Update on Behavioral Health as Presented to the Deed’s Commission
April 20, 2021
The Deed’s Commission, which is the only group in the the Legislative arena devoted to behavioral health issues, met today with a robust agenda. I have attached below two of the presentations, one on Budget Issues and one from DMAS. There is more information available which can be accessed here.
DBHDS gave a detailed presentation which covered the State Hospital Census Issue and some DBHDS Key Initiatives for 2021. The Hospital census is still a problem; I was interested, however, that in the description of individuals who are on the exceptional barriers to discharge list (ready for discharge for 14 days or more) there were individuals who were not readily admitted to an assisted living facility because of the frequency of the episodes of aggression, the complexity of the care required, or the amount of medication prescribed. In the same conversation, there was a fair description of the funding (or lack thereof) to support individuals in an assisted living environment. It is not unreasonable, therefore, that the available options in the community are not meeting the need!
The Sheriff’s Association gave a detailed presentation on the toll that the delays in hospital admissions takes on the Deputies – one individual who remained in the ER waiting for a bed for 90 hours (mostly handcuffed to a bed rail); while they must represent their own interests, I wish that someone had looked at the issue from the in patient’s point of view!
Budget Issues