Pete Earley

Accountability matters.

A jet crashes. People die. A whistleblower reveals that airline officials were warned two years earlier about a fatal flaw in the engine that caused the crash but executives ignored those warnings.

How would the public react?

The Virginia Office of Inspector General issued a damning report in 2012 about “streeting” — emergency rooms turning away patients because there were no psychiatric beds available even though the patients were in the midst of a mental crisis.  The author of that report, G. Douglas Bevelacqua, warned the state’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services that Virginia had a bed shortage problem that needed to be fixed.

No one listened.

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I’ve just obtained a copy of the Virginia Inspector General Report investigating the Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds’ tragedy. You might recall that Inspector General Douglas Bevelacqua resigned after claiming that this investigative report was being watered down by his bosses. You can read the report by clicking here.

Representative Tim Murphy, the only psychologist in the U.S. Congress, is continuing to keep pressure on the federal government to improve our mental health care system. This Wednesday, March 26th, the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Energy and Commerce committee, that Rep. Murphy co-chairs will hold an investigative hearing about the nation’s lack of psychiatric hospital beds.

Beginning at 10 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the hearing is entitled: “Where have all the patients gone? Examining the Psychiatric Bed Shortage.”

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These past few months have been difficult.

I lost my mother in December to a fast acting cancer. She was 94 and died at home. I could not save her.

Her death caused my father’s dementia to become much, much worse. He is 93. It is heartbreaking watching him become more and more confused each day. I cannot save him.

Because of my mother’s age, people told me that she had lived a full life. They were trying to comfort me. Could you also argue that the longer you have someone, the tougher it is to let go?

These incidents have reminded me of my son’s first hospitalization. It happened on my birthday. Because he was ill, I was surprised when he handed me a home-made birthday card when I visited him at the hospital.  I described what happened next in my book,  CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness.

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Few issues in mental health are as controversial as involuntary commitment. Everyone has a strong opinion, especially individuals who have been forced into treatment and their families.

My good friend, Baltimore psychiatrist Dr. Dinah Miller, and her colleague, Dr. Anne Hanson, are doing research for a book they plan to publish called: “Committed: The Battle Over Forced Psychiatric Care.” 

Dr. Miller asked me yesterday if I would help her meet individuals who have stories — good or bad– to tell about their experiences with involuntary treatment.

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