Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Colo. State Mental Hospital In Pueblo Faces Severe Staffing Shortage; Medical College Of Wisconsin Ups Focus On Lack Of Child Psychiatrists
Denver Post: State Mental Hospital In Pueblo Found In 'Immediate Jeopardy' Of Patient Safety, Could Lose Federal Funds
Colorado’s 449-bed mental health hospital in Pueblo has a staffing shortage so severe it poses an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients, say federal authorities who have given the hospital a little more than three weeks to improve before funds are cut off. The hospital for people who are committed by courts or found innocent by reason of insanity was placed on a 23-day “termination track” for failing to comply with federal regulations, the Colorado Department of Human Services said Friday. Investigators who inspected the psychiatric hospital Monday found it did not meet conditions of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Brown, 6/9)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Medical College Of Wisconsin Program Expands Treatment Of Children's Mental Disorders
The Medical College's Child Psychiatry Consultation Program was created to help address a severe shortage of child psychiatrists and now is available in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Ozaukee counties as well as 15 counties in northern Wisconsin... It can take several months to get an appointment with a child psychiatrist, and as long as nine months depending on the severity of the child's condition, [Renee] Szafir said. (Boulton, 6/10)
North Carolina Health News: State Targets Linville Hospital For Expanded Mental Health Services In WNC
State public health officials have announced that the Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital in Linville is the recipient of a $6.5-million grant to expand mental health and substance abuse services at the Avery County facility. The Cannon Hospital, as well as the Duke Life Point Maria Parham Medical Center in Vance County, which was awarded more than $10 million, was given the grant “ to increase the number and availability of inpatient psychiatric and substance use treatment beds in rural hospital beds across the state,” according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Grant applications are being accepted from hospitals in the eastern portion of the state until June 9. (Gebelein, 6/12)
San Antonio Press-Express: State Can Step Up Mental Health Awareness For Jails
In the two years since Bland was found hanged — three days after her arrest — the mental health issues facing criminal defendants prompted numerous studies, reports and, most recently, the passage of the Sandra Bland Act. The bill, awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, requires improved mental health standards in jails and mandates mental health training for law enforcement. (Padilla, 6/9)
Boston Globe: Families Trusted Arbour's Hospital System To Care For Their Relatives. It Systematically Failed Them
The 89-bed hospital in Westwood is one of seven operated by Arbour Health System, which Massachusetts relies on to treat many of its sickest and most fragile mentally ill children and adults... During at least 19 visits to Arbour-operated hospitals since 2013, inspectors found filthy conditions — split, ripped, and stained mattresses, walls covered with food, obscene graffiti, and an overpowering smell of urine in bathrooms. (Kowalczyk, 6/10)
Columbus Dispatch: Child-Porn Victims Often Never Heal, Prosecutors Say
Most child-porn defendants prosecuted in Columbus are from central and southern Ohio. Their victims, however, live everywhere. ... Long-term psychological counseling often is required to deal with consequences, including drug abuse and suicidal tendencies. (Rinehart, 6/12)
