LANSING, Mich — Health care professionals and advocates are sounding the alarm about Michigan's severe shortage of mental health beds, with only 5 psychiatric beds available per 100,000 people in the state.
The shortage has created a crisis situation where patients in need of mental health care are being forced to wait in emergency departments for extended periods.
"The MDHHS reported that every day 155 patients, including 17 children, are sitting in Michigan emergency departments, waiting for their health care services," said House Rep. Angel Witwer.
Luna Brown knows the struggle firsthand. She has battled mental health challenges for years and has been hospitalized numerous times.
"I have an autism diagnosis, I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, major depression disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder," Brown said.
Despite her need for treatment, Brown has faced difficulties accessing care.
"There's just a huge shortage of beds in Lansing," she said.
Brown estimates she has been hospitalized over 40 times in various facilities throughout the state.
"I don't know the exact number, but I have been hospitalized over 40 times in various hospitals around the state," Brown said.
The issue brought together health care professionals, legislators and advocates at UM Health Sparrow to discuss solutions to the mental health bed shortage.
"We know that this is a critical issue," a representative from UM Health Sparrow said.
The overflow of patients in emergency rooms has become a daily reality across Michigan as those in need of psychiatric care have nowhere else to go.
In response to the crisis, UM Health Sparrow has begun demolition on the former Eastern High School, which will be converted into a psychiatric facility with 120 mental health beds.
Brown believes the expansion project is urgently needed.
"We just need to get that bed count up, because right now, it's a desperate situation and people dying because of it," Brown said.
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