Portland, the DOJ and the slow
moving gears of mental health
In 2013, the city agreed to create a m ental
health center in its settlement with the
Departm ent o f Ju stice over police use o f force
Two years later, what that would look like is
a ll still a matter o f perspective.
&
HI
« fi
B Y CHRISTEN McCURDY
S T A F F W R IT E R
mental health,
not-soothing,
ocal hospitals are going full steam
warm and
ahead with a plan to merge psychiatric
welcoming in a
care services into a single emergency
psychiatric emergency;
treatment center - which the city is touting
service.”
as the answer to a neglected requirement in
Patients who seek mental
alternative to
Portland’s agreement with the Department
health treatment in standard emergency
jails
or
of Justice, even as stakeholders say it
rooms currently face long wait times - ofteri
hospitals, In
doesn’t actually meet that requirement.
being warehoused for several days - to
that regard, we .
And police reform advocates are watching
access appropriate care. Farentinos said at
will
definitely
be
the progress of the United States vs. City of
Unity,
staff will be-able to perform an
an alternative,”
Portland agreement in light of the abrupt
assessment right away with professionals
Farentinos
said.
resignation of Paul De Muniz, the former
who specialize in psychiatry and addiction,
Mayor Charlie
chief justice of Oregon’s Supreme Court and
who will be on hand to monitor patients’
Hales
has
included
the only Oregon link, from the Compliance
progress more closely.
$500,000 in one-time
Officer/Community Liaison team tasked
“A great majority, about 80 percent of
funding for the new
with overseeing the agreement.
psychiatric emergencies, can be treated in a
Providence
center
in
his
2015-16
The Unity Behavioral Health Center -
Health
few hours and, get back in the community,”
proposed budget, unveiled
announced earlier this year as a planned
Farentinos said. “In many ways, a
Services, which is
May 5. The city already pays more
collaboration between Legacy Health, Kaiser not participating in the
psychiatric emergency -service functions as a
than $300,000 a year for the COCL/
Permanente, Oregon Health and Science
triage and treat. As an outcome, it reduces
Unity project, will keep its mental health
COAB.
University and Adventist Health Services -
the rate of hospitalization and gets the
services intact. Providence currently has 79 <
“We’re generally using the term
would total $50 million in remodeling costs
beds available, but"dt^® ^W ^a^SsT28by ™ ‘p sy c h ia tr ic e m e r g e n c y s e r v ic e s ’ r a th e r th an 1 person back teethe Community faster, ’
though there are, people thaLwill
at Legacy Health’s Holladay Park campus in
the end of the year.
drop-in center because people who know
in-patient hospitalizations.” '
the Lloyd District, according to a website
The United States vs. City of Portland
about health care tell me that’s a better and
“Right now. what we have is when people
Legacy has created to raise awareness and
settlement, the result of a Department of
more efficient term,” Dana Haynes,,
are in mental health crises, there are
funds for the site. Legacy has committed
Justice investigation that found the Portland
spokesperson for Hales’ office, told Street
occasions when we handcuff them and put
$10 million in real estate and raised another
Police Bureau had a pattern of excessive
Roots in response to a question about the
them in the back of a Grown Vic [patrol car]
$21 million in private donations.
force against people with mental illness,
drop-in center requirement in the
and take them to an emergency ER,”
The new facility will have 101 beds total -
said one of the underlying causes of the
agreement “A drop-in center could be a
Haynes said. “That’s the wrong response
79 for adults and 22 for children and
problem was the “absence of a
quonset hut with a fence. I mean, it just
with the wrong vehicle to the wrong venue.
adolescents, accordihg to Dr. Chris
comprehensive community mental health
doesn’t say enough. So we use the term
But if somebody’s having an emergency
Farentinos, the behavioral health director
infrastructure (that) often shifts to law
psychiatric emergency services center.”
crisis
in downtown Portland, w e don’t have a
for Legacy.
enforcement agencies throughout Oregon
Renaud said in the 1980s, there was a
lot of other options beyond that. The
In an interview with Street Roots,
the burden of being first responders to
handful of quadrant-based, peer-run day
psychiatric emergency services center
Farentinos described the center as “a
individuals in mental health crisis.”
