WHEN COVID-19 IS CONTAINED, "EXTRA" BEDS SHOULD BE USED FOR SMI by Dede Ranahan

CALL TO ACTION
US deaths from COVID-19 have climbed to more than 12,000 and the whole country is focused on ending this pandemic. The same determined attention needs to address another “pandemic” that is growing and ignored — serious mental illness (SMI). When the COVID-19 pandemic is contained (this might require many months), newly constructed field hospitals and other “extra” COVID-19 beds should be retained to serve the seriously mentally ill. These resources must not be co-opted or lost. Which individuals/organizations have the influence and political will — right now — to take this on, plan, and make it happen? Suggestions?

BACKGROUND
1) According to the National Institutes of Mental Health (2019), nearly one in five US adults lives with a mental illness (46.6 million people in 2017).

2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 50% of the population will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. One in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.

3) A 2016 paper by Treatment Advocacy Center finds that serious mental illness has become so prevalent in the US corrections system that jails and prisons are now commonly called “the new asylums.” Los Angeles County Jail, Chicago’s Cook County Jail, or New York’s Riker’s Island Jail each hold more mentally ill inmates than any remaining psychiatric hospital in the United States. Overall, approximately 20% of inmates in jails and 15% of inmates in state prisons are estimated to have a serious mental illness. Based on the total inmate population, this means approximately 383,000 individuals with severe psychiatric disease were behind bars in the United States in 2014 or nearly 10 times the number of patients remaining in the nation’s state hospitals.

4) Mental Illness Policy Org estimates that close fo half of all Americans with mental illness aren’t getting treatment.

5) As stated by Constellation Behavioral Health, the cost of untreated mental illness is high. Patients hospitalized with serious mental illness are much more likely to be readmitted in the next 30 days if they do not receive follow-up treatment. The average hospital cost for a patient readmitted for a mood disorder is $7,100. Mental illness and substance abuse often co-occur, increasing the risk of death from overdose. There were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2017. As many as 90 percent of cases of suicide are attributed to mental illness.

6) Wikipedia notes that the US has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy nations. In 2018, there were 48,344 recorded suicides, up from 42,773 in 2014, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. On average, adjusted for age, the annual US suicide rate increased 24% between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 to 13.0 suicides per 100,000 people, the highest rate recorded in 28 years. Due to the stigma surrounding suicide, it is suspected that suicide generally is underreported. 

7) According to the Psychiatric Times (2016), the shortage of psychiatric beds in the US is a major problem. Nevertheless, many states continue to decrease the number of state hospital beds. Given findings by various experts, it seems reasonable to establish a range of 40 to 60 psychiatric beds per 100,000 population as a minimum standard.

CALL TO ACTION
US deaths from COVID-19 have climbed to more than 12,000 and the whole country is focused on ending this pandemic. The same determined attention needs to address another “pandemic” that is growing and ignored — serious mental illness (SMI). When the COVID-19 pandemic is contained (this might require many months), newly constructed field hospitals and other “extra” COVID-19 beds should be retained to serve the seriously mentally ill. These resources must not be co-opted or lost. Which individuals/organizations have the influence and political will — right now — to take this on, plan, and make it happen? Suggestions?

Photo credit: Valerie Everett/Flickr

Photo credit: Valerie Everett/Flickr

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF NURSING AT A STATE PRISON

I’m the director of nursing at a state prison. I received a shipment of supplies yesterday and 200 toe tags had been added to my order. The state has rented coolers to store bodies and it hasn’t been able to get body bags. We’ve been instructed to order extra trash bags and refer to them as "plastic bags" when utilizing them for bodies.

We’ve managed to keep this pandemic out of the prison so far, but it will arrive. It’s evident that, when it does, the resources will have already been expended on the general population. My patients will be left to me and my 19 nurses who are trying to help 1200 inmates armed with nothing but one mask each and an eight-bed infirmary that never has an empty bed. I have three oxygen concentrators, four nebulizers, and no IV pumps. Only dial flow tubing.

