BANGOR, Maine — An inmate who attempted suicide at Penobscot County Jail Friday night remained under guard at a Bangor hospital Monday as authorities waited for a bed to open at the state’s only forensic mental health facility.
Lauren MacArthur, 27, of Medway was being held on several serious federal and state charges when he tried to hang himself with a bed sheet shortly before 8:30 p.m., Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross said Monday afternoon.
McArthur had been an inmate at the Penobscot County Jail since his Jan. 20 arrest, unable to make $20,000 bail. He was not under a suicide watch, Ross said.
Ross said a corrections officer had just conducted a population check in MacArthur’s cellblock and was looking in on the next block when the suicide attempt occurred. Guards were alerted to the situation by MacArthur’s fellow inmates, who banged on the door to get jail officials’ attention.
MacArthur was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where he remained under a 24-hour guard Monday afternoon, Ross said.
Although the inmate was listed in good condition Monday, Ross said he declined to allow the inmate to return to the county lockup out of concern that doing so could expose the jail to additional liability and risk.
That is because an evaluation done at the hospital determined that MacArthur should be placed in a forensic mental health facility and the only facility in Maine — Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta — did not have an open bed, Ross said.
The state’s other mental health hospital, Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor, used to accept some inmates but no longer is taking new patients as the state moves toward downsizing it.
Ross further said that the jail is not equipped to house inmates with serious mental health conditions.
To that end, MacArthur has been held in an emergency room at Eastern Maine Medical Center, under the 24-hour supervision of two Penobscot County deputies.
Asked for a cost estimate, Ross pegged the cost to the county at about $250 per eight-hour shift for each officer, or about $1,500 a day, which Ross characterized as “a misuse of corrections tax dollars and a misuse of the emergency room system.”
Ross also said the county could be responsible for the cost of medical care because inmates who are covered by MaineCare lose their eligibility within 30 days of entering jail.
“The hospital has never sent us a bill” for the cost of caring for inmates awaiting placements at other facilities, he said, “but if they did we’d be responsible, or more correctly, taxpayers would.”
“That, to me, highlights the chronic shortage of forensic beds” in Maine, said Ross, who has seen more than 60 suicide attempts since he took the helm of the jail in 2002.
Five of those attempts have been successful, according to reports previously published in the Bangor Daily News. The most recent death occurred in December of last year.
John Martins, spokesman for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, agreed that the state’s mental health system is “overburdened.”
He said that while he could not address specifics because of the state’s confidentiality rules, he did say that Riverview has 44 beds for forensic patients and 48 “civil beds.”
“We do our best to find beds when people are in need but that isn’t always possible,” he said. Martins said there are waiting lists for both forensic and civil beds. He also said that about a dozen forensic patients currently are occupying civil beds.
McArthur was indicted in May by the Penobscot County grand jury for aggravated attempted murder, reckless conduct, eluding an officer, refusing to submit to arrest, operating after suspension, criminal speeding and violation of a condition of release.
He was scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 6 at the Penobscot Judicial Center on those charges. It was not clear late Monday afternoon if his arraignment would be rescheduled.
In June, he was arraigned on federal gun charges, according to a Bangor Daily News court story. He faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison if convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon because of his criminal record. He also faces up to 10 years in prison for possessing a stolen firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
As of mid-Monday afternoon, Ross had not yet heard if it would be “days, weeks or months” before a forensic bed at Riverview would become available. Later in the day, he was told that despite a waiting list of just over a dozen people a bed for MacArthur would be available on Tuesday.
MacArthur’s charges stem from a series of incidents on Jan. 20 that included a 15-mile high-speed chase that began after he tried to run down an Orono police sergeant directing traffic after a hockey game at the University of Maine, according to federal court documents.
Officers put down spike mats in Old Town but MacArthur refused to stop and headed toward Milford, the court documents said. As he crossed the bridge near French Island, he crossed into the oncoming lane and nearly struck the guardrail on that side of the road.
