Mental hospitals face Catch-22

The state mental health division wants to start moving mentally ill patients from Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh to a new hospital in Butner, even though the division has not met conditions set out in state law for the transfer.

The law required assurances that the new hospital, Central Regional in Butner, would be accredited by two agencies before Dix patients move in, reports Lynn Bonner.

But one of the agencies, the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, has said it will not even visit Central because Dix patients and staff are not there.

That set up a Catch-22, said Dr. Michael Lancaster, co-director of the state Division of Mental Health. Central Regional cannot be accredited because Dix staff and patients are not there, but staff and patients aren't there because it is not accredited.

Lancaster said he would recommend to his boss, state Department of Health and Human Services secretary Dempsey Benton, that Dix patients start moving, and leave the decision up to Benton.
Tomorrow, Dix will stop accepting patients to its geriatric ward. Central Regional will take them instead.

More after the jump.

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This comes amid worries that Central Regional is not ready for Dix patients.

The phone system is not reliable, alarms go off without warning, and interview rooms are isolated from the main hall, which can make them dangerous places to meet patients.

Lancaster said problems are being addressed.

But state Rep. Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat, said Central Regional is not ready for Dix patients.

"I'm concerned about sending patients to the new hospital in light of the fact that it's not ready." she said. "It's not safe to add new patients."