Read on Twitter
"I don't want to die in here with the #coronavirus."
The fear is palpable in California’s largest state-run psychiatric facility. (thread) #COVID19 #mentalhealth https://news.bloomberglaw.com/pharma-and-life-sciences/psychiatric-hospital-called-tinderbox-of-covid-19-infections?context=search&index=0
The fear is palpable in California’s largest state-run psychiatric facility. (thread) #COVID19 #mentalhealth https://news.bloomberglaw.com/pharma-and-life-sciences/psychiatric-hospital-called-tinderbox-of-covid-19-infections?context=search&index=0
I spoke to patients in California's Patton State Hospital, which houses involuntary patients, including many with violent criminal records. Many have been there for years and deemed ready for discharge - but their efforts to leave the facility stalled as the virus raged.
A lawsuit on behalf of patients at Patton signals a national trend of outbreaks hitting a vulnerable & largely overlooked population: People with mental health disorders who are locked up, often in underfunded mental health facilities that are breeding grounds for Covid-19.
At Patton, cumulative cases in the facility rose from 151 on Oct. 24 to 335 by Dec. 14. Nationwide, 129,115 patients were treated in inpatient, mental health settings in 2018, according to the most recent government data. Of those, 26% were in public psychiatric hospitals.
“Congregate settings face special, extraordinary challenges in containing outbreaks. Without reducing the facility population, it will be almost impossible to stop an epidemic.” - @greggonsalves in support of a lawsuit on behalf of patients in Massachusetts public hospitals.
