BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Senate Bill 1258, which would require that certain patient populations admitted to Mass. Department of Mental Health (DMH) continuing care facilities first be placed in a designated forensic unit, will be heard by the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery on Monday, October 30.
What: | Hearing of Senate Bill 1258, An Act Providing Appropriate Care for Certain Populations | ||||||||
Where: | Statehouse, Room B-1; livestream under the Hearings & Events section of the legislative website. | ||||||||
When: | Monday, October 30 at 12 p.m. | ||||||||
Who: | MNA nurses and healthcare professionals working in DMH continuing care facilities across the Commonwealth |
This bill specifically targets admission of certain categories of patients (forensic patients) to DMH continuing care facilities and it would require that these patients ? upon admission to the facility ? be put into a designated forensic unit. Such a unit would provide the appropriate care and environment for this patient population until such time as any redetermination can be made.
SB 1258 was filed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) with Sen. Robyn K. Kennedy (D-Worcester) as the lead sponsor.
The Necessity of This Bill
Admitting forensic patients to continuing care units mixes them with other patient populations, which is problematic and dangerous for everyone involved: continuing care patients, forensic patients, staff, and visitors. Forensic patients are a specialized population requiring specialized care, and many of these patients arrive at DMH facilities highly unstable, not stabilized on medication, and floridly psychotic.
Forensic patients in Massachusetts are being admitted to DMH continuing care facilities with increasing frequency. A 2019 report from the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital (WRCH), for example, showed 40% of patients at the facility were forensic, with WRCH staff reporting this statistic has continued to rise over the last four years.
While continuing care patients have treatment plans designed to ultimately transition them to the community, that is not the case with forensic patients. Instead, forensic patients being sent to DMH facilities are typically undergoing a court-ordered evaluation or are in the middle of serving a sentence but cannot be cared for appropriately in the penal system. Others have been found not mentally fit to stand trial.
"We are failing all of our patients under the current system," said Kate Murphy, RN and president of the MNA. "Designating these patients to specialized forensic units upon entry will allow time for evaluation and stabilization. From there, patients who are able to transition to regular continuing-care floors can do so."
"This bill will provide every patient ? no matter their designation ? with the best environment possible for getting the quality of care they need and deserve," added Murphy. "SB 1258 needs to move forward for the health and safety of all involved: patients, staff, and visitors."
Overview of Proposed Categories for Admission to the Forensic Units Under SB 1258:
Currently, patients like those described above are admitted to non-specialized floors and mixed with other patient populations, and this has happened as the overall percentage of forensic patients cared for in DMH continuing care facilities has increased. Under SB 1258, all such patients would be evaluated and cared for in designated forensic units where the care is specialized.
Addressing Workplace Violence
Caring for forensic patients in designated forensic units first, as opposed to admitting them directly to a DMH continuing care facility, also addresses another issue that is plaguing the healthcare sector: workplace violence against healthcare workers. According to the MNA's 2023 "State of Nursing Survey":
"So much needs to be done in order to address the entirety of workplace violence in the healthcare sector," added Murphy. "But this would be one step in the right direction."
The Massachusetts Nurses Association represents more than 1,300 nurses and healthcare professionals who are employed by the Commonwealth, including those working at the state's various continuing care DMH facilities.
MassNurses.org ? Facebook.com/MassNurses ? Twitter.com/MassNurses ? Instagram.com/MassNurses
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on healthcare issues affecting nurses and the public.
SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association
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