Governor should not close mental health center

By Butch Asselin
    I am submitting this letter out of concern on the potential closing of the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor by June of 2013.
    When a police officer encounters an individual in a mental health crisis, the choices are generally limited to just one option and that is to transport the individual to the nearest hospital for an evaluation. In order for a person to be taken into protective custody, the individual would need to be suicidal, present a physical threat to others or be actively delusional. Some officers might elect to incarcerate the individual if a crime has been committed or try and deal with the situation informally. It is my belief that correctional facilities should never be considered as a “dumping ground” for the mentally ill.
    It is a common belief that once an individual is transported to the hospital, examined by a physician and then seen by a mental health worker that the person would be well on their way to receiving the vital services they need. Unfortunately, the reality is the patient may not receive those services for several hours or even days, due to a lack of available psychiatric bed space. To exacerbate the problem, many of these individuals are homeless or have substance abuse disorders. Many of these people have been treated for the same disorder, multiple times, at the same hospital.
    The Houlton Police Department has a unique relationship with the Houlton Regional Hospital in that the department is reimbursed for any costs associated with having an officer remain at the hospital until a psychiatric bed is found for a patient. In 2011, the hospital reimbursed the department nearly $4,229 for 181 hours of overtime costs incurred for eight individuals needing psychiatric services.
    Hospital security is neither trained nor prepared to deal with people who have mental health disorders, so uniformed officers stand by at the request of the emergency department physician. From experience and as stated before, the patient can expect to remain in the hospital anywhere from several hours to as long as three days before a room is found at the Acadia Hospital, Riverview Psychiatric Center or Dorothea Dix. This delay can result in the patient having to be re-examined and “blue papered” every 24 hours by an AMHC caseworker.
    Houlton is a service center for the communities of Smyrna, Hammond, Monticello, Hodgdon, New Limerick, Linneus, Dyer Brook, Island Falls, Ludlow, Merrill, Oakfield, Amity, Cary and Littleton. When law enforcement officials from either the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office or the Maine State Police deal with individuals in a mental health crisis from these communities, they are transported to the Houlton Regional Hospital for an evaluation. The required involvement and difficulties experienced by these officials is no different from what we have encountered at the police department. Law enforcement officers who would typically be available to respond to accidents or calls for service are now having to stand by for hours, if not days before a suitable bed is found. To put this in a greater perspective, Houlton Regional Hospital is just one medical facility out of 14 in eastern and northern Maine that utilizes the services of Dorothea Dix.
    Formerly known as the Bangor Mental Health Institute and named after a Maine native who was an early advocate for the mentally ill in the 19th century, the Dorothy Dix Psychiatric Center serves two-thirds of the state’s geographic area. The center serves patients with chronic mental illness who need longer inpatient stays than patients at private psychiatric hospitals. The center has approximately 60 beds and serves 1,300 people with outpatient medication management. It has been estimated that 25 percent of the people treated at Dorothea Dix are from Aroostook County. With psychiatric bed space already at a premium, new ideas need to be conceptualized and partnerships formed to keep this facility open and accessible to the people of central, eastern and northern Maine.
    Dorothea Dix is a valuable resource for law enforcement, regional hospitals, families and the citizens of Maine. Closing this facility will further cripple mental health services and only aggravate a problem that has existed since long before I began my career in law enforcement.
    Governor LePage and the legislature should consider all alternatives before considering closing this facility. The ad hoc committee formed at the direction of the Bangor City Council is a great resource for information and ideas on the future of this institution. Your support is greatly appreciated.
    Butch Asselin is chief of police for the town of Houlton. he can be reached at 532-2287 or via e-mail at police.chief@houlton-maine.com.