I really had no idea it was this bad...
New Orleans Suffers Crisis in Mental Health Care
It's a lengthy NPR audio piece, and prepare to be disturbed.
I should expect this by now, especially in post-Katrina New Orleans. But it's still enough to bring tears to your eyes.
New Orleans has gone from 240 mental health beds to 30. 240 beds was not enough pre-Katrina, as they were fully used and rarely had openings. Patients being brought in by emergency workers are met with open hostility by ER personnel, and are often turned away before being seen. One story involved being turned away by an angry doctor before even getting on the ramp at the ER.
This is a story that needs to be heard by all with even a passing interest in mental health issues.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
New Orleans Mental Health Crisis
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
That is heart breaking. Here im albuquerque they have a petitiom (the mayor) to force all mentally ill people to seek treatment. It hasn't passed yet - but I think it would n great if I could get mu Rx's for free.
We still have a few people left here from nig easy. My sister gtrw up there.. The devisttion is heartbreaking
Ms P - Glad to see you posting again. I've added you back to my regular reads. Of course, my regular reads these days are at best semi-regular.
Good articles , this article make some interesting points .
Mental Health information
Post a Comment