72-Hour Observations

Weekend Psych News

Texas death row inmate moved to psych facility
If there was any doubt that 25-year-old Andre Thomas has a serious mental disorder, he made his point last month. The death row inmate gouged out his left eye and ate it, resulting in a transfer to a psychiatric facility outside Houston. The case of Mr. Thomas, who had already removed his right eye in 2004, begs the question of how the mentally ill can be sentenced to death. Read more from the Associated Press.

Help for mentally ill in Arizona comes too little, too late
Writer Laurie Roberts posted a damning entry today at the Arizona Republic about the state of mental health care in Arizona. The system has come under fire after a mentally ill man named Joe Gallegos killed two boys with a baseball bat, and presumably had attacked others as well.

More problems at Patton
A patient was found unresponsive at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, CA on Thursday morning in what is now being called a suicide. The patient apparently hung himself. The death, if it is ruled suicide by the coroner, would be the sixth at Patton since 2003. The state hospital is under close scrutiny as part of a deal between state officials and the US Department of Justice to improve care for the residents, including keeping them safe from suicide and assault. Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
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A brighter New Year for mentally ill prisoners in Hawaii, New York

Aloha: friendly, hospitable, welcoming
According to the US Department of Justice, Hawaii has been anything but the Aloha State for the mentally ill incarcerated. After launching an investigation in 2005 of the O’ahu Community Correctional Center, the feds in 2007 declared the facility had glaring deficiencies when it came to treating mental health and later filed suit against the state.
On December 31, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that the state reached a settlement agreement with the DOJ. Among the changes to be made:
• A ban on “therapeutic lockdowns” in which inmates were routinely isolated from staff or mental health professionals.
• Mandating that inmates placed in “individualized seclusion” be assessed by an appropriate mental health professional within four hours and routinely checked afterwards.
• Improving suicide watches.
• Increasing control of psychotropic medications.

New York’s state of mind
Seeing that 10% of their prison population is diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, New York’s Office of Mental Health and the Department of Correctional Services are unveiling a new “wellness self-management” program.
Starting in February, inmates will attend seminars to learn about coping with their mental health conditions, managing medications and side effects, and how to improve communication with clinicians.
The initiative begins at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon followed by the Sing Sing and Bedford Hills prisons.
Read more about this at the Poughkeepsie Journal.Sphere: Related Content
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