New Bills Highlight Holes in Oregon’s Mental Health Care

Monday, March 23, 2015

Joanna Evoniuk, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Three house bills recently introduced in the 2015 Oregon legislative session would create state regulations for how hospitals discharge and communicate with mentally ill patients. Supporters argue Oregon hospitals need to coordinate care better for psychiatric patients.

The push for legislation comes from Jerry Gabay, a board member of the Oregon National Alliance on Mental Illness. Gabay lost his daughter to suicide in 2010, a month after she was discharged from a hospital for a mental health break down.

“People are dying and there’s ample evidence to support the idea treatment goes better,” Gabay said.

New Bills

House Bill 2022 applies to case management and coordinated care between systems, requiring hospitals and residential treatment facilities to help link outpatients to treatment, and involve close family or friends in the process if applicable.

A similar bill, HB 2023 would require hospitals and emergency rooms to have public discharge protocols, to make sure psychiatric outpatients are connected with the proper support system.

HB 2948 seeks to educate hospital staff on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the privacy rights of paitents. Gabay said many times families are not properly informed of the state of their loved ones, even when HIPAA would allow doctors to share the information.

Gabay said all three bills should help create helpful practices for protecting and caring for the mentally ill.

“These procedures happens all the time if you broke your hip or went in for a diabetic attack,” Gabay said. “The procedures [for psychiatric outpatients] vary widely and it often depends more on the inclination of hospital staff then on the law.”

Hospitals professionals agree the current system for coordinating care for the mentally ill could be improved.

“This is a very important subject to us,” said Patty O’Sullivan, a lobbyist for the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. “We could do a better job and little more comprehensive planning. But we need somebody on the outside to be there and carry on.”

O’Sullivan said her organization has been working with supporters of the bill, to make sure the wording of the bill is fair and does not conflict with other legislation or federal regulations.

Homelessness and Mental Health Care

The discharge procedures for the mentally ill has been a concern for homeless advocates for years.

“The primary causes of homelessness is poor discharges from hospitals and jails,” Renaud said. “They don’t provide or arrange [support] in a way that actually works.”

Renaud said that hospitals provide an opportunity for the homeless to have access to trained staff or support, but once discharged, referrals by doctors are rarely followed through.

And while the new bills would work to involve friends and family in the process, homeless people tend to shy away from trusting the hospitals or bringing in people in their lives, which can add to the difficulty.

“These people are often are paranoid, depressed, or crazy. The last thing they want is to get their mom involved,” Renaud said.

Oregon's Mental Health Care

Oregon’s was ranked as the fifth worst state in caring for adult mental illness, because of the number of cases and poor access to mental health care. Health care professionals are concerned with the lack of funding and facilities.

Suicide, often resulting from mental health, was the leading cause of death for Oregonians aged 15 through 54 in 2012 and caused more deaths than homicides, vehicular accidents and HIV/AIDS combined. Despite it’s toll, Gabay said suicide and mental health lacks the legislation and public awareness of other leading causes of death.

“What we’re not aware of is how much a bigger problem is suicide is and how to deal with it,” Gabay said. “We know we’re on the winning side, the question is how long it will take.”

Related Slideshow: 30 Oregon Nursing Homes with the Most Deficiencies

Below are the 30 Oregon nursing homes with the most deficiencies in federal health and safety standards. Homes are listed in order of least to most deficiencies. Data encompasses inspections over a three to four-year period in order to provide a more complete picture. Some nursing homes may have since corrected the deficiencies identified during the most recent inspections. Source: federal Medicare data obtained through the ProPublica database.

New Bills Highlight Holes in Oregon’s Mental Health Care

New Bills

Homelessness and Mental Health Care

Oregon's Mental Health Care

Related Slideshow: 30 Oregon Nursing Homes with the Most Deficiencies

#30

Hood River Care Center

#29

Hearthstone Nursing And Rehabilitation Center

#28

Marquis Springfield

#27

Corvallis Manor

#26

Village Health Care

#25

Fair View Transitional Health Center

#24

Prestige Care And Rehabilitation Of Reedwood

#23

Avamere Rehabilitation Of Eugene

#22

Columbia Basin Care Facility

#21

Hillside Heights Rehab Center

#20

Porthaven Healthcare Center

#19

Prestige Care And Rehabilitation - Menlo Park

#18

Baycrest Health Center

#17

Avamere Crestview Of Portland

#16

Avamere Health Services Of Rogue Valley

#15

Providence Benedictine Nc

#14

Regency Gresham Nursing & Rehab Center

#13

Presbyterian Community Care Center

#12

Rose City Nursing Home

#11

Saint Alphonsus Care Center

#10

Sheridan Care Center

#9

Regency Hermiston Nursing & Rehab Center

#8

Sherwood Park Nursing & Rehab Center

#7

Green Valley Rehabilitation Health Center

#6

Glisan Care Center

#5

Milwaukie Convalescent Center

#4

Marquis Piedmont Post Acute Rehab

#3

Gresham Rehab And Specialty Care

#2

Marquis Mt Tabor

#1

Laurelhurst Village Rehabilitation Center

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