I know much of society believes these guys are expendable but they aren't all "bad." Many of them are young people who’ve made poor decisions and gotten caught. They have parents and kids who love them and so many will be productive, law-abiding citizens when released. Unfortunately, many will receive the “death penalty” because we’re not prepared to handle the influx of illness that is imminent in the next weeks.

I love these guys the same way nursing home staff members love their residents. Yet I’m forced to put on a face that reassures staff and inmates that everything is under control.

NOTE TO READERS: If you know an SMI prisoner who would like to receive mail, please send me a brief description, a photo if you have one, and a mailing address. Email it to me at dede@soonerthantomorrow.com. Or message me with your information on Facebook. I’ll add that person to the blog Pen Pal page. SMI prisoners need to hear from us — more than ever — in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo credit: Marcelo/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcelo/Flickr

A NEW PAGE ON THE BLOG - PEN PALS by Dede Ranahan

A NEW PAGE ON THE BLOG

PEN PALS

With the corona virus pandemic, visiting rules have been changed in most US prisons. Many of our SMI family members are in prison and often in solitary confinement. We’re all experiencing various levels of solitary confinement as we stay home — with one or two others or by ourselves — in response to COVID-19 directives. We’re getting a feel for the stresses of being in isolation. Can you imagine being seriously mentally ill with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and being in solitary confinement with family visiting sessions cancelled? No. Neither can I.

Several of you have asked if there might be a way to set up correspondence with SMI prisoners (in and out of solitary) to let them know they’ve not been forgotten. I’m adding this page to the blog as a place to post the names/addresses of prisoners who would welcome news and connection to the outside world. In other words, they’d love to receive letters from you.

Please send me a brief description of a SMI prisoner you know who would like to receive mail. A photo of them would be great if you have it. I’ll begin this list with Travis Christian whom I’ve been visiting and writing about on the blog. Send your information to me at dede@soonerthantomorrow.com. Thank you so much.

Travis Christian

Travis Christian

Travis Christian has been in prison over seven years for a crime he committed while he was in a psychotic state. You can read my stories about Travis on the blog. Check the archives on the right. Travis was due to be released this year, but now, he’s in solitary confinement indefinitely for attacking his cellie while in another delusional state. The DA recently told Travis that he’s bringing charges against him for attempted murder. Travis is potentially facing many more years in prison. Travis’s mail address: Travis Christian, BB8099, C-12-242, Mule Creek State Prison, PO Box 409060, Ione, CA 95640.

Dillon McCandless

Dillon McCandless

If you could add my son Dillon to your list for mail, that would be great. I'm very worried about him. He’s currently in isolation in Butner, NC. He has schizophrenia and is in isolation most of the time because he either won't stay on meds or they don't have him on the right medication. He was doing so well when he first arrived, but we don't know what has happened and I can't get anyone to tell me. He can't even call us for a month. He was at a medical center in Rochester last year and spent four months in isolation there unmedicated. Then in Oregon for seven months and three of those in isolation. He’s been moved numerous times because federal prisons don't know how to take care of the mentally ill. I know he needs mail and positive, encouraging words. His address is: Dillon McCandless 19101023, FCI Butner Medium 1, PO Box 1000, Butner, NC 27509

Mason Lantern

Mason Lantern

My son, Mason, is 28. He’s been ill with schizophrenia since 2009. He just made it through high school to get his diploma. He used to be a math and science whiz, loved playing online computer games, and made friends easily. He was also great at sports. Any sport you put him in he could do, and he loved it. For a minute there, he was in a good treatment program. He lived at home, was able to attend community college, made friends, had a girlfriend, and started taking piano lessons and practicing. However, he's been in pretty bad shape since 2012. He’s had in multiple arrests, failed attempts at treatment, been homeless, and spent significant time in the largest mental hospital in the world — Twin Towers Los Angeles County jail for men. He's there now and we're hoping to get him into a locked IMD but chances are he'll have to be held at the county hospital until a bed opens up. Mason’s mail address: Mason Lantern, #5854725, Terminal Annex, PO Box 86164, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0164.