http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/1115651.html
Another attack at Dix rekindles concerns A nurse is beaten by a patient, and hospital workers protest
Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - A nurse who was just days from retirement was beaten by a patient at Dorothea Dix Hospital last week, another in a spate of incidents raising concerns about the safety of patients and staff in state mental facilities.
On Friday, hospital workers again marched on the Raleigh office of Dempsey Benton, the secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
They are seeking to delay the pending closure of Dix because of concerns about staffing shortfalls and design flaws with a new facility in Butner that is set to open next month.
About 500 Dix employees, the majority of the hospital's staff, signed a petition asking Benton to impose a one-year moratorium on the shutdown. They say that would allow North Carolina's next governor the opportunity to reconsider changes to the mental health system imposed by Gov. Mike Easley's administration.
A letter also was circulated among legislators this week asking that the state budget for the next year include money to keep Dix open. The letter was signed by representatives of the N.C. Sheriff Police Alliance, the Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the N.C. Public Service Worker's Union and a psychologist who works at Dix.
Data compiled by the union from federally required employee injury reports from the state's four mental hospitals for 2007 show a total of
712 staff injuries, resulting in 4,380 lost workdays. The overwhelming majority of injuries were the result of contact with patients.
An incident report from Dix Hospital released this week said nurse Carol Latham, 63, was attacked by a female patient who knocked her to the floor and started hitting her in the face.
DHHS spokesman Tom Lawrence said the ward where the assault occurred, which houses 32 patients, was fully staffed with 11 workers. He characterized the incident as minor.
"She was hit in the neck and nose, doing no real damage," Lawrence said.
But Latham, reached at her home, told a different story.
"I'm so sore I can hardly move," said Latham, who has worked at Dix for eight years. "No assault is minor, ever. This is the first time I have ever been attacked."
Latham's glasses were broken and her nose bloodied, resulting in swelling and bruising to her face. X-rays showed no fractures.
Contrary to what administrators claimed, Latham says she was alone with nine female patients when a woman with a well-documented history of violence attacked her. The other staff members working that night were either looking after male patients in a neighboring hall or were elsewhere in the building.
The ward where Latham was attacked houses forensic patients -- those either facing criminal charges or who have been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
"She just calmly walked towards me and starting beating on me," Latham said.
"It's a very unsafe unit, because of the type of patients they have."
Latham said she was offered a position at the new hospital in Butner, but she has instead chosen to retire from state employment and take another job in the private sector, she said.
Her last day of work will be July 30.
"I haven't felt safe for the last three or four years," she said.
"It's too stressful. I won't miss it."
michael.biesecker@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4698
Monday, June 23, 2008
In the News: Federal Auditors, Dix Attack, Southeastern Mental Health
Federal Auditors
Federal auditors are in North Carolina reviewing the records of about 200 mental health companies as part of an examination of a lucrative service called community support. The state Medicaid office sent letters to companies June 5 telling them that auditors would be on their doorsteps no later than June 30. Auditors are reviewing 301 patient records, chosen at random, as part of an investigation into whether the state has paid improper claims. The federal government is withholding $138 million from the state because of questions about the service. Federal authorities told the state in April that it was withholding a $175 million payment but later reduced that.
Community support is a mental health service that is supposed to teach clients basic skills and help them control their behavior. State audits have shown, however, that in some cases, companies charged as much as $61 an hour to take clients to malls or movies or to sit with them in school. In most cases, the work was done by employees with high school diplomas. A News & Observer investigation found the state wasted at least $400 million on the service. The audit could result in the state being asked to repay money for claims that aren't deemed proper.
Wayne Peel of Williamston, who runs a training company for mental health providers, said some good may come of the audit. Not all clients with mental disorders can be helped by community support, Peel said, and the audit may result in a clear definition of who should get it. "Right now, it's wide open," he said. State lawmakers have proposed slashing community support spending and putting legal limits on the service. (Lynn Bonner, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/22/08).
