Detroit Evening Report, August 18, 2022: Michigan short on beds for youth mental health patients
Michigan’s top doctor told a federal judge this week that the state does not have enough beds to meet the demand for behavioral and psychiatric treatment for children.
The Detroit News reports Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel testified Wednesday in a virtual update of the state’s progress in addressing problems in its foster care system. Hertel says the number of children across the state brought to emergency rooms for mental health crises has increased over the last decade. The Detroit News has reported on children who have spent weeks in emergency rooms while waiting for foster care placements.
A health department spokesperson told the paper “a small number” of foster youth are sometimes sheltered in emergency rooms but declined to give details citing confidentiality.
Other headlines for Aug. 18, 2022:
- Detroit Labor Day parade canceled for third consecutive year
- Partnership between Beaumont, Spectrum Health and Oakland University aims to increase number of nurses in Michigan
- Michigan’s first 2022 case of West Nile virus found in Oakland County blood donation
- Belle Isle’s giant slide opens this Friday
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