When MacArthur turned off U.S. Route 2 onto Route 178, State Police Trooper Christopher Hashey was able to ram MacArthur’s car off the road. MacArthur fled on foot but was tackled and arrested.
That same night, a resident reported finding a rifle in a snowbank about 162 feet from where MacArthur’s car finally stopped. A second rifle was found a few days later on the riverbank, beneath the spot where MacArthur swerved his car during the chase.
The rifles were traced to a home in Medway that was burglarized between Jan. 20 and 22 while the owners were away. MacArthur has not been charged with burglary in connection with that break-in, according to the Penobscot County district attorney’s office.
Bangor Daily News writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.
The jails are full of non-violent people and drug users. If we just locked up people that were a threat to society, there would be plenty of room.
Put him back in jail in isolation with a 24/7 watch. One officer instead of two.
thats right instead of taking up space in the emergency room from someone who may have a true emergency. there is no reason for this . it said he was in good condition. take him back to jail and watch him there while they wait for a bed. b.s.!!
Jeff jail is not where my brother needs to be…He has had alot of issues that have brought our family as well as himself to this point and jail does not have the intensive therapy that he needs
Once again the State, by cutting psychiatric beds is costing the tax payers more money. Riverview should be doubled in size.
Or maybe Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor should stay running at a higher capacity.
Exactly. Downsizing it was the most idiotic thing this state could have done.
I totally agree. We should be doubling our capcity for psychiatric beds in this state. The only reason I mention Riverview is because it is set up for psych patients who have commited crimes and are acting out like Lauren MacArthur.
Good luck with that! The state is reluctant to fully fund it’s two facilities anymore and the private facilities are downsizing due to reimbursement cuts. Who is going to intentionally lose money? Some drastic changes are needed.
Oh I agree, there is little or no chance that this abysmal situation will change anytime soon. It’s hard to get attention for this national problem. I would guess that we need a National Poster child that could garner enough sympathy. Plus there needs to be someone who can run a publicity campaign.
There are probably enough qualified people who could return to their former jobs if the state restored those beds.
You are right.
try to explain that to Gov LePage
To those of you who have judgmental comments about prisoners, I must say that many of them are mentally ill, as the article says of Mr. MacArthur. I have had my own personal experience with a loved one who is very mentally ill and keeps ending up in jail and/or prison. In my opinion the state should re-open the state hospitals to care for people like this. This whole thing is caused by the state of Maine releasing mental health patients back years ago. Many of these people cannot care for themselves and need to be in a group home or a forensic unit at a mental hospital. If you care to understand more about this, do some research on AMHI Consent Decree lawsuit or investigate NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill). Educating yourself on this situation would be better than making ignorant comments about ill people and a very serious problem all over our country.
There are 5 comments here including yours & I fail to see judgemental or ignorant comments. What are you talking about?
There was at least one other comment on here before that was “flagged for content” and apparently they removed it.
You are correct. The push to outpatient psychiatric care started in the 60’s. I believe that it was an unstated attempt to sweep those with mental illness under the rug.
Ignore those with cruel words and cold hearts. Fortunately they have never suffered the personal agonies of dealing with a loved one’s mental instability, which many Maine families silently endure.
Briney thank you for having an understanding heart…
The failure to help the mentally ill was not the Consent Decree, the failure was not having the supports in place for those with mental illness when they were released to the community. Institutionalization of the mentally ill is wrong in many cases. Criminal mental illness aside there is no reason to park the mentally ill in to institutions. The supports needed for them just are not there. The state needs to fund, which is required by judges order, to give them supports in the least restrictive environment. State mental hospitals are the exact opposite of the least restrictive environment. The answers are Club Houses, Fairweather Lodges, community support services, and a multitude of things we do not have, especially in rural areas like Medway where this young man comes from. Re-opening the institutions is just warehousing, not helping.
The mentally ill are being warehoused. They make up roughly 30% of prison and jail inmates nationwide. If they were warehoused in mental institutions where the staff is trained to work with the mentally ill and there were theoropies available, I believe the outcomes would be much better than the current system.
