Comments on: Politicians Meddle with Iowa’s Mental Health System. http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/ Sanity is madness put to good use. - George Santayana Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:50:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gardengal http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9521 Gardengal Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:27:49 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9521 I too am from Iowa, now residing in Wisconsin. I was there when they turned part of Cherokee Mental Health into a prison, cutting many mental health beds. One night in the ER, we had a 20 something female who needed a mental health committment immediately and after calling every single hospital and mental health facility in the state, we had to tell her family to take her back home because there were no beds available. Who knows what happened to her after that!!! Wisconsin has the same problem, too many people needing mental health care and not enough beds. I too am from Iowa, now residing in Wisconsin. I was there when they turned part of Cherokee Mental Health into a prison, cutting many mental health beds. One night in the ER, we had a 20 something female who needed a mental health committment immediately and after calling every single hospital and mental health facility in the state, we had to tell her family to take her back home because there were no beds available. Who knows what happened to her after that!!! Wisconsin has the same problem, too many people needing mental health care and not enough beds.

]]> By: Mother Jones, RN http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9489 Mother Jones, RN Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:03:45 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9489 Hi Steve. My hometown is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I miss living in Iowa....except in Winter. Too cold. It's sad, but every state is throwing the mentally ill under the bus. It's all about the MONEY. Hi Steve. My hometown is Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I miss living in Iowa….except in Winter. Too cold. It’s sad, but every state is throwing the mentally ill under the bus. It’s all about the MONEY.

]]> By: Steve/Nursedude http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9487 Steve/Nursedude Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:41:30 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9487 MJ, what part of Iowa was home? I went to college at Wartburg College in Waverly. Funny thing, all I could do in school was complain about how conservative Iowa is.(I grew up in Minnesota). Iowa is not the only state throwing the mentally ill under the bus-it's just a bit surprising to me that a state that is progressive enough to allow gay marriages(Minnesota still has not) would fall for this shell game. MJ, what part of Iowa was home? I went to college at Wartburg College in Waverly.

Funny thing, all I could do in school was complain about how conservative Iowa is.(I grew up in Minnesota). Iowa is not the only state throwing the mentally ill under the bus-it’s just a bit surprising to me that a state that is progressive enough to allow gay marriages(Minnesota still has not) would fall for this shell game.

]]> By: RehabRN http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9464 RehabRN Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:12:10 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9464 MJ: Too bad you're not back in IA anymore. Sounds like they need a few psych nurses to go testify at the state house, so the far-removed legislators can get some idea of what's going on. They just close up everything, and wait for a major incident...and one always happens. In my state, we had a famous one when said patient was released when he was clearly a danger to others. He went home and killed his parents. His siblings eventually fought for a change in the law that let him out. It's just a shame their parents had to die to get him the resources he needed all along. They just don't get it unless you draw them pictures sometimes. MJ:

Too bad you’re not back in IA anymore. Sounds like they need a few psych nurses to go testify at the state house, so the far-removed legislators can get some idea of what’s going on.

They just close up everything, and wait for a major incident…and one always happens. In my state, we had a famous one when said patient was released when he was clearly a danger to others. He went home and killed his parents.

His siblings eventually fought for a change in the law that let him out. It’s just a shame their parents had to die to get him the resources he needed all along.

They just don’t get it unless you draw them pictures sometimes.

]]> By: Ken in Minnesota http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9461 Ken in Minnesota Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:54:42 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9461 Well, you know that what Molly Ivins said about Texas legislators (something like, "If you don't water them regularly, they shrivel up and die."), probably applies to most legislators in Iowa and Minnesota, and... Well, you know that what Molly Ivins said about Texas legislators (something like, “If you don’t water them regularly, they shrivel up and die.”), probably applies to most legislators in Iowa and Minnesota, and…

]]> By: Luis http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/2009/12/politicians-meddle-with-iowa%e2%80%99s-mental-health-system/comment-page-1/#comment-9457 Luis Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:01:46 +0000 http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/?p=4204#comment-9457 Well, you got that exactly right: Gero patients won't go to nursing homes or many SNFs. I have spent a little time working, at a very junior level, in a State Mental Hospital of Last Resort, and this is precisely the problem we had with many of our gero patients: other facilities wouldn't touch 'em, or, when we did get them there, they'd be shipped right back in a couple of weeks after they got violent. Sigh. Well, you got that exactly right: Gero patients won’t go to nursing homes or many SNFs. I have spent a little time working, at a very junior level, in a State Mental Hospital of Last Resort, and this is precisely the problem we had with many of our gero patients: other facilities wouldn’t touch ‘em, or, when we did get them there, they’d be shipped right back in a couple of weeks after they got violent.

Sigh.

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