What are the current alternatives available for people having a psychiatric emergency and how are those emergencies being managed?
Dr. Sharon Meieran, an emergency room physician at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, looks into this issue on May 25 when Oregon Health Forum hosts a breakfast forum in collaboration with the Mental Health Association of Portland. The event gets underway at 7 a.m. at the Multnomah Athletic Club.
Meieran is also a member of the Community Oversight and Advisory Board, the City Council-appointed oversight for Portland’s settlement with the Department of Justice. And, she’s a candidate for the Multnomah County Commission in next week’s election.
Joining Meieran on the stage will be Dr .Christine Farentinos, CADC III, Unity Center – Legacy Health, a long-time advocate of bringing a psychiatric emergency department to Portland. Farentinos will make it clear that "Unity Center is not a drop off/walk in center as per DOJ/ vs. the City of Portland.”
Also, Edward Jones, Multnomah County Circuit Court Chief Criminal Judge, will discuss the impact on the court system of people with untreated or under-treated mental illness and addiction.
Portland’s overcrowded emergency rooms have become a place of last resort for psychiatric patients, according to Jason Renaud, board officer of the Mental Health Association of Portland, who will moderate the panel.
Psychiatric boarding, defined as psychiatric patients’ waiting in hallways or other emergency room areas for inpatient beds, is a serious problem nationwide.
Boarding consumes precious emergency room resources and delays patients receiving treatment. It is often the result of an inability to gain timely access to community-based care - waiting lists for outpatient treatment is now up to eight weeks. Learn more about this interactive forum by registering today and bring your questions for our panelists. If your organization is interested in supporting this breakfast forum or has ideas for future events, please contact Diane Lund-Muzikant, executive director.
Oregon Health Forum is the educational arm of The Lund Report and collaborates with other nonprofit organizations to sponsor monthly breakfast forums.
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
