Care for the Mentally Ill
Floor Speech
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Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Murphy. I really appreciate him holding this Special Order, his dedication, and his persistence in moving this issue along. It is very important because mental health is an issue that is getting more and more rampant in our communities.
We really have some challenges in northern California with it and the lack of available treatment. I just had a doctor visit my office yesterday from Siskiyou County who, had she had this ability, had that county had these resources available in the way that your bill prescribes, tragedy would have been prevented with an attempted suicide and a suicide that actually happened in that same family. It is really inexcusable after a point that we are not able to channel the resources and have the effectiveness of the program that you are seeking.
Previously, in Nevada County, California, we witnessed a devastating shooting at a nearby health clinic that took the lives of three individuals back in 2001. The shooter, who suffered from mental illness, had repeatedly refused treatment, despite his family's best efforts to get him help. This is where the system, again, is broken.
Outdated laws leave individuals suffering with severe mental illness to fend for themselves, only to have intervention step in when it is too late. Does it really take an attempted suicide, does it really take a drug overdose, to get attention, instead, when people that have this and know about these triggers would be able to get them the help they need with the right implementation? We need to break down those barriers and provide that pathway.
The Assisted Outreach Treatment program, for example, helps patients and families experiencing severe mental health issues to get the treatment they need before a crisis occurs. Patients are able to live at home and meet their therapist on a regular basis while having access to lifesaving medications. Success rates are testimony to the effectiveness of the program in terms of compassion and effectiveness. Again, in one of my counties, Nevada County, where this program is in effect, hospitalization was reduced 46 percent, incarceration reduced 65 percent, homelessness reduced 61 percent, and emergency contacts and emergency needs reduced 44 percent.
Of the patients who entered the program overall, 90 percent said it made them more likely to keep their appointments and take their medication, and 81 percent said it helped them get well and stay well. This is what it is all about: to give them hope and to put them in the mainstream of society where they can function well and be successful. Forty-nine percent fewer abused alcohol, 48 percent fewer abused drugs.
Yet, instead of investing in programs such as this, we continue to spend billions on duplicative behavioral wellness programs that allow far too many Americans to fall through the cracks.
We have got to do more to care for our neighbors in this country. I rise today in support, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of the gentleman's legislation. We cannot stand by anymore and allow the status quo because, as we know too well, the cost of inaction is too high for those who suffer from it and for the families and the communities. This is going to be very effective in helping to channel that and having a success we can all be proud of.
Thank you for the time and for your persistence.
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