Patients and Clinicians Call for Restoration of Hope at the Oregon State Hospital
Newly released videos and recommendations demand reforms
Portland, Oregon — Disability Rights Oregon (DRO), the federally mandated protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities in Oregon, captured first-person accounts on camera from patients and clinicians regarding the conditions within the State Hospital in a newly released exposé, entitled “Far from Recovery: The Erosion of Rights & Quality Treatment at Oregon State Hospital.” The exposé reveals an account of what is happening behind hospital walls with videos, photos, and testimony.
“How are you going to instill a move into the community without having the ability to assume responsibility for our own safety and care? If we’re supposed to integrate ourselves back into the community… how do we become contributing members of society. Or, do we live off mental health?” asked David Robles, a patient at the Junction City. Long-time patients like Robles share a sense of hopelessness due in part to more restrictions and receiving less individualized treatment. Christina, a patient interviewed for the exposé describes what it’s like, “What’s happening is people just come here and get swept under the rug. There’s no treatment here anymore. There’s really not. It's mainly legal skills, or watching music videos.”
OSH, the State of Oregon's public psychiatric hospital, is an important indicator of how Oregon is meeting its obligations to provide treatment to patients in its care. OSH Clinical Psychologist Whitney Vail shares, “Our acuity has gone through the roof, and it’s not just because all of the admissions and the turn over, it’s because they have no one to trust. People who they [patients at OSH] have spent years, gradually building trust with and feeling like there’s a few people that truly care, those people are leaving.”
“We can recall when OSH was a place worthy of the slogan “Hope, Safety and Recovery,” said Jake Cornett, executive director of DRO. “We hope this exposé uplifts the voices of patients, family members, and OSH clinicians that desperately deserve to be heard”
DRO aggregated recommendations based on its presence at the hospital and relationships with patients and clinicians built over the years as the federally-mandated advocacy organization with unique access authority. Those recommendations are as follows:
During hospital stay, OSH should:
· Follow clinical expert recommendations and individualized treatment care plans
· Address issues with patient medical treatment
· Tailor needs of the most acute patients
· Implement additional intermediary between patients and administrators
· Re-connect patients with their communities outside
During the “step down” process, OSH should:
· Fund supportive housing and case management
· Support life in the community, not life behind walls
· Review the risk review process
Today’s exposé is available on DRO’s website at “Far from Recovery: The Erosion of Rights & Quality Treatment at Oregon State Hospital.”
About Disability Rights Oregon
Disability Rights Oregon upholds the civil rights of people with disabilities to live, work, and engage in the community. The nonprofit works to transform systems, policies, and practices to give more people the opportunity to reach their full potential. For more than 40 years, the organization has served as Oregon’s Protection & Advocacy system.
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