In the battle to help mental health patients survive, SB 410 was unanimously recommended by the New Hampshire Senate Health and Human Services Committee, according to an NHPR report.
The bill aims to “reduce, even eliminate, emergency room waits for psychiatric beds,” by allotting “$3 million to transitional, supportive housing for people who no longer need in-patient behavioral health treatment but are not ready to live independently,” according to NHPR.
Through funding the move to supportive housing for in-patient individuals, the beds in the in-patient facilities will open up for those in need.
The importance of both transitional housing and in-patient facilities cannot be understanded; they are the difference between life and death for so many vulnerable people. My junior year of highschool I had a major mental health emergency and was brought to the emergency room for treatment/further direction.
The environment of the emergency room, as anyone who has been to one knows, is overwhelming and uncomfortable. I cannot remember feeling more numb than I did the two days I spent in the ER. My first night/morning it was decided I was going to an in-patient care facility, but we had to wait for a bed to open up.
I was lucky enough to live near Boston, Mass. and the Mass. mental health care system is a couple notches above N.H. I had to wait one night and morning before I was able to secure my spot and relocate, which even for Mass. is quick.
SB 410 hopes to reduce wait times to no longer than six-12 hours, according to WBUR, which is mindblowing considering there are currently patients in N.H. who have gone days without relocation. The goal is certainly lofty, but would be no less than incredible.
Having first hand experience in an in-patient facility, I can speak on both the benefits of such facilities for people in need and the problem of patients who are there because they have nowhere else to go.
As for the benefits, these facilities save lives. They are a place free from the stressors and dangers of the outside world. They provide a safe space that gives you the time to experiment with medication and different therapies. You are with other people who are going through similar situations and a strong sense of community is formed, and that is healing.
As for the patients in the facilities, there are a wide range of reasons they could be admitted. The most common reasons I encountered were drug abuse, mental health emergencies and aggressive behavioral issues. The “problem” arises when individuals reach a point where they are no longer “at risk” or in need of in-patient facilities but they do not have another suitable option. It was described to me by one of those individuals as being “stuck.” They need a place to be, so when there is not a suitable next step, they remain at the facility constantly being told “soon.”
By providing these people with the suitable next step is crucial to saving lives. It keeps more beds open in the in-patients, which frees vulnerable people from the suffocation of the emergency room and allows them to get the treatment it needs.
The New Hampshire Senate Health and Serviced Committee’s decision to recommend the passing of SB 410 is one of the most promising things I have seen from the N.H. government in a while. Making sure the people you have been entrusted to govern have a better chance of surviving is exactly what they are supposed to do, so good job.
Harvie Marcotti can be contacted at
hmarcotti@kscequinox.com
