Nev. busing out mentally ill, some to Utah

Nev. busing out mentally ill, some to Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — In recent years, Nevada has been faced with drastic budget cuts for mental health services, and to counter those cuts they've been busing patients across state lines.

A Sacramento Bee investigation revealed that while the growing number of mentally ill patients has grown 66 percent from 2009 to 2012, the number of one-way Greyhound trips from Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital has increased as well.

In 2012 the hospital bused nearly 400 patients to 176 cities and 45 states across the country, according to the report. Some patients are taken to places where they have family, but many are sent places where they have no connections. They're given three days of their prescribed medications and a discharge order that asks the patient to see a doctor. By the time they reach their destination, many patients are already out of medication.

In total, more than 1,500 patients have been sent out of the state since 2008. Nevada's neighboring states have seen a good chunk of discharged patients cross over. Hundreds of people have been bused to California, while more than 50 people have been sent Utah and more than 100 to Arizona. At least 33 discharged patients have been bused to Salt Lake City, according to the Sacramento Bee's interactive map.


In 2012 the hospital bused nearly 400 patients to 176 cities and 45 states across the country.

Former hospital administrator Stuart Ghertner told KSNV in Las Vegas he didn't know it was happening.

"The policy itself was abused, and the clinical protocols that are attached to that weren't being followed," he said.

At least one Nevada official has defended the practice, though.

"The vast majority of patients they are discharging to the Main Street bus station are mentally stable and have family members, treatment programs or both waiting for them at the end of their rides," Dr. Tracey Green, Nevada's health officer, told the Bee.

Contributing: Cait Orton and Stephanie Grimes

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