Care speaks of compassion fatigue and a level of intensity in her work that far surpasses any she has ever experienced.

Front-line workers live with increased demands and significant pay cuts and furloughs. They live in fear of agency closings or layoffs.

I believe we can do better. We are capable of giving mental illness the same respect and attention we give other chronic illnesses. We have the wherewithal to guarantee that the most severely ill get basic, effective care.

Here are some effective, affordable ways we can help:

Simplify the process people with a major mental illness must go through to get treatment. For what major physical disease would we expect someone to complete a 13-page form before they receive care?

Re-establish and adequately fund public mental health clinics in every community in North Carolina. The shift to private service providers has left no safety net for the uninsured or difficult to treat.

Ensure people with severe mental illness have access to long-term, flexible, community-based recovery services so they can return to work, school or other meaningful activities.

For years, the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine has offered successful specialized treatment programs to people with mental illness. We have trained generations of community mental health professionals. We know what works. To better serve the state as it grapples with establishing a new level of care, the department has launched the Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health.

Under the leadership of Dr. John Gilmore, and with funding from The Duke Endowment, the Foundation of Hope and the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, Center staff works with experts from across the university to identify what communities need to care for those with mental illness. We work with policy makers and service providers to improve treatment. And we share what we're learning with colleagues across the state.

An example of the latter is our upcoming STEP symposium on Saturday at the Friday Center. Center staff will share the latest information about psychopharmacology, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family work and clinical case management - and how it can all work together to improve lives.

I have had the honor to work with remarkable and courageous individuals with schizophrenia. Several people I have worked with have died. Their ghosts stay with me; they should not have died so young or suffered so much. It doesn't have to stay this way. We can do more. Here at the Center for Excellence, we are determined to make it happen.