Idaho's state hospitals see patient numbers climb more than 250 percent in five years, driven by court-committed defendants
The article, by Tommy Simmons of the Idaho Press and carried by the Idaho State Journal, described how a judge's finding of incompetence leads to a 90-day commitment to State Hospital North in Orofino or State Hospital South in Blackfoot, extendable for another 90 days before the commitment becomes civil. It reported that the two hospitals together have about 145 beds for adults and that commitments of defendants had grown more than 250 percent in five years: nine in July 2018, 15 in August, then 10 and 11 in September and October.
The state behavioral health administrator said many patients are restored in 30 to 45 days but that the hospitals were taking in more dangerous people and were not getting bigger. He offered possible explanations, including population growth and courts and attorneys becoming more cautious about raising competency. The story followed one woman committed in 2017 after being found unfit on a misdemeanor charge.
It documents how quickly Idaho's court-committed caseload was growing relative to a fixed number of hospital beds.
Source: Patient numbers skyrocketing at Idaho's mental hospitals — Idaho State Journal (Idaho Press), by Tommy Simmons
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