Empty beds at treatment center irk mental health advocates

A discrepancy in the patient census at the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center has raised eyebrows among the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The state-run mental health treatment facility was included in a report heard Wednesday by the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee. The Department of Human Services’ report said the average number of patients at Anoka was 88, although the facility had been budgeted enough money to host 110.

The report covered the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2018, which ran from October 2017 through December 2017.

The empty beds aroused the suspicion of NAMI Minnesota, which in a March 5 letter to the committee, brought up the discrepancy at Anoka as well as Community Behavioral Health Hospitals.

“We hope to learn what administrative actions have been taken to address the discrepancies at a time when people are experiencing long waits to enter the facilities,” the letter says.

NAMI officials went on to assert that before more state funds are appropriated, there needs to be a review of the state’s mental health program.

According to the report, the number of occupants at Anoka was down because of the anti-ligature project required there by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to remove strangulation risks in patient spaces. The project necessitates vacating a full unit at a time in order to replace all the doors, light fixtures, toilets and sinks in each of the rooms.

In addition, the report says the number of recordable injuries at the Anoka facility doubled from the previous quarter to 15. However, this was due to a specific incident with a single client, which caused five injuries among staff. Staff is undergoing more training to prevent a similar incident from happening again, it said.