Dix Attack
Dorothea Dix Hospital workers again marched Friday to the office of state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton after a nurse was beaten by a patient. The beating, which occurred about two weeks ago, is the latest in a spate of incidents raising concerns about safety at state mental facilities. Hospital workers are seeking to delay the pending closure of the Raleigh hospital because of concerns about staffing shortfalls and design flaws with a new facility in Butner that is set to open next month. About 500 Dix employees signed a petition asking Benton to impose a one-year moratorium on the shutdown. A letter also was circulated among legislators last week asking that the state budget for the next year include money to keep Dix open. The letter was signed by representatives of the N.C. Sheriff Police Alliance, the Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the N.C. Public Service Worker's Union and a psychologist who works at Dix.
An incident report from Dix Hospital released last week said nurse Carol Latham, 63, was attacked by a female patient. DHHS spokesman Tom Lawrence said the ward where the assault occurred, which houses 32 patients, was fully staffed with 11 workers. He characterized the incident as minor. But Latham told a different story. "I'm so sore I can hardly move," said Latham, who has worked at Dix for eight years. Latham's glasses were broken and her nose bloodied, resulting in swelling and bruising to her face. X-rays showed no fractures. Contrary to what administrators claimed, Latham said she was alone with nine female patients when a woman with a well-documented history of violence attacked her. The other staff members working that night were either looking after male patients in a neighboring hall or were elsewhere in the building. (Michael Biesecker, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/21/08).
Southeastern Mental Health
More than 100 people involved with the state mental health system in southeastern North Carolina gathered for an impromptu rally Friday to voice their concerns about an expected cut in funding for mental health treatment in the region. Most of the anger of those who showed up for the impromptu rally was directed at the Southeastern Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, the regional mental health agency in charge of allocating the state funds among service providers in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties.
Center administrators warned providers earlier this month that funding for services likely would be tighter than it has been when the new state budget year starts. Now, many families and clients are being told that their treatment will likely be scaled back -- in some cases from 14 hours a week to a half-hour a month. "My son is not going to be able to work. He could end up institutionalized," Sandra Nesbit of Pender County said about her 21-year-old son. "I'm very, very angry." Even though state budget negotiations are ongoing, the center does not expect to get more than $8.3 million, the same amount it ended up receiving this fiscal year.
The state funding dropped from previous levels after the center did not spend its full allocation two years ago, and center officials are not optimistic the state will bump the total amount back up to previous levels. After scrambling with the drop in state money this year, including dipping into reserve money and scaling back on the number of hours that could be reimbursed, the center was able to cover about $12 million for services, director Art Costantini said. But some of those options will not be available in the coming year, he said. "The problem is we've got $8.3 million to work with. We can't build a $12 million budget," he said. "It's illegal to contract to offer to pay services that we don't have the money to do." Costantini said he is looking at other potential sources of funding to augment the state money, but declined to offer details. (Vicky Eckenrode, WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS, 6/21/08).
Federal auditors are in North Carolina reviewing the records of about 200 mental health companies as part of an examination of a lucrative service called community support. The state Medicaid office sent letters to companies June 5 telling them that auditors would be on their doorsteps no later than June 30. Auditors are reviewing 301 patient records, chosen at random, as part of an investigation into whether the state has paid improper claims. The federal government is withholding $138 million from the state because of questions about the service. Federal authorities told the state in April that it was withholding a $175 million payment but later reduced that.
Community support is a mental health service that is supposed to teach clients basic skills and help them control their behavior. State audits have shown, however, that in some cases, companies charged as much as $61 an hour to take clients to malls or movies or to sit with them in school. In most cases, the work was done by employees with high school diplomas. A News & Observer investigation found the state wasted at least $400 million on the service. The audit could result in the state being asked to repay money for claims that aren't deemed proper.
