Loading...
Alaska’s Lack of Psychiatric Beds and Consequences
Cravez, Pamela
Cravez, Pamela
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
Patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies referred to Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) in Anchorage must frequently must wait four to six days before being admitted. API, with 80 beds, is the state’s sole psychiatric hospital and provider of inpatient services. Two additional Designated Evaluation and Treatment (DET) hospitals — Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (20 beds) and Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital (12 beds) — provide care for acute psychiatric emergencies. According to a recent privatization report there is no infrastructure in Alaska to support longer, more complex intervention as a routine form of inpatient treatment. This has not always been the case. This article traces the history of Alaska mental health policy and discusses the consequences of the lack of capacity to treat mental illness in the community, including growing numbers entering the corrections system.
Description
This updates the article which appears on pp. 5–8 of the Summer 2017 print edition.
Date
2017-07-14
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API), correctional inmates, mental health
Citation
Cravez, Pamela. (2017). "Alaska’s Lack of Psychiatric Beds and Consequences." Alaska Justice Forum 34(1) (Summer 2017, online edition).