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#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth – As Wait For #Mental Help Increases, #SuicideAttempts Continue To Rise
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The Mills administration has poured money into #behavioralhealthservices, but one expert says there’s not enough money in the government to fix the problems.
BY ROSE LUNDYMAINE MONITOR
Demand for #mentalhealthservices that peaked during the #pandemic has remained stubbornly high, increasing waitlists and spilling #patients into Maine’s hospital emergency rooms.
Prior to #COVID-19, Mainers might wait weeks to see a #behavioralhealthspecialist. Now waitlists are months long, said Dr. Anthony Ng, ??medical director for community services at Northern Light Acadia Hospital.
IF YOU NEED HELP
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Maine crisis hotline at 888-568-1112 or text the #nationalcrisistextline at 741741. You can also dial #988 to be connected to the hotline.
“You could put them on the waitlist but for every moment they wait, weeks and months, their illness could worsen,” Ng said.
Maine was losing #psychiatrists in the years leading to the #pandemic, and the numbers have continued to drop. In 2019, three counties – Franklin, Piscataquis and Sagadahoc – did not have any #psychiatrists, according to a statewide report released last month.
Staff shortages during the #pandemic forced outpatient programs to reduce services despite rising rates of #isolation, #depression and #anxiety at a time of economic uncertainty and political discontent, said Ng, who also is a Distinguished Fellow of the #AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.
Maine already had high #suiciderates before the #pandemic: In 2019, the state #suicide rate per 100,000 was 19.4 compared to 13.9 nationally.
#COVID-19 made the situation worse, and the need for services has not eased despite the easing of #pandemic lockdowns that caused widespread #isolation, #mentalhealthprofessionals told The Maine Monitor.
Linda Durst
Linda Durst, chief medical officer with Maine Behavioral Healthcare, said she has tracked more #suicide deaths during the #pandemic than in the five years prior. In particular, she’s seen an “acceleration in severe #suicideattempts in #youth.” Durst also chairs the department of psychiatry at Maine Medical Center.
The numbers have been higher in the past year, perhaps because as the #pandemic has dragged on, “people have gotten less hopeful,” Durst said. And delayed care meant that people who seek care had more severe cases.
But there are efforts to address this. Gov. Janet Mills allocated $230 million for #behavioralhealthservices this fiscal year, including $15.4 million released in June to help reduce waitlists for community-based services and reduce emergency department use for #behavioralhealth crises. And Maine Medical Center has expanded its psychiatry residency program into #ruralcommunities.
Experts say the #pandemic is an opportunity to rethink the way they deliver #mentalhealthservices.
#EMERGENCYROOMS GET BUSIER
When there aren’t enough treatment providers, people with more severe #mentalhealthchallenges may end up in emergency rooms.
#Behavioralhealth visits to emergency rooms in Maine hospitals have remained 25 percent higher than before the #pandemic, according to a survey conducted this week by the Maine Hospital Association. The length of stay in the emergency room has increased 25 percent — and in some cases as much as 35-40 percent.
At one point last year, psychiatric #patients took up half the emergency beds in Maine’s largest hospital system, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Keeping #patients in emergency room beds for extended stays – a practice called boarding – is one of the top problems facing hospitals, said Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association. It’s a bad situation for everyone because the #patient doesn’t receive the long-term level of care needed, it puts an extra strain on staff and takes away beds from other #patients.
“It doesn’t mean that all #behavioralhealth #patients are violent. Not at all. But they are disproportionately more so, and to say otherwise is just not facing reality,” Michaud said. “So when we have these #patients it is more dangerous for our staff in the #emergencyroom.”
Workforce shortages are part of the problem, but the lack of an adequate number of treatment centers goes back to the national movement in the 1970s and 1980s to shrink state #mentalhealth facilities, Michaud said.
“This is a long-standing problem, which tells you there hasn’t been enough services out in the community for years, if not decades,” Michaud said. “And by the way, this is a national phenomenon. Everybody like me is pulling their hair out about this across the country.”
In addition to allocating funds to providers, the Mills administration in January opened a close supervision residential facility to provide an alternative to incarceration or hospitalization, opened a crisis center in Portland and expanded crisis support for #youth based on a pilot program in Aroostook County, according to a spokesperson.
Increasing funding to providers and increasing the number of beds for in-#patient treatment will help, but Michaud said it’s important to also start thinking about different methods of providing care.
“There’s not enough money in all the government to take care of this so we’re going to have to do both: We need more resources … but we also need different ways of looking at it in terms of models,” Michaud said.
#James Donaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.#http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book, #CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy
Between 2015 and 2020, the number of practicing licensed #psychiatrists in Maine dropped by half to 110.
The drop-off is due in large part to a wave of retirements that was hastened by the #pandemic, Durst said. The average age of a #psychiatrist in Maine is 55.
But Durst added that there seems to be renewed interest in psychiatry and she’s seen impressive applicants for training programs.
Maine Medical Center runs the state’s only #psychiatric residency program, which offers four years of postgraduate training. There are five residents in the standard program and three in #child psychiatry. The program was expanded this year to include two residents in a rural track in Rockland.
There’s a lot of evidence that people from #ruralareas, or who are trained in #ruralareas, are more likely to stay there, said John Gale, a senior research associate at the University of Southern Maine and the former president of the National Rural Health Association.
Experts said it’s important to have providers in #ruralareas because they have local knowledge and understanding of what their #patients are experiencing, and are better able to connect and treat them. In addition, it’s difficult for people to drive hours from home, spending time and gas money, to receive these services.
Gale said the shortage of workforce professionals and #mentalhealthservices has existed for his entire 40-year career in the field. There’s been some progress but it hasn’t solved the problem.
“We’re not likely to produce enough #psychiatrists and #socialworkers who want to go to #ruralcommunities to fill the need, so I think we have to think about it differently than we used to,” he said.
Dr. Anthony Ng
Telehealth is one way to improve access but it’s a “double edged sword,” said Ng, with Acadia Hospital. While it may bridge the gap for people who live in areas without local #mentalhealthservices, telehealth also means that Maine-based #psychiatrists could work remotely in other places. In addition, not everyone has broadband to support telehealth communications.
Experts told The Maine Monitor that one of the most important solutions is to weave #mentalhealthservices into primary care, school-based programs and community support.
This is a chance to be more proactive and work on #stress reduction, rather than wait for problems to get so severe that they need to see a #psychiatrist, Ng said.
“This is time for us to look at new ways to work with communities, rather than the old-fashioned way of just putting more people out there to see more #patients.”
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor. The Maine Monitor is a local journalism product published by The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, a nonpartisan and nonprofit civic news organization.
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James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
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