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Report says Wisconsin has shortage of mental health beds

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Monday, March 24, 2008 - 3:01 p.m.

UNDATED (AP) - A national report says Wisconsin is one of 11 states that have what a Virginia mental health group characterizes as a severe'' shortage of public hospital beds for psychiatric patients.

The Treatment Advocacy Center suggests 50 beds per 100,000 people, whereas Wisconsin has less than half that.

Dr. Rod Miller is mental health manager for the state. He says the number of psychiatric beds does not always match the number of patients, but he says the shortage is not severe.

He says Wisconsin has seen a decrease and he thinks it is part of the whole move away from institutional services to community services.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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(5)

Kenbjammen
Mar 25, 2008 at 11:27 a.m.
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employspec1, we won't be able to.. We haven't fully been able to for years. Our sick mentally ill will continue to be released into the community. Our mental health services has dropped to all time low, and at some point we will be the worst in the nation.

beachsexton
Mar 25, 2008 at 8:28 a.m.
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Maybe our friends from Virginia have it wrong. Maybe they have more people to fill the beds than we have? I am sure the fine people from the State of Wisconsin know best when the supply is not sufficient for demand.

employspec1
Mar 24, 2008 at 8:06 p.m.
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"He thinks it is part of the whole move away from institutional services to community services."
1) Where is the grammatical editing in this article?
2) Community services just means that an individual with a severe mental health disorder gets passed from one agency to the next within the human service field; none of the agencies are exactly sure how to fully rehabilitate them. Don't get me wrong, each and every one of them mean well and are in place for great reasons, but total rehab can only come from intensive therapy at times. With rising medical costs and a shortage of beds if you can afford them, how are we to care for our mentally ill appropriately?

NVgrf
Mar 24, 2008 at 6:34 p.m.
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Great line, happy! My guess is that it's the cheese!

happycamper
Mar 24, 2008 at 4 p.m.
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Reading these posting I realize why!

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