Wayne Peel of Williamston, who runs a training company for mental health providers, said some good may come of the audit. Not all clients with mental disorders can be helped by community support, Peel said, and the audit may result in a clear definition of who should get it. "Right now, it's wide open," he said. State lawmakers have proposed slashing community support spending and putting legal limits on the service. (Lynn Bonner, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/22/08).
Dix Attack
Dorothea Dix Hospital workers again marched Friday to the office of state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton after a nurse was beaten by a patient. The beating, which occurred about two weeks ago, is the latest in a spate of incidents raising concerns about safety at state mental facilities. Hospital workers are seeking to delay the pending closure of the Raleigh hospital because of concerns about staffing shortfalls and design flaws with a new facility in Butner that is set to open next month. About 500 Dix employees signed a petition asking Benton to impose a one-year moratorium on the shutdown. A letter also was circulated among legislators last week asking that the state budget for the next year include money to keep Dix open. The letter was signed by representatives of the N.C. Sheriff Police Alliance, the Wake County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the N.C. Public Service Worker's Union and a psychologist who works at Dix.
An incident report from Dix Hospital released last week said nurse Carol Latham, 63, was attacked by a female patient. DHHS spokesman Tom Lawrence said the ward where the assault occurred, which houses 32 patients, was fully staffed with 11 workers. He characterized the incident as minor. But Latham told a different story. "I'm so sore I can hardly move," said Latham, who has worked at Dix for eight years. Latham's glasses were broken and her nose bloodied, resulting in swelling and bruising to her face. X-rays showed no fractures. Contrary to what administrators claimed, Latham said she was alone with nine female patients when a woman with a well-documented history of violence attacked her. The other staff members working that night were either looking after male patients in a neighboring hall or were elsewhere in the building. (Michael Biesecker, THE NEWS & OBSERVER, 6/21/08).
Southeastern Mental Health
More than 100 people involved with the state mental health system in southeastern North Carolina gathered for an impromptu rally Friday to voice their concerns about an expected cut in funding for mental health treatment in the region. Most of the anger of those who showed up for the impromptu rally was directed at the Southeastern Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, the regional mental health agency in charge of allocating the state funds among service providers in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties.
Center administrators warned providers earlier this month that funding for services likely would be tighter than it has been when the new state budget year starts. Now, many families and clients are being told that their treatment will likely be scaled back -- in some cases from 14 hours a week to a half-hour a month. "My son is not going to be able to work. He could end up institutionalized," Sandra Nesbit of Pender County said about her 21-year-old son. "I'm very, very angry." Even though state budget negotiations are ongoing, the center does not expect to get more than $8.3 million, the same amount it ended up receiving this fiscal year.
The state funding dropped from previous levels after the center did not spend its full allocation two years ago, and center officials are not optimistic the state will bump the total amount back up to previous levels. After scrambling with the drop in state money this year, including dipping into reserve money and scaling back on the number of hours that could be reimbursed, the center was able to cover about $12 million for services, director Art Costantini said. But some of those options will not be available in the coming year, he said. "The problem is we've got $8.3 million to work with. We can't build a $12 million budget," he said. "It's illegal to contract to offer to pay services that we don't have the money to do." Costantini said he is looking at other potential sources of funding to augment the state money, but declined to offer details. (Vicky Eckenrode, WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS, 6/21/08).
Monday, June 16, 2008
Collective Bargaining covered on WUNC-TV
WUNC –TV covered collective bargaining on its program, Legislative Week in Review. Note that a supporter’s collective bargaining button is featured prominently on the website. Hit play video and skip ahead to about 9:10. The coverage of collective bargaining is about 4 minutes long and includes many of the workers who spoke. We also get to hear from opponents: the President of Capital Assoc. Industries and John Hood of the John Locke foundation.
http://www.unctv.org/legweek/
NASW-NC is a member of the NC HOPE coalition. http://www.nchope.org/
http://www.unctv.org/legweek/
NASW-NC is a member of the NC HOPE coalition. http://www.nchope.org/
Asheville Times Editorial- Provisional licensure
June 15, 2008
Mental health care threatened
Leslie Boyd
The state could lose more mental health service providers on July 1 if a new rule goes into effect as planned.
