A big concern with plans to close Mayview State Hospital by the end of the year is whether adequate services will be provided for patients who leave the isolated, 335-acre site and move into neighborhood facilities.

State Rep. Dan Frankel has introduced a bill that offers some help because it would direct the money made from the sale of state-owned facilities for those with mental illness or mental retardation to go into community funds for such services. Mayview's closing was the motivation for the bill.

House Bill 1448 offers a good solution, and advocates for people with mental illness said so during a public meeting last week.

The state Department of Public Welfare has been downsizing Mayview for months. Late last year, moves were temporarily halted following the deaths of two former patients -- one who jumped or fell from the Birmingham Bridge and another who was struck by a train. More recently, a former patient wandered away two days after he moved from Mayview and he was found in New Jersey.

Clearly, more resources could be used to good effect for integrating former patients into the community, and the South Fayette property is estimated to be worth at least $2 million.

Currently, the bill is being held up by amendments, but Mr. Frankel has said he hopes to negotiate through those measures this summer so action can come in the fall. This common-sense bill deserves quick passage.