Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Methuen have been overwhelmed with psychiatric patients brought in by Haverhill Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This problem has made them discharge large amounts of psychiatric patients before they are ready to leave, due to a lack of rooms and beds.
In late 2020, psychiatric patient placement began to rise, but in recent months, the hospitals have been flooded with psychiatric patients. Haverhill EMS has experienced a surge in calls related to psychiatric emergencies, reflecting a growing need for mental health services in the area.
Upon responding to these calls, EMS personnel are often faced with the dilemma of finding suitable placement for patients in psychiatric distress. Seeing as the hospitals the patients are brought to do not have enough beds to care for these patients properly, patients return to the streets and end up calling EMS for help and repeating this process once again.
Jeffery DeCosta, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Trinity EMS, the lead medical emergency service provider for Haverhill, was asked about the root cause of this problem and said, “Like I said before, in my opinion, it is a lack of resources available and the many homeless populous do not take meds prescribed to them”.
The crux of the problem lies in the limited availability of psychiatric treatment facilities and resources. Like many other communities, Haverhill grapples with a shortage of specialized mental health care facilities.
Holy Family Hospital struggles with its spending and budgeting which contributes to the lack of resources for patient care. https://www.hgazette.com/news/local_news/potential-hospital-closures-trigger-request-for-meeting-with-congressional-delegation/article_1a5f209d-d9e5-5531-92f0-807c964d45c9.html “Holy Family nurses are paid nearly 20% less compared to local counterparts, according to Jennifer Johnson, associate director of communication at the MNA.” The pay offered causes additional and constant understaffing which can limit patient care and the time for care to be administered.
The inadequate compensation received by nurses stems directly from the insufficient funding allocated to the hospital. Insufficient funding has caused beds to be removed from their most critical units, which includes their psychiatric unit. “The geriatric psychiatric unit went from 17 beds to 11. The adult psychiatric unit in Haverhill has also struggled with non-competitive wages and understaffing, according to Emory.” The even fewer beds available now than before is what is driving the patient placement conundrum.
This predicament poses logistical challenges for EMS operations and has significant implications for patient care. Individuals experiencing psychiatric crises require timely access to comprehensive mental health services to ensure their safety and well-being. Furthermore, delays in placement can prolong their suffering and hinder their recovery process.
Janice • May 4, 2024 at 10:03 am
It is my understanding that patients in acute psychiatric distress in Massachusetts are taken to the nearest emergency room for evaluation. If admission to inpatient care is required they are “boarded” in the ER under security until a bed can be found. Patients currently on mental health units aren’t forced out – though nobody stays long these days ready or not. Some hospitals have pods inside the ER just for holding such patients. Then a statewide search goes out for the next available bed, which may be 100 miles away. Patients rarely stay in the hospital where they are initially taken.i went through this process last year when I had an unremitting bout of depression. Yes there is a bed shortage and it sometimes takes days to get admitted and all hospitals are under pressure to make more room. But Holy Family is under no more pressure than anybody else. It’s a state wide crisis
Virginia Desrosiers • May 3, 2024 at 9:05 pm
Excellent information, well written and I hope this shines more light on the mental health support crisis that our homeless and elderly face.