My mother witnessed the exodus of mental patients back in the 60’s into the 70’s. She shed many a tear as she picked up the paper to read about one after the other of her former patients that were found dead on city streets or alleyways. Of course that is convenient for those who only look at saving a buck in tax money.
You are correct that there needs to be more services available and more qualified mental health workers aiding those who need these services in an outpatient setting. Unfortunately the reality of the situation hasn’t changed. The politicians and the tax payers don’t see the neccessity of funding these needed services until it jumps up and bites them personally.
It seems the people with the least political clout are always the ones to suffer the most when politicians take an ax to the budget. Yet they never seem to do without funds for their own pet projects.
In some instances you are correct. However there certainly are patients who will never be safe enough, either to themselves or others (usually dangers to themselves), to live outside. Sometimes this is due to extreme, persistent mental illness and sometimes it is from things like losing part of their brains in an accident. There are many that even group homes cannot handle. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix.
I agree with much of what you say except for your comment about using Club Houses, Fairweather Lodges, community support services, etc.. These may work for some people but not others. Some people are dangerous due to their mental illness, I advocate for both the mentally ill and prisoners. But there are some people, unfortunately some cannot be out on the streets. One of my loved ones is one of those people, he is constantly in jail or Riverview. It is a very sad situation, I’ve felt so powerless to do anything, because anything I did to help didn’t work. He has had every single one of those services that you mentioned and not one of them worked. I don’t know the answers but I wish someone did.
Of course they are mentally ill. Normal functionning people don’t commit heinous crimes and such
When the State is charged with the care of someone as volatile as Mr. MacArthur, you have to wonder if the State has exhausted all possibilities. Has anyone at DHHS tried to rent a bed for him in another state temporarily until one is freed at Riverview(possibly at less cost to the taxpayers than EMMC and deputies’ overtime)?
Involuntary hospitalization can not take place out of state unless the patient is under guardianship by a family member. Logistically it would be a nightmare and what is the motivation for a hospital out of state to consider a forensic patient? Please base your comments in reality.
I was not aware of any rules or laws that prohibited involuntary hospitalization out of state when I made my comment, only wondering out loud if other possibilities had been examined. The motivation for any[instate or out of state] facility to accept forensic patients is, of course, being able to run a facility nearly or at capacity and therefore more efficiently than if it was 25 or 50% occupied. Maine is currently shopping out some prisoners to other states’ facilities, so it seemed possible that the same might be done with psychiatric patients.
The worst you can do is isolate a patient from family.
That is apparently OK with DHHS. They recently allowed the removal of nursing home beds from Washington County, further isolating many seniors from their families.
I honestly don’t believe that the current crop of Republican/MHPC/Tea Party polititcians give a large rats rectum about those who find themselves with mental illness.
The Tea Party is a self-serving clique, manacled to ideological fantasies, devoid of any kindred spirit of humanity.
The DHHS fearfully and dutifully plugs behind the Tea Party which controls, what we once called government in Augusta. But is now ruled by one man and his militant right wing cadre. Regardless, care for senior citizens must be provided, and within close proximity to their families. It is the duty of government.
Mental health, drugs, welfare, and crime, have all but been ignored. Irresponsible cuts to health services and other government priorities, purely to achieve Tea Party recognition and petty praise for a balanced budget, are the only goals of this ruling factor.
A centralized mental health facility located in capital city does not answer all of Maine’s family concerns. Travelling from Ft. Kent to Bangor is distance enough. But to Augusta? Some callow remarks even suggest quartering in neighboring states.
Common sense has been swept away. And, with it, understanding.
I agree Briney….
I’m actually not aware of any place that has spare psych beds. Maine certainly doesn’t. Some patients spend 3 days or more sequestered in an ED waiting for a bed as it is.
The shortage of mental health care beds is nationwide. I highly doubt if there is any logical place to house MacArthur in NH or Mass.
