Despite Ongoing Investigation, South Carolina State Hospital Retains Current Discharge Policy for Patients With Mental Illness

Although the South Carolina Department of Mental Health has "pledge[d]" to closely review patients "poised for release" from S.C. State Hospital, staffers at the facility have been told that they may continue to discharge patients without first having them live outside the facility on a "trial" basis, the Columbia State reports. Trial runs are used to "gauge the readiness" of mentally ill patients to move from inpatient care at the hospital into the community and to adhere to medication regimens. Those on trial runs are issued a "pass" to live outside the facility for a certain time period, generally 30 days. State Hospital Director Dr. Jaime Condom has informed hospital employees that they may continue to use discretion in deciding which patients should complete a trial pass prior to discharge. "[N]ot all patients need a 30-day pass. Some patients may need more than that, some people may need two weeks, and some patients need no passes at all -- they can be directly discharged," Condom said. However, Jack Luadzers, chief psychologist at the facility, has said that the pass policy amounts to "fast tracking" discharges in order to cut costs. "It is simply a way of getting patients out of here. It's mandatory. And it's without proper treatment interventions in the community," he added (Winiarski, Columbia State, 6/11). Last month, the State Law Enforcement Division launched an investigation into allegations that the hospital had released patients to meet budget cut demands, following Luadzers' complaints that "rapists, murderers and other potentially dangerous patients were being prematurely released." Luadzers' charges prompted state mental health department officials to propose a plan that would require doctors at State Hospital to "complete a checklist that clearly explains the behavioral history of all patients awaiting release" before discharging them (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/5). State Department of Mental Health Director George Gintoli says the discharge policy does not affect his new plan, prompted by Luadzers' concerns, to "specially review" patients with violent pasts before they are released. And Condom said that the hospital has "put a stop to any type of discharges of any patients that have legal issues" (Columbia State, 6/11).