Oregon Has Botched Efforts To Move Patients Out Of Restrictive Psychiatric Facilities, Investigation Finds
The Oregonian/OregonLive launched an investigation into the Oregon Health Authority's management of moving patients out of specialized care. Chris Bouneff, director of Oregon’s branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said the newsroom’s findings are “disturbing.” “We don’t have many others who look after us,” Bouneff said of people with severe mental illness. “And if that state agency can’t do it, and it didn’t do it in this instance, who can we trust?”
The Oregonian:
Kicked To The Curb: How The State Failed Fragile Mentally Ill Oregonians
Mary’s guardian all but predicted the suicide attempt. Mary, 67, had lived for six years at a locked facility in Medford, where she received close supervision from trained staff for her schizoaffective disorder. But last year, the state of Oregon said Mary no longer needed such intensive care and must move out. The guardian worried Mary, who had a long history of suicide attempts, would fall apart without safeguards. She pleaded with health officials to keep a close watch over Mary, whose full name is not being published to maintain her privacy. (Zarkhin, 6/22)
In other mental health news —
Modern Healthcare:
Health Insurers Lend A Hand To Lonely Patients
Five hundred Facebook friends are no substitute for face-to-face interactions, but many people today are swapping digital connections for tangible ones. That's partly why about a fifth of Americans struggle with feeling lonely, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday. Speaking at the AHIP Institute & Expo in Nashville, Tenn., Murthy explained that lonely people live shorter lives and are more at risk for chronic illnesses like heart disease, depression, and dementia. (Livingston, 6/21)
KQED:
Lack Of Central Leadership Is Complicating Treatment For Mental Illness In California
In California, geography creates significant barriers to people getting early psychosis treatment, as it does for array of other evidence-based mental health treatments. That’s partly because California’s 58 counties have 58 different public mental health programs, each with their own set of covered services. (Wiener, 6/23)
