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August 5, 2003 Contact: Jim Sellers (503) 945-5738 Program contact: Bob Nikkel (503) 945-9704 DHS names expert panel to assess state hospital system The administrator of Oregon's mental health system named a panel of experts Tuesday to conduct a "careful but accelerated analysis" of patient care in the state hospital system. Reflecting the recommendations of a new federal report that says mental health strategies should focus on recovery, the committee will review whether the hospitals' psychiatric and medical practices are supported by contemporary medical and scientific knowledge. "We want to ensure that our state psychiatric hospitals focus on recovery and evidence-based practices," said Bob Nikkel, administrator of the DHS Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services. "Science tells us that patients who have hope are more likely to recover." The analysis of hospital care was recommended June 9 by a workgroup that spent five months reviewing operational questions. The workgroup's members represented providers, community hospitals, health plans, families and consumers, county mental health departments, and DHS. Nikkel said the newly named panel would focus on three areas: whether patient care is supported by current medical science and is of high quality; how best to integrate hospital and community mental health care, with a goal of serving more patients in less restrictive settings; and the hospitals' approaches to education and supervision. The state operates Oregon State Hospital, with campuses in Salem and Portland, and Eastern Oregon Psychiatric Center in Pendleton. Named to the panel were Norwood Knight-Richardson, M.D., associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, who also served on the federal New Freedom Commission on Mental Health that issued its report July 22; Ron Heintz, M.D., of Lake Oswego, a psychiatrist working in the DHS Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services; Alex Burt, M.D., a psychiatrist at Oregon State Hospital who is board-certified in both general and forensic psychiatry, and president-elect of the Oregon Psychiatric Association; Maggie Bennington-Davis, M.D., Salem Hospital medical director for psychiatry and former Oregon Psychiatric Association president; Dennis McCarty, Ph.D., professor at Oregon Health & Science University and a nationally recognized specialist in addiction treatment; and Portland lawyer Jonathan Ater, a mental health advocate and former chair of the State Commission on Children and Families who also served on the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. Eldon H. Edmundson Jr., Ph.D., an Oregon Health & Science University associate professor, will serve as the committee's project director. Chairing the panel will be David Pollack, M.D., medical director in Nikkel's office. The superintendents and medical directors of the state hospitals will be working collaboratively with the review process, Nikkel said. The group, whose first meeting will be Aug. 27 in Salem, has been asked to report back to Nikkel by Nov. 30. |
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