Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) spoke on the floor yesterday in support of a mental health care reform bill filed by fellow Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA). The issue is close to home for McDermott, who has a background in psychiatric care and served as a Chief Psychiatrist for Seattle/King County Jail in 1978.
McDermott spoke out against the barriers many states have put in place that make it harder for mentally ill people to be committed to a hospital for treatment. When he served as a psychiatrist for a California naval station for two years, McDermott was prevented from providing treatment for people he believed were suicidal. When he returned to Washington, he was dismayed to see a similar measure signed into law in the Washington, despite his opposition. The result of these barriers was hundreds of mentally ill people on the streets instead of in hospitals, McDermott said. Now, ten times more mentally ill people are in prisons than are in state hospitals.
McDermott believes the new bill, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, will help reform the mental health system. The bill proposes several amendments and creates a position for Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, among other measures.