Suicide watch at the jail sounds good to me. Cheaper than a psych bed and only takes one dedicated guard.
That, in all likelyhood is what will happen. I would make a guess that he needs to be cleared by the Dr. at the hospital before they can take him back to the jail. Or a bed opens up for him at Riverview. Whichever comes first.
It doesn’t even take a guard. They give you the Blueberry Suit and stick you in The Hole. You cant possibly do anything to hurt yourself except smash your head off something. Suicide Watch at the jail isnt good for anyone. Its a flawed system. You cant expect to deal with serious mental health issues at a jail. Its just not possible. The guards are not psychiatrists and most inmates are not patients with serious mental issues of their own.
It is very doubtful that the state would approve out of state services
Ross, the same guy that tipped off Bob Carlson and he jumped to is death. Makes one wonder.
my brother was hit buy a car and was brain dead within 8 hours . he was on life support while we waited for them to remove his organs for donation wich my mother who was 76 at the time made the choice to do. this was her second child she had seen die in her lifetime. they kept him on life support for three to for days while they waited for patients that needed organs. in the end we were chargerd over 30,000 dollars for his time in the hospital . it kills me to know that the bangor pd doesnt even get a bill for the time these inmates have to spend at the hospital . how sad is that? the doner program paid from
the time he was brain dead til they took him off life support to preserve his organs and we were still charged over 30,000 dollars. thats why they dont get a bill cause people like us get over charged to pay for these people. thanks.
Incredible!
yes it is. and we were to receive a check from the insurance company of the man who hit my brother and EMMC put a lien on the check so they could receive the over 30,000 dollars they charged my family before we got the check. after all we did and all my mother went trough making the choice to donate his organs. They were on her about it not even 20 minutes after she found out he was going to die. dont get me wrong i understand they have to be fast when it comes to organ donation, but we should have been treated better. we were robbed while other institutions dont even get a bill. its just wrong. the only good that came out of this story is that 6 peoples lives were changed because of my brothers organs 4 got a new chance at life. That im happy about.
So sorry for your loss. EMMC doesn’t care about people and their feelings. They treat them like crap and make them pay, one way or another. So sorry you were treated so badly.
it’s a business, what do you expect??
That’s outrageous!
Total BS. If they can watch him in the ER, they can watch him in a cell. If he’s in their custody they’re still responsible for him even if he’s not in the jail. Ross is a joke.
You can thank federal laws for that BS not just point the finger at Glenn Ross. I think they ought to bring back the good old Drunk Tank at the jail too, but again, the Feds don’t want that either.
“The old drunk tank?” How about frontal lobotomies and electric shock treatments?
The line we all walk between madness and sanity is very narrow. Tread carefully.
Ummm, “electric shock treatments” are an every day occurrence in mental health care. It is known as ECT (electro-convulsive therapy).
Thank you god for not making me your dog.
Bring back the Drunk Tank? I wasn’t aware they have gotten rid of it since, oh, 6 months ago. Apparently you know little of jail. Its called “The Hole” now and they use it, often.
Last time i said Ross was a joke i had over 100 remarks about him being the best sherriff. I might just run against him and give him a run for his money
a prison guard is hardly a substitute for a medical professional.
Um, the article said he was in good condition, not needing medical attention. Exactly which ER doc is trained to treat forensic psych patients mental issues?
The hospital ER probably brought in a psychiatrist to do the assessment on him. I have seen that done before. You are right a normal ER doc isn’t qualified to make that decision.
The lack of beds has been a problem for years, the c.o.’s have even had to be trained to deal with mental health issues. Now the problem is ten fold due to not being addressed. Some people with m.h. issues and legal issues are in and out of jail all the time, there is very little funding for mental health services in jails, so thier issues go unaddressed. Drugs are another major problem, for example, bath salts, the jails cannot address the symptoms associated with these drugs. M.h. issues, substance abuse and legal problems are often all rolled into one inmate, often when m.h. issues are not addressed a person self medicates with street drugs, booze or both, often substance abuse can lead to m.h. issues. These issues are not going to go away untreated. Sad to say but the tax payers have to foot the bill and if funding continues to be cut for mental health within correctional facilities…..the problems will continue to get worse and the bill will continue to grow. The state of Maine needs a Riverview in northern maine and Riverview now needs more forensic beds. This is the only way I’ve seen to start to resolve some of these problems.
