Consultant suggests fixes for state hospital admission woes

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A consultant hired as part of a legal settlement has released recommendations for the Oregon State Hospital to at least temporarily ease a crisis of slow admissions and overwhelmed capacity. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Dr. Debra Pinals, a behavioral health director from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, delivered her first of two reports this week. It comes after a monthlong review of practices at the state-run psychiatric hospital. The 20-page report makes recommendations including making more efforts to discharge or avoid the admission of patients who don’t need hospital-level care. It also advises the use of the hospital’s Junction City unit for newly-admitted patients and tracking patient admissions through a uniform data system.