When someone experiences a mental health crisis, they are often met by police officers. The person is handcuffed and taken to a hospital, where the doors are locked and medication is forced on them. Patients leave traumatized, saying they are reluctant to seek psychiatric help in the future. This is the crisis state of North Carolina’s behavioral health system, which relies heavily on law enforcement, emergency rooms and involuntary commitments. In this series, we report some of the reasons behind the rise of involuntary commitment petitions in North Carolina and how it impacts patients seeking help.
Former NC psych hospital staff allege they were told to falsify patient records
This article was co-published with WRAL-TV. By Taylor Knopf Days after her 21st birthday in March 2023, Mo Hatcher found herself short of breath and dizzy, feeling helpless at what she described as minor inconveniences to most people, but major events for her. Hatcher had a history of anxiety, but her panic attacks had become…
Former employees say short-staffed NC psych hospital rife with violence, abuse
More than a dozen former employees say understaffing at Brynn Marr Hospital contributes to what they describe as a dangerous place for patients and employees. Hospital officials say allegations of violence, sexual assaults, overmedication and lack of mental health therapy are unfounded.
What happens when you take someone in a mental health crisis to the E.R.?
This article attempts to answer some of the frequently asked questions people have when their loved one is at the emergency room struggling with mental health issues, such as: What is an involuntary commitment? And what rights do parents have when their child is committed at a psychiatric hospital?
NC psych hospital failed to provide ‘safe and therapeutic’ environment, feds say
After a NC Health News/ News & Observer/ Charlotte Observer report of alleged mistreatment and sexual assault of an 11-year-old patient, Brynn Marr Hospital has been under months of state and federal scrutiny, jeopardizing its federal insurance reimbursement.
Durham 11-year-old was sexually assaulted in NC psychiatric hospital, parents allege
A young girl at risk for suicide was sent to a hospital that was supposed to help her, instead her parents say she was hurt further by the mental health system. Now they’re pushing for reform.
Big changes are needed to turn the tide of North Carolina’s mental health crisis, health leaders say
For North Carolinians to have affordable access to readily available mental health services, health leaders say a cascade of changes need to take place from Medicaid expansion to higher reimbursement rates for providers.
New mental health data show ‘unsustainable’ burden on NC hospitals
Rising mental health-related emergency room visits, more involuntary commitments and longer wait times for psychiatric hospital beds are symptoms of much larger problems within the state’s mental health system, health experts say.
Sheriffs want to turn transport of psych patients over to mental health workers
Patients under involuntary commitment orders describe being traumatized by law enforcement involvement in mental health care, which often comes with handcuffs and added stigma.
‘Behavioral health emergency’: NC health organizations ask state leaders for help
The heightened demand for behavioral health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic is crashing down on North Carolina’s already fractured mental health system. Hospitals and health leaders are calling for emergency help.
State lawmakers seek non-police, community interventions to mental health crises
As more mental health patients find themselves handcuffed in a police car headed to a psychiatric hospital, a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a package of bills that would offer community-based alternatives for people in mental health crisis.
Despite pitfalls, counties leave psych patient transport in sheriffs’ hands
When given the chance to rethink police involvement in responding to people in mental health crisis, most counties maintained the status quo.
This is the third part in an occasional series examining the consequences of North Carolina’s increased use of forced psychiatric treatment.
NC didn’t track the data on mental health commitments, so some advocates did it instead.
Advocates found the state had a big problem, but because no one was counting, no one was aware of how many psychiatric patients were being treated against their will.
This is the second story in a series about how more people in mental health crisis end up involuntarily committed for treatment and why that’s a problem.
More NC psych patients are ending up handcuffed in a police car. Why?
North Carolina’s use of involuntary commitment for mental health patients increased by 91 percent over a decade. This is the first in an occasional series of stories where we’ll explore what factors are contributing to this rise and what it means for patients.