The regulation would disallow practice by many provisionally licensed therapists, counselors, social workers and psychologists who now provide critical mental health services.
Marissa Kent-White works with families and children in Haywood County. She said many of the children are in Department of Social Services custody and need the stability offered by a single counselor.“In two weeks, I’ll have to walk away from them,” she said.
A provisional license in mental health fields is akin to a medical internship. Professional status requires one-two years of supervised experience after earning an advanced degree.
Provisionally licensed workers in the mental health field are usually supervised by professionals in their own specialty — other therapists, counselors and psychologists. The new state rule would allow them to be supervised only by a physician, such as a psychiatrist, if they are to receive Medicaid reimbursement.
Tara Larsen, of the N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, said the new rule will draw more family-practice physicians into the mental health system, but service providers and advocates say the new rule would severely limit where and how people with provisional licenses could work.
“In general, I don’t know what the department’s motivation is on this,” said Tom McDevitt, CEO of Smoky Mountain Center, the local management agency for 12 counties in Western North Carolina. “In the seven westernmost counties, there is only one practice with one part-time psychiatrist who could supervise these people. This is going to be very problematic for us.”
Currently, those with provisional licenses can perform Medicaid services, including outpatient counseling. After July 1, they will perform mostly services such as community support and crisis services as part of a team. Medicaid will not reimburse for the more basic services that state boards insist be part of their training.
“What is the logic in graduating people we need to do the work and then not letting them do it?” McDevitt said. “We will have a system that won’t pay people for the work they need to do to become fully licensed.”
Raymond Turpin, a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D., employs four provisionally licensed professionals in Haywood and Jackson counties, where providers are in short supply. One of those he supervises is Kent-White.“At a time when there aren’t enough providers to go around, this is unconscionable,” Turpin said. “Doctors here are busy, and they don’t want to take on patients with severe mental illness. They hardly have time to see the patients they have already.”
Larsen said Turpin and other psychologists could form a contractual relationship with a physician and retain their employees.But the employees still would not be able to perform the duties they do now, and Turpin and McDevitt believe most doctors would be reluctant to assume responsibility for workers employed by someone else.“We’re asking them to put their medical malpractice insurance on the line,” Turpin said.
Before adopting the new rule, the state consulted an advisory team of professionals in social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy and counseling, but the rule adopted was much narrower than the team recommended.
“There’s a desperate need in the system for trained professionals,” said Sally Cameron, executive director of the N.C. Psychological Association.McDevitt said the need is most desperate in rural areas, and he is certain the new rule will cut access to services, not enhance it as state officials believe.“It’s still a mystery to me how they reach some of their decisions,” he said. “We have squandered the money, alienated the workforce and betrayed the people we’re supposed to be serving. Whatever reform was supposed to be, it has failed miserably.”
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880614049
Mental health care threatened
Leslie Boyd
The state could lose more mental health service providers on July 1 if a new rule goes into effect as planned.
The regulation would disallow practice by many provisionally licensed therapists, counselors, social workers and psychologists who now provide critical mental health services.
Marissa Kent-White works with families and children in Haywood County. She said many of the children are in Department of Social Services custody and need the stability offered by a single counselor.“In two weeks, I’ll have to walk away from them,” she said.
A provisional license in mental health fields is akin to a medical internship. Professional status requires one-two years of supervised experience after earning an advanced degree.
Provisionally licensed workers in the mental health field are usually supervised by professionals in their own specialty — other therapists, counselors and psychologists. The new state rule would allow them to be supervised only by a physician, such as a psychiatrist, if they are to receive Medicaid reimbursement.
Tara Larsen, of the N.C. Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, said the new rule will draw more family-practice physicians into the mental health system, but service providers and advocates say the new rule would severely limit where and how people with provisional licenses could work.
