NV Dumps Mentally Ill People In Portland

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Never a doubt in my mind whenever I go downtown.

http://www.koin.com/news/portland/nev-hospital-patient-dumps-in-portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - Documents obtained in a KOIN 6 News investigation show people with severe mental health illnesses were given one-way tickets from a state-run hospital in Nevada to Portland.

Accusations of "patient dumping" first surfaced in California in April. Now, KOIN 6 News learned the same state-run psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas sent at least 32 of its patients to cities in Oregon.

Those patients were given one-way Greyhound tickets to cities throughout Oregon -- Salem, Tigard, Newport -- but most ended up in Portland.

"They had only a few days worth of medications and no money," said Jason Renaud of the Mental Health Association of Portland. "This is causing homelessness by a psychiatric hospital which is charged with helping persons with severe and persistent mental illness."

A class action lawsuit filed by San Francisco is how Portland's Mental Health Association realized patients from Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital may also have gotten one-way bus tickets to Portland.

San Francisco found 31 other patients were sent to their city.

KOIN 6 News found 1500 questionable one-way tickets throughout the country over the last five years.

No one from the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital would speak with KOIN 6 News, nor would they disclose the status of the patients who received the one-way tickets.

A hospital communications person did send a statement that said from 2008 to 2013, the hospital discharged 31,000 patients, and of those, 8% were non-Nevada residents.

In September, the Mental Health Association of Portland put in a request with the Oregon Department of Justice to investigate. They have not heard back yet.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum's office told KOIN 6 News the staff is looking into it, but it's too early to say if they will investigate.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Is there a law against giving people one-way tickets somewhere? Or is it that these were court-ordered mentally ill patients, and not supposed to leave without a judge signing off or something?

And it's not like they took their money. They'd have no money and few meds, whether it was in Portland, SF, Salem, NYC or Las Vegas.

 

[julius]

Is there a law against giving people one-way tickets somewhere? Or is it that these were court-ordered mentally ill patients, and not supposed to leave without a judge signing off or something?

And it's not like they took their money. They'd have no money and few meds, whether it was in Portland, SF, Salem, NYC or Las Vegas.

lets start sending our meth heads to Nevada. And while we're at it, let's send start sending all our criminals there. And not just for a weekend of gambling.

 

[Natebishop3]

Is there a law against giving people one-way tickets somewhere? Or is it that these were court-ordered mentally ill patients, and not supposed to leave without a judge signing off or something?

And it's not like they took their money. They'd have no money and few meds, whether it was in Portland, SF, Salem, NYC or Las Vegas.

The issue that San Francisco is having, and now us, is that they dump these people on a bus with nothing waiting for them on the other side. No phone call to the receiving end saying, "we're sending this crazy dude up to you. Thought you might want to know."

I think I read in another article that in some cases they just told the person to call 911 when they got to their destination, but that was only in some cases. Often they just send them with nothing and no instructions at all. Just a "so long, see ya later." It's pretty fucked up. I think I read that a lot of them are pretty seriously mentally ill, and they're sending them from a warm climate to a cold one.

Is it illegal? I have no idea, but it seems unethical and generally inhumane.

 

[BrianFromWA]

The two questions were legit questions. And they go for you sending methheads to NV as well. Is there a law against it, and if not, how do you file a lawsuit against it?

 

[BrianFromWA]

Of course it's unethical and inhumane, if they're court-ordered mentally ill people. If they're not, then don't they have the right to either refuse or accept the bus ticket, and the right to be homeless wherever they want? I thought Portland was one of the most homeless-friendly places in the world.

 

[Natebishop3]

The two questions were legit questions. And they go for you sending methheads to NV as well. Is there a law against it, and if not, how do you file a lawsuit against it?

I really don't know if there's a law against it, added to the fact that it's happening in at least three states, Nevada, California, and Oregon. It could be illegal in any one of those states. I honestly don't know.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

If true, there has to be some malpractice or breach of ethical duties or endangering the welfare of a patient or some kind of cause of action. These are doctors (albeit probably bad burnt out over worked doctors), but they are professionals and held to a different standard.

