BANGOR, Maine — Almost a month after the City Council unanimously voted to fight a proposed closing of the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center by the state for budgetary reasons, an ad hoc committee has been formed to do just that.
The committee will hold its first meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at the City Hall chambers.
Councilors Joe Baldacci and Nelson Durgin head up the 13-member committee along with Christian Andersen, Houlton Regional Hospital emergency room doctor; Butch Asselin, Houlton’s police chief; Dale Hamilton, executive director of Community Health and Counseling Services; Steve Letourneau, CEO of Catholic Charities of Maine; Tom Lizotte, Piscataquis County commissioner; Dennis Marble, CEO of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter; Joe Pickering, retired CEO of Community Health and Counseling Services and parent of a psychiatric services recipient; Glenn Ross, Penobscot County sheriff; Judy Street, emergency room head nurse at St. Joseph Hospital; and Sharon Tomah, Wabanaki Mental Health program manager.
A 13th committee member representing Eastern Maine Healthcare also will be named.
Bangor Police Chief Ron Gastia and Shawn Yardley, director of Bangor Health and Community Services, both will serve as ex-officio committee members and provide support.
“It’s a strong committee and Shawn did a great job pulling people in throughout the region who have experiences from a broad spectrum,” said Baldacci. “I think this shows a real depth that this issue has for those all around the state. It affects many people and a lot of families and facilities.”
The primary goal for the committee is to reinstate full funding for the center, which stands to lose nearly $7 million in state funding starting in 2013.
If Dorothea Dix is closed, Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta would be Maine’s only public psychiatric center in operation.
“Time is of the essence but I do think we have some time to work with as I think the budget process could take two to three months,” Baldacci said.
Baldacci said he thinks it’s likely the Maine State Legislature won’t be making a final decision until March.
Also Monday night, the council voted 7-0 in favor of opposing a proposal by the U.S. Postal Service to close the mail processing operations at the USPS Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Hampden. Councilors Geoffrey Gratwick and Patricia Blanchette were absent from the vote as Blanchette was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons Monday afternoon and Gratwick is on vacation.
A public meeting on the proposal will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Jeff’s Catering and Banquet Facility in Brewer.
There is a patient advisory committee working with the staff of the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center to assist in the development of recovery based programs that address both inpatient and outpatient care. These recovery measures will be informed by choosing from the very best of the evidence based practices now in use. The evaluative context will be rigorous and exacting and insure a realizable system that meets the needs of all the patients. It is unfortunate and shameful that the Bangor City Council would choose a committee to fight the closing of DDPC that both ignores and excludes the patients of the hospital.
If the patients were able to function at that level, and advocate for an institution, they probably would not be patients. It looks like a great team they have put together and IMO they understand the issues and are able to communicate the concerns of the community.
The perspective of the mental health patient who has experienced care at DDPC should be represented. It’s like having a group formed to help black people or other minority but not allowing a black person in the group. Don’t you see? None of the people named have experienced what it is like to be a patient there. They needed at least one representative from the out-patients who had been, at one time, an in-patient and because of the help found at DDPC can now resume their lives. A letter was sent (and phone calls made) to Susan Hawes (who was charged with forming the committee) and Joe Baldacci giving them three names of qualified people, any one of whom would have brought a unique perspective to this group. I’m surprised that they rejected this idea and sadly disappointed.
I agree. Many discriminate based on one’s mental history too. Whether it is or was warranted or not.
Good point.
Oh, all one needs is two strangers( a police officer and a doctor) and a family member, that could be abusive or hate you, for one to be put into a mental hospital. So one could be completely coherent, but treated as though they have no mind, but because of such situation. They confuse the doctors even more so and stay longer, until they release themselves, because the doctors cannot keep them, because they are not a harm to themselves or others, but the doctors still request them to stay.
The ” how responsible would I be if I just let you go?” If they give one medication, whether it works or not, they tend to release them anyway. Talk about releasing one too soon.
Even though no one is causing harm. Hence, the needless drug prescriptions that harm people who have other disorders, the confusion, various stories between famly members, and needless added time to the stay.
Treat the action or the response? Which family members ahould be listened too? If there are no charges why not send them or let them go home? Save everyone time and money, and liberty, their 14th amendment rights.
Should they go to a mental hospital, or jail, or home? Are there other more humane ways to help people?
Such important issues facing Bangor and they had a councilor on vacation? Fortunately they weren’t close votes.
I understand your point and thank you for responding. I would just like to say, we need people from the community who have been innocent victims of those not in treatment or off their medications as well. (in response to narthwoods)
A letter was sent to the Bangor City Council informing the committee chair Susan Hawes that three people who have been both in and out-patients and who lead stable lives because of DDPC services and who wish to serve the greater good wished to see at least one be a patient representative. I am surprised and saddened that this opportunity has been lost and I ask the Council to reconsider their decision. A patient’s perspective is vital and unique.
I do not see this place staying open at all. From escapes to who knows what. They need to shut it down and re evaluate all the help they have including doctors
….
”It is a strong committee and Shawn did a great job of pulling people in throughout the region who have experiences from a broad spectrum,” said Baldacci.” I think this shows a real depth that this issue has for those all around the state. It affects many people and a lot of families and facilities.”
Shawn and the committee have chosen to ignore the experiences of the patients. They ignore or disregard what this issue means to the patients within the hospital and by doing so perpetuate the very worst of the biases that those who deal with this illness have to endure.
If the exclusion of the patient’s interests represents ”a broad spectrum” both Shawn and Baldacci need to look again at why they are fighting for the continued operation of DDPC.
This has all the feel of a self congratulatory cavalry unit riding to the rescue of those unfortunates who will always need to be cared for.