A fed judge ordered an Oregon state hospital to discharge some patients earlier. This is a support of the mentally ill. Facing a backlog of incoming patients, a federal judge ordered the state psychiatric hospital to set new deadlines for patient treatment lengths, based more on the severity of criminal charges against them than on their treatment progress.
Some were estatic about the ruling as a move that will help patients avoid additional jail time as they wait for admission to the hospital. County prosecutors didn’t like it. The believe that limiting treatment of these patients — in some cases to 90 days could result in premature discharges that pose a public safety risk to their communities.
The deadlines to treat and restore patients are:
-For patients facing only a misdemeanor charge, the hospital will have up to 90 days or the maximum sentence allowed, whichever is shorter.
-For patients facing a felony, the state hospital will have up to six months, or up to a year if it’s a violent felony.
Research shows that aid-and-assist patients make up the bulk of Oregon State Hospital’s population. The state hospital currently has 409 aid-and-assist patients and a total capacity of 705 beds between its main hub in Salem and a satellite campus in Junction City.
The feds put the state on notice. The Oregon State Hospital must limit how long it treats patients who need care before they can defend themselves against criminal charges, a federal judge has ordered this week. This new order requires the state hospital to treat and restore patients on strict deadlines, based on the severity of the charges rather than their treatment progress.
This has been a long time in the making. The order in this article is the culmination of a renewed push to get patients in and out of the hospital faster. Changing the hospital’s discharge policies is intended to help aid-and-assist patients avoid lengthy stays in jail while they wait to be admitted into Oregon State Hospital.
Studies show that the average ost people, statistically, will finish their treatment within those new deadlines. Advocates hope this encourages more investments in community mental health programs and resources, so that the criminal justice system isn’t the safety net. The idea is that if there are more community resources, people can get help before they get arrested.
