When Gordon House drove the wrong way on I-40,\u00a0 killing four people, the incident changed New Mexico\u2019s attitude toward drunk driving.<\/p>\n
The crash, you may remember, was Christmas Eve 1992.\u00a0 The victims were the Cravens family. Mom Melanie and three little daughters were killed; dad Paul survived with severe injuries. New Mexico started toughening its drunk driving laws.\u00a0 While we still have not ended drunk driving accidents and, tragically, have had a few more wrong-way freeway crashes, much progress has been made.<\/p>\n
Nothing like that followed the John Hyde tragedy.\u00a0 John Hyde got the wrong medication and shot five people to death in 2005.\u00a0 The story unfolded that Hyde, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had been functioning fine for years, taking medication, interacting socially and taking care of his mother.\u00a0 He had a supportive family. Nobody was afraid of him.\u00a0 Then there was a change of doctor, a different diagnosis, and new medication that didn\u2019t work. \u00a0His condition deteriorated for months. He asked for medical help, and so did family members, many times, before something snapped and five people lost their lives.<\/p>\n
After the Cravens tragedy, the catalyst for changing drunk driving was Nadine Milford, the grandma who lost her babies.\u00a0 Dignified, articulate and photogenic, she stalked the halls of the Roudhouse, followed by the media like a rock star, creating the momentum that led to tougher laws.\u00a0 Nothing comparable happened after the Hyde case.<\/p>\n
Today an unknown number of walking time bombs are roaming New Mexico streets, some showing up in emergencfy rooms. This is one aftermath of the state\u2019s takeover of behavioral health services. \u00a0Reports are coming in: treatment disrupted, medications unavailable, mentally unbalanced people with nowhere to go. Sudden withdrawal from psychotropic medication can have drastic effects.<\/p>\n
The mess was predictable.\u00a0 It was not possible that out-of-state companies could set up shop from scratch and implement a smooth transition in services. \u00a0Though they inherited the bare bones of the nonprofits they replaced, the logistics were too complicated. Employees did not automatically transition; they had to be hired, if willing. Reportedly, many were not.\u00a0 Licenses and permits had to be obtained. \u00a0\u00a0Clients in shaky mental states had to fill out new paperwork.\u00a0 Because of HIPAA, the federal medical privacy law, files could not simply be transferred.<\/p>\n
The mess was avoidable.\u00a0 The allegations of fraud and mismanagement (still mostly secret) reportedly involve only a few managers in each organization. \u00a0Human Services Department spokespersons said they intended to keep the clinical staffs.\u00a0 So why was it necessary to dismantle the companies? HSD could have contacted the boards of directors, demanded suspension of the alleged miscreants, and installed temporary managers.\u00a0 That less disruptive approach would have preserved continuity for the clients.<\/p>\n
We have to keep asking, why did the state do this?\u00a0 The explanations offered by HSD don\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n
We have to ask because as a former district attorney, our governor surely understands the dangers posed by mentally unstable people who aren\u2019t getting treatment.\u00a0 Indeed, behavioral health programs exist not just to help those with mental problems, but to protect their families, their communities, and the rest of us from what they might do.<\/p>\n
We have to ask because treating behavioral health patients as outpatients is a lot less expensive than sending them to prison and repairing the damage.<\/p>\n
A social worker I know, who has seen firsthand the influx of behavioral health patients at a local emergency room, predicted there will be suicides.\u00a0 I asked whether there might be murders as well.<\/p>\n
Will we need another Nadine Milford, another bereaved grandmother with natural media presence and dead children, to lead a crusade to put our behavioral health system back together?\u00a0 I imagine Mrs. Milford would say the price she paid was too high.<\/p>\n
Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Gordon House drove the wrong way on I-40,\u00a0 killing four people, the incident changed New Mexico\u2019s attitude toward drunk driving. The crash, you may remember, was Christmas Eve 1992.\u00a0 The victims were the Cravens family. Mom Melanie and three … Continue reading