treatment centers in Portland that allowed
would be the appropriate place to take
merger” consolidating the hospital systems’
It called on the city and coordinated care
people in a fragile state to come in and work
someone who’s having a mental health
’mental health care to one centralized site.
organizations - just then being formed to
through crises safely, usually without
crisis. It would create parity for mental
Most of the participating systems - with the overhaul care delivery for those on the
treatment - and this is probably what the
health
the same as for physical health.”
exception of Kaiser - will transfer their
Oregon Health Plan - to create “one or
term “drop-in centers” evoked for
Renaud said the Unity center may solve
mental health services to the site.
more drop-off center(s) for first responders
stakeholders.
problems in emergency rooms, but doesn’t
Currently, Adventist has 43 beds for
and public walk-in centers for individuals
“That’s the idea of the walk-in center, a
meet the heeds of people with mental
psychiatric patients, and OHSU has 20 -
with addictions and/or behavioral health
place where people can be safe, not get
illnesses.
and spokespeople for both organizations
service needs*”
treatment and not get judged. They could
“It does fit the needs of various hospitals.
confirmed those beds will be moved to
Jason Renaud, co-founder of the Mental
have a crisis and not attract the attention of
It
prevents
liability,” Renaud said - but he
Unity when it opens, which Legacy is hoping Health Association of Portland, said when
police or worried neighbors,” Renaud said.
emphasized that it doesn’t meet the«-
will happen by the end of next year. Legacy
the settlement agreement was first released,
Amy Watson, who serves on the COCL
requirements of the agreement.
has 43 total psychiatric care beds — 17 at
he was tasked to take it to people in the
board and is a professor of social work at
There’s also a question mark hanging
Good Samaritan, 10 at Legacy Emmanuel
mental health system. Stakeholders: told him the Jane Addams College of Social Work at
oyer
next steps in the agreement’s
and 16 child/adolescent beds at Randall
they weren’t consulted about most of the
the University of Illinois at Chicago, told
implementation. Paul De Muniz, a former
Children’s Hospital.
reforms and felt many of them were either
Street Roots the settlement “doesn’t have as
chief justice of Oregon’s Supreme Court and
Kaiser didn’t respond to Street Roots’
unhelpful or redundant.
much teeth” in making sure the drop-in
the only Portland-based member of the
query about the number of mental health
The deadline for creation of the drop-in
centers open, because the coordinated care
COCL, announced his resignation from the
beds in its Portland facilities (which are only centers was 2013. By winter 2014, city
organizations aren’t parties in the
board
April 8, citing a personal health issue.
available to Kaiser patients), but Legacy
officials were describing drop-off sites as
agreement.
(Amanda Marshall, U.S. Attorney for the
^spokesperson Brian Terrett noted it
“aspirational,” but more recently have
“I started asking people to stop talking
Oregon district, has also announced her
wouldn’t be moving any of its beds to the
touted Unity as the answer to the neglected
about drop-off center and to start talking
resignation, also citing a personal health
requirement.
new facility. Between the three
about treatment center where people can
issue, effective May 15. The US Attorney is
But Farentinos acknowledged it’s
organizations that are moving their beds,
get care,” Farentinos told Street Roots.
the local representative of the Department
probably not what the authors of the
there are 106 psychiatric cafe beds total -
“When someone is having a mental health
of Justice.)
agreement had in mind - though it’s
just a few more than the 101 for the new
crisis, say they’re depressed or suicidal, and
In November, when the city announced
intended to be an avenue where people in
proposed site.
they go to an emergency room, a medical
its
selection of the Rosenbaum group -
mental health crisis can access treatment
Farentinos noted there will be a few more
emergency room, of course the staff is very
rather than going to jail.
pediatric psych beds at Unity than are
caring and is going to do the best they can,
See MENTAL HEALTH, page 13
“There is language that aspires to offer an but the environment is not designed for
currently available, and said she believes
B