Money from the sale of the old State Hospital should be dedicated to bolstering state psychiatric facilities.

The state is going to sell a big piece of property -- the old S.C. State Hospital in Columbia for severely mentally ill patients. It's only fitting that money from that sale go toward caring for the mentally ill at the state's three other psychiatric facilities.

A problem, however, is that some of the estimated $30 million to $35 million to be gained from the sale may be siphoned off for other state expenses that have nothing to do with the original purpose of the State Hospital. State lawmakers should make sure the money is dedicated to its rightful use -- helping the mentally ill by improving the state's remaining psychiatric hospitals.

Directing the money to the three existing hospitals is particularly appropriate given that they've filled the big gap left by the closure of the State Hospital in 2002. The two short-term psychiatric facilities -- Patrick B. Harris and G. Werber Bryan hospitals -- have assumed responsibility for the long-term patients who formerly would have been treated at the State Hospital.

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In addition, as advocates for the mentally ill point out, the aging short-term facilities have some dire needs: Patrick B. Harris, located in Anderson, needs a new roof, which will cost $3 million. Air conditioning systems are old and need upgrading. Patient furniture -- beds, chairs, tables and other items -- constantly need repair or replacement.

Even the fire alarm systems at the facilities are outdated. Adequately maintaining the facilities is important to ensure the safety of patients and staff and a high level of care for the mentally ill.

When the State Hospital closed, that placed a huge burden on the state's two short-term facilities. Long-term patients -- those with the most severe illnesses, requiring more than 90 days of treatment -- were transferred to the two short-term hospitals. Half of all patients at these hospitals currently are long-term patients.

The two hospitals are operating at capacity -- with long waiting lists. People needing immediate help cannot be taken to the short-term facilities, so they often wind up waiting in hospital emergency rooms -- for days or even weeks. That slows down emergency services for others.

In addition, it's extremely inefficient and costly to use emergency rooms to treat the mentally ill. At the state's jail for psychiatric patients, the mentally ill wait in jail cells for an acute-care bed.

The state Legislature has set aside money this year to provide 99 new beds for mentally ill patients at the short-term hospitals. That's a good step toward filling the gap left by the closure of the State Hospital. But the short-term facilities still will have substantial capital needs -- needs that should be filled with proceeds from the sale of the State Hospital.