Medical Malpractice

State Mental Hospitals?

We used to have them in Florida but evidently funding was depleted so most of the mentally ill have landed on the street -- well, maybe not most -- some have family who can still deal with it. Mental illness is very very serious. BECAUSE these hospitals had to shut down, the mentally ill living on the street come to the hospital where I work (some daily and some swallow things like razors, etc. just to get help) and of course, we do not and will not turn them away. BUT the government has to pay the tab (yes, meaning we do).....so what is the difference first of all? It seems that it would cost less to house them and care for them in a facility rather than the ER on an almost daily basis. Where do you live and do you have State Hospitals? I don't mean a place you get placed for 3 days....I mean a living facility for these poor folks. My heart goes out to them.

Public Comments

1. Texas has state hospitals-I am in IL, and we have other mental hospitals, but IDK about state hospitals
2. I live in GA, we have state run crisis centers, but not long term centers that I am aware of. If we have them, they certainly don't advertise them.
3. I absolutely agree with you on this. I have wondered myself where all the state run mental institutions have gone. Society had such a poor image of them..and apparently President Reagan had quite a lot to do with them disappearing. I just want to point out here that a documentary aired on tv not too long ago made a reference that our prisons are turning into the new mental hospitals of today, because so many mentally ill people are out on the streets and unfortunately, committing crimes. I am attaching this segment from www.rooksrant.com: The gutting of public mental health services began with Reagan, first in California where he closed state-funded mental health facilities. As president he cut aid for federally-funded community-run mental health programs. The result: thousands of more homeless people in California and nationwide and a spike in the prison population. The New York Times recently reported that despite a rapid rise in the suicide rate in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city has half of its psychiatrists, social workers and mental health care workers. I remember when the policies of Ronald Reagan began impacting Minnesota. I had just sobered up during the final stages of shuttering the Minnesota State Hospital system. The people I knew who worked in government jobs, mainly social workers, and the counselors in the addiction field, complained loudly that the services for the people they helped were suddenly, and unceremoniously, cut. Throughout my career as a chemical dependency counselor I have watched helplessly as people were thrown in jail and prison for behaviors associated with their mental illness and addiction. These people were not criminals. If they were treated for their mental illness, or their addictions, they would not commit the crimes that put them in jail. And usually, the amount of services, and time spent in the facilities now closed down, were shorter, and of less cost then the time, and costs, of jail. Today, instead of the reduced costs of treatment and housing in the State Hospital systems, they are housed, and not treated, in a far more expensive prison system. So, after being "rehabilitated" in prison, they are released into a society they are not capable of navigating, resort to their old behaviors, and are returned to jail or prison. As a result, they are a more costly economic strain on society.
4. I am in Md, and there are state hospital here but are hours away because of living in a small town. I agree mental illness is a serious issue, i have family members who struggle with it. Those poor folks are just like everyone else, but there problems are inside and aren't helped by putting a bandaid over the problem like a physical hurt. But unfortunately that's what it seems like mental health proffessionals always want to do instead of getting to the real issues. This is my opinion from what my family has delt with. It actually does cost more to have a facility because they have to have trained & proffessional workers to staff the facilities, as well as the cost of other building ezpenses. And that seems to be the biggest problem, finding adequite staff. Of course, alot of the mental health services availabe& quality of them depend on if the funds are available in your county to even provide them. I wouldn't mind if my tax dollars went to fund a good psychiatric/mental health facility that I knew was really helping individuals out there, because at least I'd know my money was helping those who really need it instead of it being wasted on unneccessary things. Its sad when people have to resort to these extreme measures, just to get help, but its a reality that happens all the time, because the system won't step up to its responsibilities. Nothings going to happen until people step up to make things happen(along with the $) to fund these programs,etc. Then again, a mental hospital isn't always the answer, if its idea of help is putting everyone away from the rest of society.