Senior Citizens
Targeted for Incarceration in Mental Hospitals

-- by Robert Legge

What I'm speaking of is the involuntary commitment of anyone who has been deemed to have some form of mental illness. The mental health system is doing it to people of all ages but the senior citizens seem to be a favored target. Several weeks ago the ABC newsmagazine 20-20 aired a segment of the unscrupulous practices of Coral Ridge Psychiatric Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL. They paid "bounty hunters" to bring in "patients". These bounty hunters prepared the reports showing how these patients" were in need of hospitalization. The police who were called upon to take these people away denied many of the assertions made in these reports according to 20-20.

Why would a hospital bring people in this way.? They charged Medicare $700/day for each patient (hostage). Also the psychiatrists charged their usual high fees. They even charged the government for psychotherapy for Alzheimers patients. It is well known that they do not benefit from such therapy. If you would like to talk to someone at Coral Ridge about this their phone number is 305-771-2711.

I do not have statistics on the number of senior citizens who are involuntarily committed each year, but my conversations with those in the field agree they are probably the most vulnerable group along with the poor.

Now I am not suggesting that society is not served by the involuntary commitment of some individuals but it is being used far too often and the consequences are often devastating. Civil rights for the mentally ill and the alledgely mentally ill don't seem to be the same as for everyone else Some states allow a hospital to hold an individual 72 hours until they can see a "judge". In VA it is not even a real judge but a "special justice" One official of the VA mental health Dept. refers to these hearings as "kangaroo courts". These hearings are held at the mental hospital.

Imagine the uproar if a murderer was forced to have his arraignment hearing in a jailhouse. Why hasn't there been more outrage over these kind of practices? One theory is that most survivors take years to recover from their ordeal and have neither the time, patience, money, etc., to fight back. And the public mostly thinks of psychotic killers when thinking about the mentally ill. Hardly a sympathetic group . Only a slight exageration.

How can seniors prevent this from happening to them? Be a bit skeptical of the whole mental health system. Counseling can be useful to many people and I would not want to discourage people from seeing a person they really trust. But it is a lot safer to speak with a trusted friend than a psychiatrist. Remember that you can be given a mental competancy evaluation without your knowing it.

If you think you might be about to be detained by the mental health system:

• Do not physically fight back. It won't work and they will use this against you. But don't be camplacent. Let the workers know that you know your rights.
  
• Clam up. While crimainals are usually warned "what you say can and will be used against you". You will be given no such warning. The health care workers will be writing down anything you say that they feel will make their case that you need hospitalization. Sometimes they even write down a garbled version of what you actually said.
  
• Call a friend,spouse, lawyer, anyone. You will be greatly outnumbered. The more help you get right away can make the difference between being committed or not. This is important.
  
• Call the Protection and Advocacy Center in your state. Look under Mental Health in the yellow pages. Or call the national office in Washington at 202-408-9514.

I guess some people benefit from a stint in a mental hospital if is it is voluntary. The long term consequences of a forced commitment can be devastating. The fear of a subsequent commitment keeps many from ever seeking any treatment ever again.

I could go on and on but please don't let what happened to the seniors in Fort Lauderdale happen to you. Thank you. Robert Legge. If you wish to e-mail Robert click on jsweet@summit.net and your e-mail will be sent to Robert.

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