“In general, I don’t know what the department’s motivation is on this,” said Tom McDevitt, CEO of Smoky Mountain Center, the local management agency for 12 counties in Western North Carolina. “In the seven westernmost counties, there is only one practice with one part-time psychiatrist who could supervise these people. This is going to be very problematic for us.”
Currently, those with provisional licenses can perform Medicaid services, including outpatient counseling. After July 1, they will perform mostly services such as community support and crisis services as part of a team. Medicaid will not reimburse for the more basic services that state boards insist be part of their training.
“What is the logic in graduating people we need to do the work and then not letting them do it?” McDevitt said. “We will have a system that won’t pay people for the work they need to do to become fully licensed.”
Raymond Turpin, a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D., employs four provisionally licensed professionals in Haywood and Jackson counties, where providers are in short supply. One of those he supervises is Kent-White.“At a time when there aren’t enough providers to go around, this is unconscionable,” Turpin said. “Doctors here are busy, and they don’t want to take on patients with severe mental illness. They hardly have time to see the patients they have already.”
Larsen said Turpin and other psychologists could form a contractual relationship with a physician and retain their employees.But the employees still would not be able to perform the duties they do now, and Turpin and McDevitt believe most doctors would be reluctant to assume responsibility for workers employed by someone else.“We’re asking them to put their medical malpractice insurance on the line,” Turpin said.
Before adopting the new rule, the state consulted an advisory team of professionals in social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy and counseling, but the rule adopted was much narrower than the team recommended.
“There’s a desperate need in the system for trained professionals,” said Sally Cameron, executive director of the N.C. Psychological Association.McDevitt said the need is most desperate in rural areas, and he is certain the new rule will cut access to services, not enhance it as state officials believe.“It’s still a mystery to me how they reach some of their decisions,” he said. “We have squandered the money, alienated the workforce and betrayed the people we’re supposed to be serving. Whatever reform was supposed to be, it has failed miserably.”
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880614049
From our friends at the NC Justice Center
North Carolina Justice Center224 S. Dawson St.
Raleigh, NC 27611
www.ncjustice.org
Unsubscribe
Tell NC Senate to Keep Funding Critical Health & Childcare Programs
Senate Budget proposal looks grim and may include cuts to NC Health Choice and child care programs
Since the NC House passed their version of the state budget, Senate leaders have been scrambling with their version of the budget and the news is distressing. The Senate budget, which will likely come out early next week, will reportedly contain substantial cuts to vital program areas like Health and Human Services.
Programs that provide low-income kids with affordable health insurance (NC Health Choice and NC Kid’s Care) and help low-income parents with the skyrocketing costs of childcare (child care subsidies) may face cuts and are in jeopardy.
With the number of uninsured in North Carolina rising everyday and nearly 30,000 kids on the child care subsidy waiting list, now is not the time to be cutting critical programs that help working families weather the economic downturn.
Contact NC Senators TODAY and tell them it’s important to provide full funding to NC Health Choice, NC Kid’s Care and to maintain the funding for child care subsidies.
Click HERE To TAKE ACTION
Raleigh, NC 27611
www.ncjustice.org
Unsubscribe
Tell NC Senate to Keep Funding Critical Health & Childcare Programs
Senate Budget proposal looks grim and may include cuts to NC Health Choice and child care programs
Since the NC House passed their version of the state budget, Senate leaders have been scrambling with their version of the budget and the news is distressing. The Senate budget, which will likely come out early next week, will reportedly contain substantial cuts to vital program areas like Health and Human Services.
Programs that provide low-income kids with affordable health insurance (NC Health Choice and NC Kid’s Care) and help low-income parents with the skyrocketing costs of childcare (child care subsidies) may face cuts and are in jeopardy.
With the number of uninsured in North Carolina rising everyday and nearly 30,000 kids on the child care subsidy waiting list, now is not the time to be cutting critical programs that help working families weather the economic downturn.
