Nevada buses hundreds of mentally ill patients to cities around country

[douglas9]

Over the past five years, Nevada's primary state psychiatric hospital has put hundreds of mentally ill patients on Greyhound buses and sent them to cities and towns across America.

Since July 2008, Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas has transported more than 1,500 patients to other cities via Greyhound bus, sending at least one person to every state in the continental United States, according to a Bee review of bus receipts kept by Nevada's mental health division.

About a third of those patients were dispatched to California, including more than 200 to Los Angeles County, about 70 to San Diego County and 19 to the city of Sacramento.

In recent years, as Nevada has slashed funding for mental health services, the number of mentally ill patients being bused out of southern Nevada has steadily risen, growing 66 percent from 2009 to 2012. During that same period, the hospital has dispersed those patients to an ever-increasing number of states.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/14/5340078/nevada-buses-hundreds-of-mentally.html

[raccoon]

1. I've heard this called "Greyhound therapy." Probably Nevada isn't the only state doing this. nt

[Skidmore]

4. It is not the only state or town.

This happens everywhere.

[Eleanors38]

12. Yep. Sent to Austin, TX because that's where bleeding-heart hippies live. For decades.

[Blue_Tires]

16. Well, the policy has worked so well for "reducing" the local homeless population

it's no wonder they'd expand it for the mentally ill...

I remember the City of Atlanta did it in the run-up to the olympics...Even put up announcements in all the shelters...

I don't care how tight your budget is, or how much political pressure there is from on high...I have NO idea how even mediocre healthcare professionals can sign off on this and sleep at night with a clean conscience

[d_r]

2. a gift from Reagan nt

[HereSince1628]

5. Don't just blame the past, it's also a consequence of current medicaid policies of the states

Yes, Reagan cut funding for in-patient care.

What's often forgotten is that he actually did that AFTER mental health experts and the public at large turned against the poor conditions of many mental health facilities. The community-based model emerged after WWII and gained increasing support across the late 50's, 60's, and 70's.

The general concern led to investigative documentaries such as the Titticut Follies, which presented such a horrible image of state run in-patient mental healthcare in Mass that the governor of the state sued to have the movie banned from public viewing.

The up-side dream of community-based mental health was to get people out of being warehoused in non-stimulating, unrewarding environments where they often slipped into 'institutionalization syndrome'. The hope was to put patients into circumstances where they could achieve their highest level of life-satisfaction and productivity. A noble goal, that became perverted as legislators looked for places to trim state spending and curb tax-growth.

Yes, all that's true.

But the cost-cutters are at it again. Current state administrations are curtailing state contributions to medicaid and thereby mental health funding.

It's not necessary or particularly useful to blame events ~30 years ago for the current crisis. It IS necessary to blame states for currently not finding ways to deal with caring for the most needy in society.

[dembotoz]

8. community bases options are wonderful if there are really community based options

sadly the community based options could be killed off more easily than the older institutions.

people notice if a big building goes away
not so much if a store front office closes

[d_r]

9. great now I have to delete

the follow up about Margaret Thatcher I've been working on all morning.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. This state has been doing this since the 80s, through both republican and Democratic administrations

[progressoid]

6. Best health care in the WORLD!

[Marrah_G]

7. This is so fucked up

[angstlessk]

10. Shouldn't that be considered kidnapping? n/t

[StrayKat]

11. I don't know.

But, if the state declares you mentally incompetent, don't they grant themselves the right to act as your guardian/caretaker, in which case, probably not kidnapping.

Still patient dumping is all kinds of wrong.

[Blue_Tires]

15. It is fraudulent and highly unethical, but not kidnapping...

[L0oniX]

13. God bless America ...home of the sociopaths.

[Quantess]

14. That's kind of mean...