(Jan. 6, 2016) Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) wants to close Catawba Hospital in Roanoke County, even though there are more than 85 prisoners with mental illness in VA jails waiting for a psychiatric bed to become available.
Less than five months ago Jamycheal Mitchell died in a Virginia jail, waiting for a hospital bed to open up in a mental health facility. This came after four months of incarceration. He had been ordered to a state mental hospital by the courts, but there was no room at the inn, so he stagnated, refusing treatment while his mental illness remained untreated and he starved himself while in custody.
He was arrested in April for stealing less than $5 worth of junk food. There is a direct correlation between the lack of beds and Mitchell’s death.
Virginia currently has only 37 percent of the psychiatric beds needed to adequately meet the needs of its population with serious mental illness, according to our report, “No Room at the Inn: Trends and Consequences of Closing Public Psychiatric Hospitals.”
Had a bed been available when a court ordered that he be evaluated, Mitchell might have been able to receive life-saving treatment.
If Virginia is truly committed to improving its mental health services, we must acknowledge that we cannot afford to lose any of these beds. We must commit to either spending what is needed to renovate the hospitals, or redirecting those funds to the creation of new facilities with just as many beds as we will lose by closing Catawba.
Virginia residents: Voice your support now by taking the following actions:
- Contact your representatives and tell them Virginia cannot afford to lose any more public psychiatric beds.
- Write a letter to your local paper demanding a zero-net-loss policy for any closures moving forward.
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