It may be unfortunate that it took an overcrowding crisis at the Montana's State Hospital at Warm Spring to force the state to expand community care, but there's little doubt that more mentally ill patients will be better off because of it.

That's simply because such patients benefit from the proximity of friends and family if they can be treated in their home communities.

The Schweitzer administration is hurrying to contract for about 68 new beds, mostly in Missoula, Great Falls and Helena, at a cost of about $2.3 million over the next 16 months. The money will come from elsewhere in the state's health-care budget. The state also is trying to add or enlarge "crisis stability centers" and drop-in counseling centers with money appropriated by the 2007 Legislature. Treatment at local facilities is significantly cheaper per patient than at Warm Springs.

The state mental hospital is licensed for a maximum of 189 patients, but recently has had an average of 209 patients and has had as many as 224. That's put a strain on the hospital, in part because it also has been understaffed.

At any rate, more beds in Helena surely will be welcomed, as the community has been working to rebuild its ability to deal with mentally ill patients ever since the psych ward at St. Peter's Hospital was closed.

In fact, the state's current push appears to be good news all around: less crowding at Warm Springs, less costs for the state, and treatment near family members for more patients.