I just got home from spending countless hours...days..in the Emergency Room.
Without going into specific details, on Tuesday I took my 16 year daughter to the ER. She was in crisis. We were in crisis.
The hospital is supposed to help. After a mental health evaluation we were told Lauren would be placed in a mental health facility, but because of the time that would happen in the morning. So we waited. We waited in the emergency room. In crisis, we stayed in a partitioned off bed overhearing others being brought in for heart problems, COVID, bladder infections, intoxication, and so much more. (Throw HIPPAA right out the window because we overheard it all)
In the morning we were told that a bed was open in Littleton and we would be transported there! Yay! Help was coming!
But then...
4 hours later we were told the spot was not longer available and we would wait another day....
Another day in the Emergency Room.. another day with no mental health care or treatment....
The next day rolls around...no beds....
I am told this is a common occurrence. Mental health beds are few and far between. Throw in being a teenager and the number decreases.
In fact a quarter of mental health patients wait 2-5 days in the ER for an in patient psychiatric bed. This increases significantly for children. This is just the average. There have been reports of people waiting a month. A month in the ER for treatment.
If you go to the emergency room for a physical health condition you wait 4 hours on average.
My daughter summed it up best,
"If my leg were cut off there would be doctors and nurses all over helping me. Since it's my brain I guess no one cares."
The mental health system is hell. It is a living hell.
We wait an average of 12 weeks to see our psychiatrist. When we switched insurance we had to switch Dr.s. Lauren was out of medication for three days. I called and called and called. I was told the only way to get a refill was to go to the ER or a Crisis Walk in Center.
I am scared to add up the out of pocket costs we have spent on services. Many psychiatrist do not take private insurance. It is about $300 for an initial evaluation and $150-200 for medication reviews. Sometimes Lauren has reviews every 2 weeks.
We have paid $100-200 per therapy session. Lauren currently has therapy weekly.
Specialized treatment groups like DBT..$4000 for the 8-12 weeks.
We have been doing this for almost 10 years.
Earlier this week there was a school shooting in Oxford, MI. I would make a strong hypothesis that the killer suffers from some sort of mental illness. I wonder if he needed a medication refill and was in the process of waiting to be seen?
People need help. They are desperate for help. Their actions are a call for help.
The mental health system is hell. It is a living hell.
We got home and the same day I looked up legislation in Colorado for mental health. I emailed both my legislator and senator requesting appointments. I read committee information from recent meetings. I emailed the hospital. I posted on social media. I offered my mental health service Pro Bono.
I advocated like a Mother.
People deserve better. My daughter deserves better.
