Dangerous patients can walk out of some hospitals

St. Petersburg Times by Kris Hundley | Feb. 8, 2009 (Special Report)

The suspicion that a few hospitals in the Tampa Bay area leak Baker Act patients like a sieve has bothered law enforcement officers and mental health advocates for years. Turns out they had reason to worry.

Most of the 32 acute-care hospitals in the Tampa Bay area appropriately restrain and treat troubled patients who are considered a danger to themselves or others. But four local hospitals, all owned by HCA, have repeatedly failed to meet this ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

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Subjects: U.S., Politics, Sci/Tech, Health
Topics: Law Enforcement, Health Care, Psychology
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Posted by: Posted by Leo Romero - Feb 8, 2009 - 8:54 AM PST
Reviewed by: Leo Romero (review), Marsha Iverson (review)
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Edited by: Leo Romero - Feb 8, 2009 - 8:54 AM PST
Related Comments: Health Care (8)

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Marsha Iverson
3.9
 by Marsha Iverson - Feb. 8, 2009

Another in-depth look at a national disgrace: inadequate care for the severely mentally ill, in this case combined with negligence by a private health care business that consistently fails to perform the duties required by law and medical ethics.

This sorry story plays out across the nation, because we have no effective way to treat severely mentally ill patients who pose a threat to themselves and others. Institutions like HCA make a cost-benefit analysis and figure the consequences of dealing with the one-in--100 'elopements' that result in death is cheaper than providing adequate staff.

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Leo Romero
3.0
 by Leo Romero - Feb. 8, 2009
Leo posted this story.
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