Virginia Senator Creigh Deeds was Stabbed by his 24 year old son Austin (Gus) Deeds  who then killed himself with a shotgun at their rural home just West of Charlottesville, Va.. Austin Deeds had just been ‘psychologically’ evaluated just hours before at Bath Community Hospital under an Emergency Custody Order (ECO). The ECO is only good for 4 hours with a possible 2 hour extension if ordered by the magistrate.  Hospital staff stated, working within the maximum 4 hour window, they were unable to find a treatment facility to address Austin Deeds’ psychiatric needs despite several hospitals reporting they did in fact have availability.

Here is some analysis/questions from someone (me) that’s been in this profession for years. I also provide some ideas of solutions if you know of someone struggling with a similar situation:

1. Diagnoses: If the hospital was looking for a treatment facility this means that something the evaluator found indicated Austin was either a threat to himself or others or needed a a level of medical intervention not available at the current hospital. I’m also thinking about the type of evaluation that was conducted and why it was even done at BCH, what the evaluator’s credentials are, and how it was reviewed with Austin and his family. 

2. Discharge: If there were no options (which there clearly were), I wonder if and how the hospital communicated their findings from the evaluation as well as their concerns about safety to the parents and authorities. I’m also wondering what kind of discharge meeting took place. When a client is stepping down from a hospital or residential setting, we always facilitate a comprehensive treatment team meeting to talk about discharge so everyone leaves understanding what the next steps are – action steps. When we work with families struggling with similar issues, we don’t wait for the hospital to give updates. But as mental health professionals, we are able to navigate the bureaucracy much easier and get clear answers much faster. 

3. Responsibility: Providers, whether big hospitals or little, ole’ therapists, have an ethical and legal responsibility to communicate to authorities if a patient is in eminent danger. So who is responsible here? If you ask the hospital, they’ll probably point fingers until the next news cycle. If you ask an attorney, they’ll go through the policy and procedures for the hospital regarding intake, evaluations, referrals, discharge, etc. and anyone of making decisions in that chain could be liable.

4. Intervention (Placement Options): The hospital staff at BCH clearly did not consider referring outside of the traditional placement list (psych beds at hospitals). It’s unlikely that it was due to financial constraints and certainly not due to a lack of treatment centers as some have speculated (Yes, there are certainly a lack of medicaid-funded psych units in VA). There are facilities all over the country that are extremely well-equipped to accept, stabilize and work with patients just like Austin. Most hospitals, though, follow a tired, out-dated protocol of calling three near-by psych hospitals to find out if they have a bed avail. If they here no at all three, patient is discharged with a list of therapists to contact to set up an appointment. Sound ridiculous? You’re right. 

5. Solutions: In my humble opinion, Austin would be alive today if earlier intervention had been provided by a treatment team including a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, and case manager. The psychologist provides the initial psychological evaluation to identify the issues, what is causing them, and create a specific list of interventions for the rest of the team. The psychiatrist (though in limited supply in Bath Co, VA) performs an initial psychiatric (medical/medication) evaluation and identify what, if any, medication is necessary to compliment any individual counseling being performed. The therapist provides weekly counseling either in-office or in the family’s home to address areas identified within the psychological evaluation. The case manager is the project manager for everyone and is on-call 24/7. This person also facilitates regular treatment team meetings to ensure updates are provided to the family and all professionals. For instance, if the therapist starts seeing signs of bizarre thinking patterns which are historically correlated with dangerous behavior, the case manager can alert the rest of the team and monitor the client more closely while also increasing the frequency of support. If a higher level of care (ie. psychiatric hospitalization) is recommended by any member of the team, the case manager not only identifies a placement but completes all intake paperwork. The case manager also provides psychoeducation to the family to help them understand the client’s diagnoses and what they can do to most effectively support him. 

If you or someone you know is in a similar mess, do not assume your local hospital has the expertise to handle the situation. Contact a mental health professional to find services that can manage the entire project from assessment to placement to discharge and aftercare.