US Psychiatric Facility Is Being Accused of Patient Dumping

Federal authorities have chosen to take disciplinary actions against a Las Vegas facility that has been cited for releasing psychiatric patients improperly to bus stations and off to other states. This improper handling of patients is what is referred to as a form of patient dumping.

The Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital has been warned about Medicare violations that govern the rules of discharging patients. They could potentially lose their funding that is provided to them under the healthcare insurance program if they do not correct the problem. The facility has faced an excessive amount of scrutiny over the past five years concerning its practices.

The facility has taken patients that are not at all well, to Greyhound stations and purchased them one way Greyhound bus tickets. 1500 patients were discarded in this regard. The facility sent off these patients to places such as California and forty-six other states over the course of five years.

Some of the patients that were rushed to Greyhound bus stations were not put onto the buses with an adequate amount of food, medicine, or any plans to where they could go to continue their treatment. They were basically passed on to other states, without the facility showing any concern regarding where the patients were going to end up, once they left their facility.

Rawson Neal has been given until the 6^th of May to figure out a way to remedy the problems that they have put on other states through their illegal patient dumping activities. If they do not rectify the issue, the facility will face further actions against it. Of these actions, the Medicare provider agreement that the facility has will be terminated.

Due to the increased amount of attention that the facility is generating, it has tightened up its policies for discharge. This will help the patients that are released from the facility to other states be able to obtain the appropriate amount of after-care services that they require. Tracey Green, the top health officer for the state of Nevada, has also revealed that all of the patients released from the psychiatric hospital will be chaperoned and put onto the buses, trains, or planes back to a location that they specify.

Tightened discharge orders are being enforced after the case of James Flavy Coy Brown was released to the public. Mr. Brown was put onto a taxi and then led to a Greyhound bus station, where he used a ticket for a ride to Sacramento. He was given a three-day supply of pills to combat his medical disorders, which were depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

He arrived at a homeless shelter and was extremely frightened. He was eventually reunited with his daughter who resided on the East Coast, who he had not seen or heard from in years. Mr. Brown’s case was an obvious sign of patient dumping that has forced psychiatric centers to follow some strenuous rules before allowing a patient to re-enter into society.

Federal law states that hospitals that participate in any type of Medicare treatment for their patients must treat their patient’s conditions until the condition has either been resolved or somewhat stabilized. Plans for aftercare should be laid out with the patient if the issue has not been rectified.