LEGISLATURE 2006
Legislator advocates hospital oversight
Rep. Dennis Arakaki says more must be done in managing a state mental facility
By Tara Godvin
Associated Press
Though federal court oversight of improvements at the state's mental health hospital is slated to end this fall, the system still needs more attention, state Rep. Dennis Arakaki, chairman of the House Health Committee, said yesterday.
Arakaki said conditions at the hospital have vastly improved since 1991, when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit alleging patients' civil rights were being violated. One report said patients were left unattended on concrete floors, routinely restrained and lacked necessities such as soap and towels.
"There might be a feeling that we've already taken care of this issue, but it could come back again very easily if you allow the population to increase and you don't manage the patients properly," he said.
The hospital has been dealing with a swift population increase that began during the last six months of last year. On average the hospital takes in about 15 patients per month. During those peak months it took in 20 patients per month, said Thomas Hester, chief of the state Department of Health's adult mental health division.
The number of people at the hospital reached 196 in December. The population is now at 182, but the target is 168, Hester said.
Part of the problem is traced to the islands' struggle with methamphetamine, which causes lasting symptoms that are similar to psychosis, he said.
Hester was one of a number of hospital and health officials to lead Arakaki on a tour of the hospital yesterday in advance of decision-making scheduled for today on a House resolution asking the state Department of Health to put together a task force to reduce the number of "forensic" patients at the hospital.
All but a few of the patients at the hospital are classified as "forensic," meaning they have been placed there by the court system either because they have been found unfit to stand trial or acquitted because of their mental health problems, Hester said.
Arakaki (D, Alewa Heights-Kalihi) said he would like to see a task force come up with a clear plan dealing with coordination among the hospital, the courts and the prison system on how to help the patients who are sent to the hospital.
"We need to find a way to deal with this population," he said.
During the tour, officials underscored their challenge to house all the patients that come their way.
One circa-1940s building was reopened after a renovation four years ago to help find spaces for patients. But a few rooms, though kept tidy and prim, have leaks made difficult to fix by the tough, bunker-style architecture. And blind corners make mirrors necessary to keep an eye on patients.
Unmentioned by Hester and others were the low ceilings that do nothing to lift the gloom of being in a locked-down facility.