Purpose of this Bill request-
- - To save the lives of people who are suffering from mental
illnesses.
- - To reduce rehospitalization, therefore saving state and
federal funds.
- - To solve the issue of shortage of psychiatric hospital bed and psychiatrics professionals.
- - To reduce wastage of state funds spending in jails to house people
suffering from mental illness. In jail, psychiatric conditions are exacerbated
rather than ameliorated. It costs less
to take care of psychiatric patients in hospitals than keeping them in jails.
And it will cost even less to take care of these patients in Inpatient Subacute
facilities.
- - To promote successful reintegration into home, community,
and work force, to increase work productivity, to reduce costs to families, and
prevent negative effects on other family members, family integrity and on future generation.
Current situation-Currently People with Mental health illness typically are
admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a few days, where they are away from the
outside world with no or very little connection with their family and friends. They can't have access to their phones, emails and outside world. After a few days of hospitalization, they are discharged to
home or to live alone by themselves or on the streets and they end up either
going back to hospital or jail. It is typical that it takes several weeks for
psychotropic drugs to have their intended effect, therefore a few days’ stay is
not enough time to assess the efficacy and side effects on the individual, to
ensure that a current medication is working (or not) for that individual.
Discharging patients just a few days after starting a psychotropic medication
is setting up to the failure. It can result in rehospitalization, ending up on streets, in jail or even resulting losing their life.
With purposed bill-
By opening “Inpatient Subacute Mental Health Care Facilities”
where these patients can go after a short necessary stay in a psychiatric
hospital (while they are not safe yet to be discharge to their home or
community) to monitor any side effects and effectiveness of medication, while
participating in one on one therapy to learn coping skills, depression
management, stress management technique and provide time for medical
professional and discharge planning team to plan appropriate discharge
placement to home, supervised facility, group home or living with family or by themselves will
ensure their lives’ safety and successful integration to community with home
health counselling or outpatient counselling.
By sending patients to these “Inpatient Subacute Mental
Health Care Facilities “after necessary hospitalization will also open up beds
for people who need acute care of psychiatric hospitals and therefore solve the problem of
the shortage of existing beds to some extent.
These things will only be possible by
legislation that provides for:
Opening “Inpatient Subacute Mental Health Facilities”
for short term rehab after psychiatric hospitalization with mental illness.
Right now, because of the malfunction of our mental
health care system our streets, jails and prisons are our de facto psychiatric
facilities. This is more expensive than proper mental health care in the
suggested Subacute Facilities. It is a waste of state funds, taxpayers’
dollars, and humanity and loss of lives of our current and future generations.
