Rhode Island Mental Health Department Advocates Changes in Mental Health System

Mental health providers should be paid more, be credentialed faster and "develop programs that would be alternatives to stays in psychiatric hospitals," according to some of the early findings of an assessment by Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals Director A. Kathryn Power. In the last year, Rhode Island has experienced a "surge" in the number of residents seeking hospitalization for mental health problems. Last April, every one of the state's psychiatric wards reached capacity -- which resulted in the transfer of patients experiencing "psychiatric crisis" from hospital emergency rooms to Eleanor Slater Hospital, the state-run long term care hospital. Because of the overflow, the hospital ended up shutting its doors, and a court order was necessary to force the hospital to reopen. The situation prompted Power to ask mental health providers and advocates to "analyze the underlying problems" with the state's mental health system, which they identified as: lack of controls on how long and often patients are hospitalized; a bed shortage; an outpatient services shortage; and a lack of alternatives to hospitalization. During an Aug. 7 news conference, Power said she would like to work with the state Health Department "to influence" private insurance companies to devise a "better-organized system" for Rhode Islanders with mental health problems. The committees Power assembled also are considering working with the health department to speed the credentialing process for mental health providers; persuading insurance companies to raise reimbursement rates; advocating reimbursement schedules to "pay for modalities of care," hospital stays and weekly therapist visits; and altering a current policy that requires a patient with private insurance to stay 90 days in a private hospital before qualifying for a bed at Eleanor Slater hospital (Freyer, Providence Journal, 8/9). For further information on state health policy in Rhode Island, visit State Health Facts Online.