Contact NC Senators TODAY and tell them it’s important to provide full funding to NC Health Choice, NC Kid’s Care and to maintain the funding for child care subsidies.
Click HERE To TAKE ACTION
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Asheville Times Editorial
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880611051
Slow-motion train wreck of state's mental health crisis continues .
published June 12, 2008 12:15 am
The crisis at North Carolina's state mental institutions appears to have gotten so bad and the need for additional staff so great that the state can't hire enough people in the next year to bring staffing to the level recommended by a group of health care experts.
How did care at the hospitals degenerate to this point? The Department of Health and Human Services and the lawmakers who instituted reform seven years ago ought to have recognized and fixed the disastrous decline in quality of care long before now. Their negligence and apparent indifference and/or incompetence continues to contribute to the suffering of thousands of mentally ill North Carolinians and waste millions of taxpayer dollars.
Serious shortages
A report presented to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton in mid-May recommends North Carolina hire more than 700 people to address staffing shortages in its state psychiatric hospitals.
Needed are 202 nurses, 33 psychiatrists and more than 300 healthcare technicians, according to the report.
But Benton, who commissioned the report, is asking state lawmakers for only 250 new employees for the hospitals.
"That is as many positions as we can fill in 12 months," he said Friday during a telephone interview with an Asheville Citizen-Times reporter.
He said the national shortages of nurses and psychiatrists and the rural locations of Broughton and Cherry hospitals are part of the problem.
Gov. Mike Easley's budget for next year recommends an additional $68 million in new mental health spending. Fully implementing the report's recommendations would cost far more than that.
Broughton lost its Medicaid and Medicare certification in September and still has not regained it, a circumstance that's costing state taxpayers
$1.2 million a month. Workers affiliated with the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union have been staging protests across the state to complain of conditions at the hospitals.
The Raleigh News & Observer reported Wednesday that a patient with a history of violence severely beat a nurse at John Umstead Hospital in Butner Monday.
Federal regulators cited the hospital in December for the failure of administrators to control violent incidents involving staff and patients.
Bones were broken in the nurse's face and clumps of her hair were pulled out.
Broughton's decertification occurred after Medicaid officials, who were investigating the death of another patient at Broughton, found the records of Lori Arwine. Arwine was seriously and permanently injured during several falls after being given medications that cause dizziness, agitation and unsteadiness. After the medications were administered, Arwine was allowed to roam the halls unsupervised.
Mike Pedneau, who chaired the group assigned to review mental hospitals that issued the report recommending 717 additional full-time employees, told the Raleigh News & Observer that he feared the report and another given to Benton at the same time would be deep-sixed.
"It's going to get buried until the legislature is ready to put the budget to bed," Pedneau, a former director of the state mental health system, told the News & Observer. "I think these things need to be out in the public and I gave Dempsey two weeks and I haven't heard a thing from him."
Benton said he had distributed the report to everyone who was supposed to get one. He did not, however, distribute it to the media.
Staff, pay issues
Staffing ratios and pay at North Carolina's mental hospitals lag far behind similar facilities in other states, the report filed by Pedneau'
s group found. Current staffing levels are inherently dangerous, the report said.
Serious overcrowding of the state's mental institutions has been one of the ironic results of the failed reform effort. The need for those hospitals was supposed to diminish as new outpatient services became available in communities. But those services have, for the most part, failed to materialize. Just last week a 16-bed unit to stabilize people in crisis opened in Asheville, but more beds are needed in communities across the state, according to a second report, also commissioned by Benton. Both reports, one from the Hospital Management and Operations work group chaired by Pedneau and the other from the Crisis Services work group, urge a drastic change of course.
In his defense, Benton inherited an impossible job. The state's mental health system had been effectively dismantled before he arrived on the scene. But he should be aggressively advocating for higher wages for mental health workers, which would make recruiting them easier, and keeping the public informed in order to keep the pressure on lawmakers.
