In 2014 I was very active in the HealthVest proposal which would have brought a free standing psychiatric hospital to Prince William County. This proposal was denied because of, as I understand it, the COPN regulations.
I was shocked back in 2014 and I continue to be so. Talking with people who live with mental illness and the providers who seek bed space for people looking for help in a psychiatric emergency, there is definitely a lack of available psychiatric hospital beds for people in Prince William County.
Now, supporters of the COPN process say we do not need beds. But the reality is simply quite different.
Our Community Services Board Emergency Services report indicates for 2016, 73% of juveniles and 19% adults were sent out of our area. But on this report, our CSB counts hospitals in our region as in our area. But residents in Prince William County do not consider Arlington or Falls Church in our area. As a person who lives with mental illness and who is a champion for others who live with serious mental illness these numbers are simply unacceptable.
This report is great to see, if you are merely looking at numbers. But for me and the work I do, I look at people. Robert (someone living with mental illness) has told his story about having been in handcuffs at the police station for over 6 hours while someone attempted to find a bed for him. The bed they found was 2 hours away. There are many people who have been sent over an hour away to find psychiatric care in an emergency. This is simply unacceptable.
I have personally known people who were sent to Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute. I very much wanted to visit them and be able to help in any way I could during a very stressful time for them, but was unable to do so because it’s so far away and during rush hour the commute is nearly impossible for someone who works full-time.
We have already overworked CSB Staff who spend literally hours of their time looking for somewhere to send one person. That is time and tax dollars spent needlessly when they could literally be moving on to the next person helping to make positive change for some of our most vulnerable citizens.
Here in Prince William County I work endlessly attempting to help people in their mental health recovery. Often, we are able to help people before it becomes an emergency that escalates into needing hospitalization. But when a hospitalization is necessary, we need appropriate services in our area that can help quickly and in a suitable manner.
In 2014 I collected over 2000 signatures in support of HealthVest’s proposal. If I had had more time, that number would have been much higher. The HealthVest proposal had residents, professionals, and organizations supporting it. Our Board of County Supervisors were in support of the proposal. I personally am willing to do whatever I need to do for mental health recovery in Prince William County.
What will it take to be able to create a new psychiatric hospital for Prince William County? One that can help us with our goal of offering services that work for our most vulnerable citizens before it becomes an out of control alarming crisis.
Please change the COPN process.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Dudley
Executive Director
Trillium Drop-In Center, Inc.
703.763.3865