Sunday, August 29, 2010

Milwaukee County Looks To New Psychiatric Hospital

There are a couple of things about this story that caught my attention. 

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and 12 supervisors pledged Friday to build a new psychiatric hospital on the County Grounds, aiming to address issues of violence and care at the county’s 31-year-old building.

The first thing was this:

The issue has been dormant since early 2009, when the board voted down a Walker plan to move the complex to a remodeled St. Michael Hospital on Milwaukee’s north side.

So Walker identified the problem and proposed a solution that the County Board shot down.  Now they all seem to agree with Walker that there is a problem and want to provide a more expensive solution.  Nice.

Then this:

On Friday, 12 supervisors announced their support for a new building on the County Grounds. Walker said later in the day he supports that effort. Neither side discussed cost Friday, but estimates for a new facility prepared in 2008 put the cost of a new hospital at some $400 million.

Nurses and other staff say the physical layout of the building lends itself to problems. Hallways are long and difficult to monitor, and nursing stations are set far from patient rooms.

Keep in mind that this isn’t an ancient building.  It’s not as old as a large portion of the housing stock in Milwaukee County.  Would it really take $400 MILLION to find a solution?  Seriously?  I find that hard to believe when the cases being cited are like this:

A similar declaration came in January after inspectors found medical staff failed to protect 11 of 17 patients on Ward 43-D - where Atkins was a patient - from inappropriate sexual contact.

and…

In 2006, one of Strelnick’s patients, Cindy Anczak, died of complications of starvation at the complex.

Sorry, but these are cases of gross neglect and incompetence - not because the nurses’ stations are a ways down the hall.  I’m not convinced that a $400 million new facility would do any more to fix the problem than a through revamp of the staff and a $20,000 camera system in the rooms and hallways.  While the treatments of the mentally ill may have changed drastically over the last 30 years, the process of basic supervision has not.

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1145 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Isn’t 12 County Supervisors meeting and agreeing on a course of action a violation of the State’s open meetings laws?

    And your right, new bricks and mortar won’t fix the management and personnel problems.

    And if the estimate is $400mil. then the real cost will be $800mil.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 29, 2010 at 1228 hrs


  2. I don’t believe it, I agree with you! Leave the physical facility where it is and provide better supervision and case management.

    Incidentially, the Walker proposal for St. Mike’s would have had a detrimental effect on law enforcement, particularly in southern Milwaukee County. One of the biggest objections was that police officers, who both transport mentally ill individuals to the mental health center and subsuequently need to testify at Chapter 51 hearings, would have to travel to St. Mike’s.  The present MCHM facility is centerally located.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 29, 2010 at 1242 hrs


  3. Another instance, as with the veterans homes.  Larry, Moe and Curley Joe are running, or at least in control of, a facility they have no knowlege of what it takes to provide the care.  It’s just another thing government has showen a proficiency at screwing up.  Privatize and let someone who knows how to run it fix it.  Most of that county board need to be residents there not calling the shots.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 29, 2010 at 1337 hrs


  4. Oh, where to start.  First of all, it was found that Walker had fudged the numbers regarding St. Mike’s.  Out of the three options of St. Mike’s, refurbishing the old building or building new, St. Mike’s was actually the most expensive.  Add to that the fact that it was found not to meet clinical needs in the safety sense and would have left the county vulnerable when the lease was up, it was a very irresponsible suggestion.

    The only reason Walker made it in the first place is because he wants to sell the current site to land developers (read campaign donors).

    Even though the current building is not that old, it would cost $15 million to bring it up to minimal standards, thanks to Walker’s deferred maintenance.

    But I agree that the $400 million is way off base, unless they are still using the 25 years of projected costs that Walker was trying to use a couple, three years ago.

    You can’t use cameras in patients’ rooms.  They might have an illness, but they are still people and have basic rights, including privacy.  I’m really rather surprised that you would even suggest that.

    The problem again is Walker’s short sighted budget cutting which left BHD with a high concentration of highly acute patients with not enough staff.  Have two or three patients go on one-to-one status and you already have a staffing crisis.

    In other words, as I’ve been arguing all along, Walker’s “tax savings” were merely tax deferments.  With interest.

    Posted by capper on August 29, 2010 at 2230 hrs


  5. You can’t use cameras in patients’ rooms.  They might have an illness, but they are still people and have basic rights, including privacy.  I’m really rather surprised that you would even suggest that.

    Actually, you can use cameras in the most severe cases, especially those who threaten suicide.  When I worked in Mendota, they had cameras all around, including some in patient’s rooms.
    I don’t know if a new facility is needed or not.  I’d rather privatize the facility and let people who know how to run a psychiatric hospital run it that the County.  More often than not, the privates know how to run a hospital better and cheaper.  The government, especially local governments, just don’t have the knowledge to run a psychiatric hospital.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 29, 2010 at 2310 hrs


  6. I don’t know how long ago you worked at Mendota, but the laws have changed so that patients’ rights are much more strongly protected.  A camera in a room, or at least in the average room as opposed to a crisis room, would be an invasion of privacy now.

    Actually, having worked at a number of private hospitals, I can tell you that they never will do it.  The population in BHD right now is a high concentration of very acute patients. 

    Most of them would be rejected by a private hospital and told to seek either BHD or the even more expensive state hospitals.

    Unless you are advocating for the government to tell the hospitals which patients they have to take, I just don’t see it happening.  And yes, I don’t think the government has the right to force private hospitals to take patients they are not equipped to handle.

    Posted by capper on August 29, 2010 at 2316 hrs


  7. I wish they’d have used St. Michael’s just so I could tell everyone the place I was born is a mental hospital.

    Posted by Brian J. on August 30, 2010 at 0636 hrs


  8. OR….

    The State will soon close Ethan Allen.  Simply close County and move the patients to the (refurbished) Ethan Allen complex.

    Posted by dad29 on August 30, 2010 at 0725 hrs


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