"I knew the hospitals weren't in good shape," Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D- Buncombe, who co-chairs the legislative oversight committee for mental health, told a Citizen-Times reporter. "But I had no idea how neglected they were. We need to fix this, and I'm willing to recommend whatever the secretary thinks he needs."
Now that he knows and Benton knows and the governor knows, failing to fix a truly dangerous situation is indefensible.
Slow-motion train wreck of state's mental health crisis continues .
published June 12, 2008 12:15 am
The crisis at North Carolina's state mental institutions appears to have gotten so bad and the need for additional staff so great that the state can't hire enough people in the next year to bring staffing to the level recommended by a group of health care experts.
How did care at the hospitals degenerate to this point? The Department of Health and Human Services and the lawmakers who instituted reform seven years ago ought to have recognized and fixed the disastrous decline in quality of care long before now. Their negligence and apparent indifference and/or incompetence continues to contribute to the suffering of thousands of mentally ill North Carolinians and waste millions of taxpayer dollars.
Serious shortages
A report presented to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton in mid-May recommends North Carolina hire more than 700 people to address staffing shortages in its state psychiatric hospitals.
Needed are 202 nurses, 33 psychiatrists and more than 300 healthcare technicians, according to the report.
But Benton, who commissioned the report, is asking state lawmakers for only 250 new employees for the hospitals.
"That is as many positions as we can fill in 12 months," he said Friday during a telephone interview with an Asheville Citizen-Times reporter.
He said the national shortages of nurses and psychiatrists and the rural locations of Broughton and Cherry hospitals are part of the problem.
Gov. Mike Easley's budget for next year recommends an additional $68 million in new mental health spending. Fully implementing the report's recommendations would cost far more than that.
Broughton lost its Medicaid and Medicare certification in September and still has not regained it, a circumstance that's costing state taxpayers
$1.2 million a month. Workers affiliated with the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union have been staging protests across the state to complain of conditions at the hospitals.
The Raleigh News & Observer reported Wednesday that a patient with a history of violence severely beat a nurse at John Umstead Hospital in Butner Monday.
Federal regulators cited the hospital in December for the failure of administrators to control violent incidents involving staff and patients.
Bones were broken in the nurse's face and clumps of her hair were pulled out.
Broughton's decertification occurred after Medicaid officials, who were investigating the death of another patient at Broughton, found the records of Lori Arwine. Arwine was seriously and permanently injured during several falls after being given medications that cause dizziness, agitation and unsteadiness. After the medications were administered, Arwine was allowed to roam the halls unsupervised.
Mike Pedneau, who chaired the group assigned to review mental hospitals that issued the report recommending 717 additional full-time employees, told the Raleigh News & Observer that he feared the report and another given to Benton at the same time would be deep-sixed.
"It's going to get buried until the legislature is ready to put the budget to bed," Pedneau, a former director of the state mental health system, told the News & Observer. "I think these things need to be out in the public and I gave Dempsey two weeks and I haven't heard a thing from him."
Benton said he had distributed the report to everyone who was supposed to get one. He did not, however, distribute it to the media.
Staff, pay issues
Staffing ratios and pay at North Carolina's mental hospitals lag far behind similar facilities in other states, the report filed by Pedneau'
s group found. Current staffing levels are inherently dangerous, the report said.
Serious overcrowding of the state's mental institutions has been one of the ironic results of the failed reform effort. The need for those hospitals was supposed to diminish as new outpatient services became available in communities. But those services have, for the most part, failed to materialize. Just last week a 16-bed unit to stabilize people in crisis opened in Asheville, but more beds are needed in communities across the state, according to a second report, also commissioned by Benton. Both reports, one from the Hospital Management and Operations work group chaired by Pedneau and the other from the Crisis Services work group, urge a drastic change of course.
In his defense, Benton inherited an impossible job. The state's mental health system had been effectively dismantled before he arrived on the scene. But he should be aggressively advocating for higher wages for mental health workers, which would make recruiting them easier, and keeping the public informed in order to keep the pressure on lawmakers.
