2 news items for Lane County re: mental health

[Lane County announcements about human rights and alternatives in mental health from www.MindFreedom.org.]

Hi Lane County residents who care about changing the mental health  
system:

Two news items.

1) DAVID ROMPREY passing

First, we just sent out an alert to the MindFreedom Oregon News list  
that long-time psychiatric survivor/mental health consumer activist  
David Romprey has died.

If you did not get that alert, you can read it here:

http://tinyurl.com/romprey

If you are not sure you are also on that MindFreedom Oregon News  
list, you can sign up free here (we often only send state-wide  
messages to the Oregon list):

http://www.intenex.net/lists/listinfo/mindfreedom-oregon-news

2) "FRESH AIR" ISSUE

Second, by error a news item went out with an "attached file" about  
the issue of "fresh air" for psychiatric inmates at the new Sacred  
Heart facility. We try NOT to put out items with attached files.  
BELOW is a plain text version of what Tracey was trying to tell us  
all! Our apology.

From: "Tracey Dumas" <tcdumas at gmail.com>
Date: July 31, 2008 4:52:37 AM PDT
Subject: psych patients to be refused fresh air outrage

Begin forwarded message:

****

I am outraged! I hope you will be, too. I just found out that  
according to the design for the new psychiatric unit (Johnson Unit)  
at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, the patients on the “secure” or  
“closed” unit will not have access to outdoors, to fresh air. This  
would be an ethical, human rights, and legal violation.  Currently,  
the Johnson Unit located on the first floor has a private enclosed  
area next to the  unit where both open unit and secure unit patients  
are taken for fresh air. The area has a garden, flowers, picnic  
tables, and grass.  (The Johnson Unit is one part of Sacred Heart  
Hospital to remain at Sacred Heart since the new Riverbend Hospital  
will replace much of what is now at Sacred Heart)

In the present architectural design, the open and secure psychiatric  
sections will be relocated to the 3rd floor. Architects believe that  
seems logical, an outside courtyard could be built on the 3rd floor  
next to the unit where all patients would have access to fresh air.  
(After all there are some of these accessible to employees and  
patients who are not too sick to be in bed. Generally, it is my  
understanding that most patients who are able to get out of bed much  
at Sacred Heart are “kicked out” as soon as possible.)

It seems that one of the problems is that the elevator which will go  
down to the newly designed first floor outside courtyard (in a  
different location than currently) is a public elevator.

Anyway, I am told there is no money to build a 3rd floor interior  
open air courtyard.

Really! I have seen money seemingly come out of thin air for things  
pushed for by outraged people.  I hope you, too, are outraged!  How  
about it? I think I see another miracle about to happen. Let’s get a  
dialogue going here about a plan of attack against this outrageous  
injustice towards an often already traumatized and vulnerable group  
of individuals.  Wow, this turned out to be a lengthy email! Tracey  
Dumas