Oregon State Hospital halts most admissions during COVID-19, leaving defendants in county jails
The hospital stopped most admissions in mid-March, in conflict with a nearly 20-year-old federal order requiring defendants who need treatment to be admitted within seven days. As of early April at least 34 people were waiting in jail, and the hospital had already spent about nine months out of compliance during 2019.
The Oregon Health Authority asked the court to temporarily relax the deadline. Disability Rights Oregon suggested leasing hotel rooms and hiring staff to provide care, but the state said a hospital level of care in a non-hospital setting was impossible. Public defenders and advocates warned that jailed people with mental illness are especially vulnerable to the virus and receive little psychiatric care.
The dispute led to the pandemic-era modification of the Mink order that the federal appeals court would later reverse.
Source: Oregon State Hospital Restricts Admissions, Leaving Some Mentally Ill Inmates Stuck In Jail — Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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