"I knew the hospitals weren't in good shape," Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D- Buncombe, who co-chairs the legislative oversight committee for mental health, told a Citizen-Times reporter. "But I had no idea how neglected they were. We need to fix this, and I'm willing to recommend whatever the secretary thinks he needs."
Now that he knows and Benton knows and the governor knows, failing to fix a truly dangerous situation is indefensible.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
NC HOPE Lobby Day June 11 on Collective Bargaining
www.nchope.org
Dear HOPE supporting organizations,
After years of working up to this point, now is the time to take mass action for public employee collective bargaining!
Please invite your members to lobby with us on June 11, either in Raleigh at the legislature or as part of our virtual lobbying campaign that day.
And if your organization or your members haven't done so yet, please sign our letter to legislators at www.nchope.org.
Thank you for your work for justice in North Carolina!
Virtual Lobby for HOPE June 11!
If you can't come to Raleigh you can still support collective bargaining on
June 11 via www.nchope.org.
June 11 is Public Employee Collective Bargaining Day at the Legislature!
On the morning of June 11, 2008, public employees and supporters will gather at the General Assembly in Raleigh to lobby for House Bill 1583, the bill to repeal the ban on public sector collective bargaining.
We will begin lobbying at 9am, hold a press conference at 11am in the legislative press room (1328 in the legislative building), and resume lobbying at noon. All participants should be sure to attend the press conference.
You may pick up a lobbying packet at the HOPE table in the southwest court, 1300 block, on your left as you enter the Jones St. side of the legislative building. Please email info@nchope.org before June 9 if you will be attending so that we can make a packet for you.
Please join us and show your support!
HOPE Coalition Core Members:
American Association of University Professors/NC, American Federation of Teachers/NC, International Union of Police Associations, NC Association of Educators, NC Coalition of Police, NC State AFL-CIO, Professional Firefighters and Paramedics of NC, Service Employees International Union, State Employees Association of NC, Teamsters Local 391, UE Local 150 - NC Public Service Workers Union
Hear Our Public Employees Coalition
P.O. Box 12133, Raleigh, North Carolina 27605
919.491.6939 info@nchope.org
Dear HOPE supporting organizations,
After years of working up to this point, now is the time to take mass action for public employee collective bargaining!
Please invite your members to lobby with us on June 11, either in Raleigh at the legislature or as part of our virtual lobbying campaign that day.
And if your organization or your members haven't done so yet, please sign our letter to legislators at www.nchope.org.
Thank you for your work for justice in North Carolina!
Virtual Lobby for HOPE June 11!
If you can't come to Raleigh you can still support collective bargaining on
June 11 via www.nchope.org.
June 11 is Public Employee Collective Bargaining Day at the Legislature!
On the morning of June 11, 2008, public employees and supporters will gather at the General Assembly in Raleigh to lobby for House Bill 1583, the bill to repeal the ban on public sector collective bargaining.
We will begin lobbying at 9am, hold a press conference at 11am in the legislative press room (1328 in the legislative building), and resume lobbying at noon. All participants should be sure to attend the press conference.
You may pick up a lobbying packet at the HOPE table in the southwest court, 1300 block, on your left as you enter the Jones St. side of the legislative building. Please email info@nchope.org before June 9 if you will be attending so that we can make a packet for you.
Please join us and show your support!
HOPE Coalition Core Members:
American Association of University Professors/NC, American Federation of Teachers/NC, International Union of Police Associations, NC Association of Educators, NC Coalition of Police, NC State AFL-CIO, Professional Firefighters and Paramedics of NC, Service Employees International Union, State Employees Association of NC, Teamsters Local 391, UE Local 150 - NC Public Service Workers Union
Hear Our Public Employees Coalition
P.O. Box 12133, Raleigh, North Carolina 27605
919.491.6939 info@nchope.org
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