Too many people in jail unnecessarily. Not enough care for our mentally ill. A terrible combination for any society. Maybe, just maybe, prisoners should be counted as “unemployed” in order to get attention from the politicians.
In order to be counted as unemployed, you have to be looking for “work”. Most of these people were not working before they ended up in jail in the first place. Unless you call stealing and drug dealing working.
How many people on unemployment actually look for work or consider this status as a “paid holiday”? I was trying to use humour to reflect a problem with the political process.
But who handed them the money in the beginning. Who convinced them they were mentally ill, and did not have to work for a living ? Attornies made huge sums on obtaining disability for those with very minor disabilities, stuttering, anxiety, anger disorder, personality disorders, and health issues caused by obesity, smoking, alcohol, pot, and drugs. I know recipients in each of those categories getting a lifetime disability at age 18. Before that, their parents obtain it for them. Our system allows them this luxury. It was not always available. What happened to ‘workfare’, where you could at least push a broom to repay your free housing, food and medical ? Since the current system is letting them all down, and letting the taxpayers down, making freeloaders of our youth, who made these changes to our system and let this happen to an unsuspecting public ?
A number of criminals facing the consequences for their actions pull the “suicide” card in an attempt to avert drug charges. Further, the HIPAA statute takes effect and many hide behind it to keep their information concerning illegal drug usage private when the DEA begins to close in. While there are a great many people with serious mental health conditions, there are many more who know how to work the system, get themselves special attention and cause their own crisis. Civil/social matters on the outside (separation, divorce, lack of employment, loss of housing, shame of what they’ve done, fear of retribution, etc.) can cause an inmate to consider doing things he would not have done while in general population – such as attempted suicide.
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Then try working in a setting where 99.99% of your “customers” are professional manipulators.
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There is such a thing as rational suicide…. A old man, who wife has died, who has lived a long, enjoyable life, is now sick with a terminal illness. His kids are all grown up, and there really is little left for him to do and even less he can do. He is going to die in some months time and its going to be long and painful… Now, he decides that rather then suffer, he is going to kill himself… Is that not rational? Who are you to say what is and is not rational? There is no such things as universal social morality or rationality.
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So if your father was terminally ill, you’d rather he live in suffering then kill himself just because it’d be painful to you? Or would you feel better knowing his suffering is over? Of course suicide is painful to some but I suppose watching someone suffer should be just as painful if not more so. To condemn people who commit suicide simply because of the effect it has on loved ones is selfish and ignorant.
And yes, people who kill themselves are ill, in one way or another and I never said they were not ill… You said suicide isn’t rational. Clearly, I have displayed an argument as to how it can be rational and even logical to commit suicide. In my proposed argument, its either suffer and die, or die. I think it could very easily be argued that in such a case not committing suicide is irrational.
wbt30 thank you for your heartfelt comments…As I sit here reading some of the horrible things and accusations about my brother it’s nice to know there a few people out there who actually think before they comment
Exactly! People would be amazed at what others do intentionally and just how cunning they can be.
No, not all of them are mentally ill. I work with them every day. Some are “playing the game”. The tricky part is trying to figure out which is which and not losing on the gamble. You just can’t afford the liability risk, so you treat them all as truly ill even when you are fairly sure some aren’t.
It is, in fact, sometimes “rational” for a person to consider ending their own life. Depends greatly on their values, beliefs, and the hurdles they are facing. Look up “rational suicide” to find debates on this.
