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| Support, Advocacy & Education for people with brain diseases & their families |
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Shuttling patients burdens deputies
Ruth Sheehan with the Raleigh N&O uses information from a report written by
NAMI Wake President, Gerry Akland to write a front page article about the
problems confronting state Sheriff's offices in transporting patients
Ruth Sheehan with the Raleigh N&O uses information from a report written by
NAMI Wake President, Gerry Akland to write a front page article about the
problems confronting state Sheriff's offices in transporting patients
TRAVIS LONG - tlong@newsobserver.com
| Sister's New Journey |
Ruth Sheehnan, columnist with the Raleigh N&O, writes a great article about Louise
Jordan, a NAMI Board member who is working with other NAMI Wake members on an
anti-stigma campaign which will run ads on a Raleigh CAT Bus. Louise and Gerry
Akland are also working with professionals at the UNC Neurosciences Community
Mental Health Center on developing a training class for group home workers. To read
the full story, click here.
Jordan, a NAMI Board member who is working with other NAMI Wake members on an
anti-stigma campaign which will run ads on a Raleigh CAT Bus. Louise and Gerry
Akland are also working with professionals at the UNC Neurosciences Community
Mental Health Center on developing a training class for group home workers. To read
the full story, click here.
Read the letter to the Editor in the N&O or below
State’s Deficiencies
Regarding the Jan. 27 article "Eight days waiting with no bed for Joshua":
I am a parent of a mentally ill child, and my heart aches for Joshua's mom.
Caring for a disabled child takes a tremendous toll on families even when they are
stable. An episode of violence is especially heart-wrenching.
Knowing how that feels, I was outraged to read that Dr. Michael Lancaster said
the state was waiting to provide care, hoping that "we could stabilize him in the
crisis center where he was." How long did they plan to wait? The crisis facility is
licensed as a 23-hour crisis and assessment facility, not a treatment center. If
there were beds available, why did it take eight days to transfer him?
Apparently, our state's policymakers have built a moat around our state
facilities to keep the patients outside. In the short term, that may save money, but
at what long-term expense? Hospital emergency departments, shelters, jails and
crisis centers are crowded with people who need real treatment. Law officers
spend days accompanying patients as they wait for beds.
The situation is getting much worse as community treatment services are
slashed and the state continually reinvents its mental health wheels.
Gerry Akland
President, National Alliance on Mental Illness Wake County
Knightdale
State’s Deficiencies
Regarding the Jan. 27 article "Eight days waiting with no bed for Joshua":
I am a parent of a mentally ill child, and my heart aches for Joshua's mom.
Caring for a disabled child takes a tremendous toll on families even when they are
stable. An episode of violence is especially heart-wrenching.
Knowing how that feels, I was outraged to read that Dr. Michael Lancaster said
the state was waiting to provide care, hoping that "we could stabilize him in the
crisis center where he was." How long did they plan to wait? The crisis facility is
licensed as a 23-hour crisis and assessment facility, not a treatment center. If
there were beds available, why did it take eight days to transfer him?
Apparently, our state's policymakers have built a moat around our state
facilities to keep the patients outside. In the short term, that may save money, but
at what long-term expense? Hospital emergency departments, shelters, jails and
crisis centers are crowded with people who need real treatment. Law officers
spend days accompanying patients as they wait for beds.
The situation is getting much worse as community treatment services are
slashed and the state continually reinvents its mental health wheels.
Gerry Akland
President, National Alliance on Mental Illness Wake County
Knightdale
Published Wed, Jan 27, 2010 04:52 AM Raleigh News & Observer
Mom camps out to get spot in mental ward for son
Mom camps out to get spot in mental ward for son
BY MICHAEL BIESECKER - Staff Writer
RALEIGH -- Salima Mabry watched
over her son Tuesday as he slept
awkwardly in the chair where he had
spent eight days waiting for a bed in a
state mental hospital.
Read full article in N&O
RALEIGH -- Salima Mabry watched
over her son Tuesday as he slept
awkwardly in the chair where he had
spent eight days waiting for a bed in a
state mental hospital.
Read full article in N&O