Ruane Oliverio was moved out of a locked residential facility for people mental illness, despite warnings that she could get hurt. She ended up injured and hospitalized multiple times, and is now at the Oregon State Hospital. – Nov 17, 2018
Moving Oregonians with mental illness out of locked facilities was the goal. But things didn’t go as planned.
Oregonian – November 18, 2018
A state effort to dramatically reduce the number of Oregonians with severe mental illness in locked facilities has been plagued by problems, including serious injuries to three vulnerable patients discharged to lower levels of care.
Family members and advocates contend that the state and its private contractor have been too aggressive in denying individuals eligibility for care, and the state’s internal reviewers warned that a mass of former patients entering the community all at once could leave many homeless.
“We keep kicking over rocks in this program and finding snakes,” said Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. “And I’m not confident we’re done kicking over rocks.”