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Let me pose you this, and keep in mind I work in healthcare- There are certain illnesses which, if I was definitively diagnosed with, I would certainly set up an “exit plan”. Knowing what I know about these illnesses, I would argue that anything other than checking out early would be considered “irrational”. There are quite a few ailments where modern medicine cannot control pain and suffering near the end. We do better than we used to, but sometimes you can’t overcome biology. I’d wait until it couldn’t be tolerated, but I have no urge to be restrained at the end because I’m clawing my own skin off due to inability to control pain.
In a different vein, consider someone who lives in terror all the time. Once it becomes all they know and nothing makes it better, that leaves one option. Not saying it is a good option, but there are people in just such circumstances and, to them, death is better than living the way they live.
Those things also say nothing to the people who don’t really want to die, but to just “play the game” for sympathy, attention, or to get out of trouble. There are LOTS of those people out there. I work with them every day. Some could be argued to be “ill” with a personality disorder, but others simply use it as a tool to escape responsibility.
adamiller I will tell you that this would have happened with Lauren eventually he has suffered for a long time with depression and I can tell you with out a doubt this was not a “suicide card” as you call it….He has simply given up and people out there such as yourself that assume you know “why” he did what he did don’t be so quick to pass judgement without actually knowing him personally…Thank you.
Also, the drug/mental health issue has become the new welfare. Numerous drug addicts are claiming “disability” due to mental health issues (bipolar), continue to self-medicate, participate in the methadone clinics, continue to break the law either by stealing or dealing or both, and get paid a check every month because they “cannot work”…..and many wind up in jail receiving the system’s assistance while they continue to act badly. I’m not saying that everyone claiming a mental illness is faking it, I’m just saying that many times it’s being used as a crutch to rake the finances of our working, tax payers.
Did you know that if you’re incarcerated for 30 days or longer, your disability check stops for the time your in jail?
as it should be
Must be SSI, a welfare program
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There are a few who are in group homes with obvious disabilities. Most are hanging out on Main Street, Pickering Square, at our library dealing drugs, at the Mall rifling through cars, and have no intentions of every sobering up or becoming drug free. Our current system has created an entire generation of government dependent youth with no need to work or become educated. Of course, they all vote, so that may be the payoff.
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Yeah, people involved in the criminal underworld really care about voting… Not. And those people who do vote, whether criminals or not make such a huge difference in our world…. Not.
But who handed them the money in the beginning. Who convinced them they were mentally ill, and did not have to work for a living ? Attornies made huge sums on obtaining disability for those with very minor disabilities, stuttering, anxiety, anger disorder, personality disorders, and health issues caused by obesity, smoking, alcohol, pot, and drugs. I know recipients in each of those categories getting a lifetime disability at age 18. Before that, their parents obtain it for them. Our system allows them this luxury. It was not always available. What happened to ‘workfare’, where you could at least push a broom to repay your free housing, food and medical ? Since the current system is letting them all down, and letting the taxpayers down, making freeloaders of our youth, who made these changes to our system and let this happen to an unsuspecting public ?
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I would hardly call a personality disorder a very minor disability.
There are empty beds.
Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor has empty beds at 25% of the cost the Sheriff is paying. LePage would rather see the tax payer spend a fortune rather than let the place be used.
Our county jails are full of psychiatric patients that would cost less to take care of in the right setting but the Gub nah wants to close all public facilities and get paid off later for selling the beds to private institutions.
The sad thing about your comment is that it is probably true.
In line with tea party strategy – privatize everything. A corporate entity replacing good sane government.
FYI, that level of care at a psych hospital is much more than $1500 per day. Just sayin’.
Not at DDPC, but yes at the private sites the Gub Nah wants the tax payers to fund.
Really? I thought base level inpatient care was $1200 or so (before meds, therapy, etc) then tack on the 2 to 1 staffing.
