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![handle is hein.gao/gaobaaydg0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
DOCOENT RESUME
07422 - EC2727826]
St. Elizabeths Hospital and District of Columbia are Iaproving
Their Mental Health Services. HRD-78-31; B-133099. September 27v
1978. 78 pp. * 2 appendices (17 pp.).
Report to the Congress; by Blmer B. Staats, Comptroller General.
Issue Area: Health Programs: Federal Government Control of Costs
Through Direct Delivery Programs (1216).
Contact: Human Resources Div.
Budget Function: Health: Health Care Services (551).
Organization 'incerned: Department of Health, Education, m'.d
Welfare; -Istrict of Columbia: Saint Elizabeth's Hospital,
Washington, DC.
Congressional Relevance: House Committee on District of
Columbia; Senate Committee on Human Resources; Congress.
Authority: P.L. 95-215, ORB Circular 1-76. ORB Circular 1-44.
H.Ro 3335 (95th Cong.).
Zt. Elizabeths Hospital is operated by the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), but efforts have been
made to transfer its administration to the District of Columbia
Its accreditation was taken away 5n .975 and, currently, it is
the subject of a lawsuit to provide alternative facilities for
patients who do not need the level of care provided at the
hospital. Rental health services in ths District are also
provided by three mental health centers operated by the
District's Rental Health Administration and by several private
facilities. Findings/Conclusions: There has been a lack of
effective joint planning, coordination, and agreement on how
best to provide mental health services to District residents
which has resulted in overlaps and gaps in services.
Inadequacies in bervices result from failure of the District to
provide adequate re3ources, reorganizations, and program
cutbacks. Improvements at St. Elizabeths are needed in central
admissions, treatment programs, outplacement services, work
schedules, medical records management, industrial and
recreational therapies, and me-lical and surgical services, A
higher than necessary level of care was being provided at some
facilities for many patients who could have been cared for in
nursing or foster care homes if adequate facilities were
available. The National Institute of Mental Health planned to
request $75 to $100 million to regain accreditation for the
hospital and to provide bettvr housing for patients. Planaed
programs exceeded what was needed to regain accre4itation, and
plans have been subsequently revised. St. El'zabeths did not
have an effective system fcr information gathering, planning,
evaluating, budgeting, staffing, and training because of
inadequate implementation of a decentralized management system
and inefficient use of committees for making management
decisions. Recommendations: The mayor of the District should:
direct the community ental health centers to evaluate patients'](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaaydg0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)