A state doctor giving a patient with mental issues a one way ticket out of their state sounds like a serious problem to me.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'm not sure if it's illegal as much as it might open up the hospital to liability issues.

The state-run Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas came under fire in April, after the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that hospital staff had given as many as 1,500 patients one-way bus tickets to California and 46 other states between 2008 and 2013.

Nevada health officials later acknowledged the hospital had shipped 10 newly discharged patients out of state without documenting adequate aftercare plans for food, housing, medication and treatment. They said two employees were fired and three others faced disciplinary action.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/san-francisco-sues-nevada-over-patient-dumping-8C11126850

Nevada’s mental health system has been in the spotlight for months, following a Sacramento Bee report published earlier this year that found Rawson-Neal had bused 1,500 mentally ill patients out of Southern Nevada from July 2008 through early March 2013. About 500 were given one-way tickets to California.

The Bee undertook its investigation after one of those patients, James Flavy Coy Brown, turned up suicidal and confused at a Sacramento homeless services complex after a 15-hour bus ride from Las Vegas to the capital city. Brown said he knew no one in Sacramento and that Rawson-Neal doctors advised him to dial 911 once he arrived in the city.

Nevada health officials have acknowledged that they erred in shipping Brown to Sacramento without any arrangements for care. But they contend his case was an exception and that the vast majority of patients bused from Rawson-Neal had family or treatment waiting for them on the other end of their journeys.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/10/5723995/san-francisco-files-class-action.html

Very interesting case. I wonder if other states and hospitals have had similar practices.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

We should do this with Laker fans when they show up to the Moda center.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Didn't I also read somewhere....(maybe here) that Hawaii was buying homeless people a plane ticket to a state of their choice? Maybe this is pretty common practice?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Didn't I also read somewhere....(maybe here) that Hawaii was buying homeless people a plane ticket to a state of their choice? Maybe this is pretty common practice?

Maybe if I pretend to be homeless in Portland I can get the city to buy me a ticket to Hawaii. That would be sweet.

 

[julius]

Didn't I also read somewhere....(maybe here) that Hawaii was buying homeless people a plane ticket to a state of their choice? Maybe this is pretty common practice?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...-buy-their-homeless-one-way-tickets-out-town/

 

[Sedatedfork]

My inlaws just moved to Portland from Las Vegas last month. Just sayin'

 

[julius]

I wonder if Nevada is doing this to appease Ben Davis?

 

[Nikolokolus]

There may not be a law broken here, but if these people were under psychiatric care, then the psychiatrists that signed off on this are probably guilty of malpractice and breaking their Hippocratic oath.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

lets start sending our meth heads to Nevada. And while we're at it, let's send start sending all our criminals there. And not just for a weekend of gambling.

That would clear out half of S2.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I would agree it is an act of malpractice. In addition, if they are wards of the state then NV has a legal responsibility to ensure theur safety to a certain degree.

 

[MARIS61]

My inlaws just moved to Portland from Las Vegas last month. Just sayin'

Nice!

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Yeah......all over at OregonLive.

 

[santeesioux]

lets start sending our meth heads to Nevada. And while we're at it, let's send start sending all our criminals there. And not just for a weekend of gambling.

But then Southern Oregon would be empty, and Californians would move there in droves!

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I would agree it is an act of malpractice. In addition, if they are wards of the state then NV has a legal responsibility to ensure theur safety to a certain degree.

Wait, the insurance adjuster agrees it's malpractice? Better not let your supervisor read that.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Wait, the insurance adjuster agrees it's malpractice? Better not let your supervisor read that.

If they knew I posted here I'd be involuntarily committed.

 

[julius]

If they knew I posted here I'd be involuntarily committed.

I think most of us already thought that you were.


Actually, most of us SHOULD be.