I am saddened by this. There was a time when our officials in this state believed in programs that have proven themselves at helping those within the jail. I am talking about the NAMI Peer-to-Peer program that was run in the PCJ for a few years with a high success rate at reducing recidivism. Sadly, funding vanished and the program died. I say we bring these programs back and do what is right for our community. I offer this to the Sheriff and our County, We’ve run this program successfully with a team that knows the population, has lived the life and has survived. Let’s get back in there, do the work and succeed! Other states are starting to do these programs as a normal part of the jail system with pay (Tavres, Florida). I know the sheriff and other people see the validity of these programs. Heck, we pay $157 a day per inmate. I say let’s get in there and give us a chance to show the success and then give us a % of what is saved. you save the county and the state money and provide a valid job for 3 people. Seems common sense to me. Yet we are talking about a system run mostly by those who have never dealt with being inside those bars or those styles of life. I commend Sheriff Ross for the work he had done and I do believe is still doing today! Let’s get back in there and do the job that has already been proven to work!
Amen …great post Kristoco. You give hope to a sad situation affecting our community. We truly need dedicated professionals with experience to bring back those effective programs, in turn creating jobs. If our current system is not working, recidivism is up, the costs are rising, and no one is being helped, then the current system is a failure. Our community’s mental health issues affect us all.
Thank you. I am working towards it now with some dedicated people.
Oh boy, another person we get to pay for!
By all means close Dorothea Dix hospital. There aren’t any mentally ill people. [sarcasm]
The lack of beds at Riverview was deliberate by the King Administration. It was to force the community hospitals to shoulder more of the burden. When AMHI was closed, it had about 120 beds. I don’t know the beds in Stone South (forensic unit), but no doubt there was room for a lot more there, than at Riverview presently. The downsizing of Riverview is another example of the state trying to turf the problem to the local level. Bad Government at best.
Another clear cut case to retain Dorothea Dix.
It should be upgraded with the ability to take care of cases like this. Law enforcement shouldn’t be confined to hospital corridors on 24 – hour watches.
The establishment of a Forensic Unit at Dix would negate such expensive practices. A better equipped and staffed hospital with a professional staff, specializing in the treatment of patients like this would be a major advancement in caring for mental health patients in Maine.
The northern, easterly, and central sections of the state have to rely on restricted facilities at Augusta. One tiny island serving the entire state?Augusta is swamped. With our current mentally- unbalanced society awash with drugs, suicide, homicides, a Forensic Unit at Dix would serve all -patients and families – more proficiently and humanely.
That was the credo of Maine’s own Dorothea Dix, after whom the hospital was appropriately named. Named chief nurse in the Union Army by Lincoln, she crusaded for reforms in penal and mental health institutions. We need to continue her work. It is a need, desperately required.
The Legislature should make it their major concern and fulfill its obligation to serve the people and the state with proper coverage.
That would be more likely if they could build a new and cost-efficient (in terms of heating, maintenance, etc.) facility. Unfortunately, the state isn’t likely to pony up the cash to build a new hospital and the old one is a “historic site”.
The DDPC main building is rated to last 300 years by architects. Current modern buildings are rated at 30 to 40 years. Do the math. The place has 200 years left. The open land at the hospital could be turned partially to solar power killing those electric bills forever. Even Angus could understand building a windmill.
The maintenance is done at a far lower cost than an equivalent site would take if maintained by private industry and done far better.
Have you seen their heating bill??? The electric is a pittance in comparison. Its not that the building aren’t sound, its that they are old and brick/stone, and huge, and laid out in an energy inefficient pattern. You can’t polish a turd. Yeah, solar could definitely help, but not that much.
not expect much from the legislature
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Back in the 80’s it was determined to be inhumane to institutionalize for mental health issues. Residents were put into local group homes, their own supervised apartments, shelters, or on the streets. BMHI was one of Bangor’s largest employers, and paid the best wages to hundreds of staff. The city lost jobs, and residents of BMHI lost their only means of survival. Most in prison are not criminals, but are suffering from mental illness. They only shifted the costs from a prosperous healthcare facility to the taxpayers, and left the mentally ill to fend for themselves.
Why can’t the person be accountable for his upkeep ?
he is in jail, obviously he doesn’t have money to pay for his own upkeep.
