tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post1401327466361736771..comments2024-01-12T11:26:35.176-05:00Comments on Working Stiffs: Requiem for a State HospitalWorking Stiffshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270595837074553752noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-77988149739022704552013-11-14T13:20:34.925-05:002013-11-14T13:20:34.925-05:00Hi, if any of you have information on Mayview Stat...Hi, if any of you have information on Mayview State Hospital's history or could give your own opinion, please contact us at<br /><br />claire.schulhoff@kentuckyavenueschool.org Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-28683628557219313022008-03-21T02:11:00.000-04:002008-03-21T02:11:00.000-04:00Back in 2000, I was in the Bengs unit of Mayview. ...Back in 2000, I was in the Bengs unit of Mayview. I was sent there due to multiple hospitalizations for my Bipolar Disorder. I remember being scared to death. I meet the Dr. G on my first day there and he said that the Dr that sent me there was a idiot for sending me there and that this was not a place for me. I remember having to sit in a day room all day with barely anything to do. There wasn't much therapy, or activities for the patients to do. Dr. G told me if I follow my treatment plan he would have me out in 30 days. The Dr. that sent me there wanted me there for 90. I meet a wide variety of people with many disorders. I was 19 when I was sent there. I am stable now, but I can remember talking to some of the other patients about how long they have been there and most of them where there for over ten years. Some because they were not getting better, others because there families gave up on them. I can see why some of them never go better, just being in the day room for 14 hrs a day would drive a normal person crazy. What do you think it would do to some one that had a mental illness? I think that residential programs need to be more available in all counties that use Mayview, and that Mayview needs to re-evaluate how they treat patients. It could be a better place if the DPW cared more about helping people rather than hassling them. I don't think people should be allowed to stay more than a year in a state hospital unless they are diagnosed as Criminally Insane.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-89040445392709510982007-08-25T16:03:00.000-04:002007-08-25T16:03:00.000-04:00This is state legislation. Although Allegheny Co. ...This is state legislation. Although Allegheny Co. has most of the 220 patients in Mayview it does serve 4 other counties. I'm sorry but right now I cannot remember who has sponsored it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-74409343978423719502007-08-25T15:39:00.000-04:002007-08-25T15:39:00.000-04:00Alan: Glad to hear there is pending legislation! ...Alan: Glad to hear there is pending legislation! Is that at the state or county level?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-15510968050793854972007-08-25T15:15:00.000-04:002007-08-25T15:15:00.000-04:00Tory, you hit the nail on the head. There presentl...Tory, you hit the nail on the head. There presently is pending legislation stating that the sale of Mayview (Upper St. Clair area) should go to the services of people recovering from mental health diseases rather than going into the genaral fund. It does take of of us to notify their legislators.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-36177033538356859802007-08-25T15:11:00.000-04:002007-08-25T15:11:00.000-04:00Tory, interesting post. I work right off Mayview R...Tory, interesting post. I work right off Mayview Road, only a couple of miles from Mayview State Hospital, and I didn't even know it was closing and wouldn't have thought of all the issues you brought up if I had. Thanks for the information and education -- lots of food for thought from all who shared here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-44892307111623336692007-08-25T15:04:00.000-04:002007-08-25T15:04:00.000-04:00Alan: Glad to hear there are so many services bei...Alan: Glad to hear there are so many services being offered these people! I feel better knowing you're part of a staff working hard as their advocates.<BR/><BR/>I do have to add, however, that one of the concerns is that the money in place while the state institution is in the process of closing might dry up at a later date, without anyone being the wiser. <BR/><BR/>I guess that's where advocacy organizations come in? :-) (Not to mention the rest of us.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-19612119249318937912007-08-25T11:47:00.000-04:002007-08-25T11:47:00.000-04:00I also have to admit that I'm not educated about t...I also have to admit that I'm not educated about this situation, so I can't really comment one way or the other. <BR/><BR/>Having said that, though, I do wonder and worry about the future of the patients.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-41010715359471399852007-08-25T11:25:00.000-04:002007-08-25T11:25:00.000-04:00Tory, what a great blog, and so timely. I am alway...Tory, what a great blog, and so timely. I am always amazed with the stigma associated with mental illness. We are talking about human beings, children, parents, brothers, sisters, husbands, and wives who are living in an institution. <BR/><BR/>The impetus for closing this state hospital is a law suit that finalized with any one who has lived in a state hospital for 2 years or more has had their civil rights violated. Since this is a large number of people, it was decided to close another state hospital. <BR/><BR/>Yes, there have been discharges in the past where needed services may not have been available. But being as involved with this process as I have as an employee of advocacy organization, I see that the state has been putting a lot of these needed services in place. Appropriate housing, Psych-Rehab, Social Rehab, Peer Mentors, Peer Specialists, Case Managers, Community Treatment Teams will all be in place to assist these individuals as they move into our/their communities. <BR/><BR/>The process that will help them adjust into the community is not as simple as you may think. There are three assessments. One is the clincal assessment which is completed by the staff at Mayview. In addition, which is equally important there are peer to peer assessments and family to family assessments conducted by my staff. This information (the opinions of the "professionals" and family as well as what the individual feels that they need and want) are reviewed in a meeting that includes all parties as well as county representatives, family advocates, individual advocates and peer mentors. A suitable plan is then developed before they are discharged. <BR/><BR/>They next phase of this is that they are interviewed regularly by peers (again, my staff) to assure that they are getting the services they need. Any problems, (i.e., not enough food, problems with budgeting, not seeing their case worker enough, seeing their caseworker too much, etc.) are reported and reviewed with the county during an accountability process. <BR/><BR/>This announcement to close Mayview only steps up what has been going on for some time. This process that I described has been going on for a year. The planning and allocating of money for these services has been in the works for quite a bit longer.<BR/><BR/>Presently, we are lucky to have a very supportive state and county government.<BR/><BR/>We need to bring our loved ones home. THEIR HOME.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-46687268993488982102007-08-25T10:35:00.000-04:002007-08-25T10:35:00.000-04:00Nancy: good reminder that great fiction conveys s...Nancy: good reminder that great fiction conveys some form of truth, long after the specifics of a particular setting have changed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-48609321353746425152007-08-25T10:11:00.000-04:002007-08-25T10:11:00.000-04:00You folks are much better informed on this than I ...You folks are much better informed on this than I am. My only thought is it sounds as if nobody's coming out ahead on this.<BR/><BR/>My daughter, now an ICU nurse, recently flipped on the television and found herself watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. For a few minutes, she marveled that somebody had taken the time to make a documentary where she'd done one of her practical rotations just 18 months ago---at the local veteran's hospital. I'm still aghast.<BR/><BR/>Great blog, Tory. Great comment, Gina! And it's nice to hear an opinion from Down Under, Jan!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-83841637959119285162007-08-25T09:23:00.000-04:002007-08-25T09:23:00.000-04:00Yes, Gina, I think you've hit the nail on the head...Yes, Gina, I think you've hit the nail on the head! State institutions can make people with mental illness under-responsible: reducing them to their lowest capabilities. But often community residences require them to be more responsible than they're really capable of. Where's the balance?<BR/><BR/>Framed in that way, certainly not an issue that's likely to change, even with Mayview's passing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-65458654486875957862007-08-25T08:54:00.000-04:002007-08-25T08:54:00.000-04:00I have mixed feelings on this one, Tory. I've vis...I have mixed feelings on this one, Tory. <BR/><BR/>I've visited Mayview and seen that, in many ways, it was like a prison where the mentally ill were warehoused, sometimes for life. And I don't have any doubts that properly funded and staffed community treatment is the better alternative for most patients. The problem comes with the "properly staffed and funded" part. At least in a big institution, the inhabitants will receive a minimum level of care -- food and shelter. <BR/><BR/>What seems to happen with community-based treatment is that a lot of seriously ill people are required to be responsible for themselves -- managing money, taking medication, following up on treatment, caring for themselves, etc. <BR/><BR/>There's a tendency to see mental illness either in terms of seriously dangerous (think Richard Baumhammers) or harmlessly quirky (Harvey). In real life, though, mental illness can be more analogous to being drunk. You wouldn't expect a friend who has just downed ten beers and two shots of whiskey in an hour to make a rational decision about whether or not to drive home. Yet society expects a person who may be just as impaired by mental illness to make much more complicated life decisions. As a result, many people end up living under bridges and self-medicating with alcohol and illegal drugs. <BR/><BR/>Yikes, this comment turning into a book on the subject. Enough said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-37115385863965002812007-08-25T08:44:00.000-04:002007-08-25T08:44:00.000-04:00Thanks for visiting (and commenting) Jan. I think...Thanks for visiting (and commenting) Jan. I think you're the furthest away blog commenter we've gotten so far! <BR/><BR/>So, let me see, is Australian time earlier or later than Pittsburgh time?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-10783859095299062532007-08-25T04:39:00.000-04:002007-08-25T04:39:00.000-04:00I think it's short-sighted. As the population ages...I think it's short-sighted. As the population ages and those parents who now look after children who are unable to care for themselves or their dependent children, there will be a need to reinvent or provide alternative safe housing.<BR/><BR/>Better to improve the amenities of safe housing, de-institutionalise the institutions, than turf people out. That sort of action is unconscionable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com