“The hospital has never sent us a bill” for the cost of caring for
inmates awaiting placements at other facilities, he said, “but if they
did we’d be responsible, or more correctly, taxpayers would.” – VERY INTERESTING!!! Since all of us that have insurance that WE pay a premium for are certain not to MISS a bill from EMMC!! Maybe, once again, those of us actually paying premiums are sucking up the bills for those that we pay for!! This makes me sick!! Especially, since I have MULTIPLE bills from EMMC I am expected to pay in FULL!!!
Or EMMC is trying to “trim” the bill so the jail doesn’t have to collect as much from the taxpayers just like the hospital has to too. You can take this both ways if you want to, not just your “everything is unfair” way.
Cutting the number of beds available for inmates requiring mental health services and eliminating them from MaineCare benefits was not the wisest way to balance the budget. The taxpayers will probably wonder what happened when the bills start rolling in to the county and the costs ultimately get shifted onto them.
Simply because you try to kill yourself while in jail or prison doesn’t mean you are truly mentally ill. People do odd things when under lots of pressure and are scared. You could take a perfectly sane person and put them in prison and within months you could diagnose them with something. But, out on the street they are a normal Joe. My real question is does this guy have a history of mental illness? That should be a factor when considering his future. Just because he tried to kill himself while in jail doesn’t really mean anything at all. Lots of people do things in extreme situations that they wouldnt normally do otherwise.
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Well, I shouldnt really have to go down this road, but because you proposed the questions: I have been rather seriously mentally ill my whole life. Diagnosed with major depression as a child (which doesnt happen), panic attack disorder a few years ago an PTSD somewhat recently. Theres lots more stuff going on up there, too, but I think that covers it in terms of this conversation and my above post. Every day is struggle to deal with the inadequacy of existence. Ive been to shrinks on and off my whole life, Ive been to mental-hospitals, Ive done time an Ive had friends kill themselves. I have also considered suicide on a daily basis for the last decade and tried to kill myself prior to becoming a teenager. I am covered in rather gruesome scars from years and years of self-mutilation, which also began as a child, when I use to electrocute myself for fun. Then came smashing my head off objects until I was unconscious. Then came slicing myself open and drug abuse. More recently I find myself not eating for days. When I was 12 (the age I was diagnosed with Major Depression, a long time ago, now) I took an IQ test (administered by an ex-head psychiatrist at EMMC) which put me around 120… Soooo….. Im pretty sure I have a good idea about what I am talking about, friend. I might be crazy, but I am also rather intelligent. Of course, everyone here pretty much just “makes-up-whatever-they-please-to-support-their-faceless-opinions” and everyone has the answers and everyone is full of themselves and thinks they are important or whatever crap, so, I could be lying, I could just be one of “those” people. I suppose you’ll have to decide that for yourself. Good day.
DevilDude he has had a lot of issues that I will discuss on here but as I commented before this would have happened regardless at some point incarcerated or not
Then, this being the case and him actually being truly mentally ill (as someone who has suffered serious mental illness their entire lives myself), you have my sympathy and respect.
Well, its not much coming from a stranger, but I am sorry for whatever pain this man has caused you…. well, now that his comment was deleted, I was basically making a reference about how absurd it was that he was wishing death on someone who had done nothing to him.
give him the sheet back…….
You are ignorant and that comment has not meaning to anyone but your ignorant self…If you dont have anything constructive to say shut your mouth…Thank you
I would like to comment on behalf of Lauren’s family as I did back in January…We appreciate everyone who at least as some understanding as to my brothers struggles and the lack of help that he has needed for years and hasn’t gotten. My sister’s and I love him and we are all hurting immensely and want our brother to get help because if he does the behavior he has had for so many years could be changed. Again I really hope that some good comes out of this story because it’s not easy to share the pain with everyone who reads the newspaper and has their own opinion that we don’t always agree with. If it brings to light changes that need to be made then I’m glad but as I said before it would be nice to have some privacy every once in a while.