Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents, a mental
health hospital in Staunton, only has enough nurses and
direct-service aides to safely operate 18 of its 48 beds.
File 2018, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Stauntonâs Commonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents, the
only state mental hospital for children, can safely operate just 18
of its 48 beds.
File 2018, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Dr. Jaime Bamford, director of the Staunton facility, said the
center is struggling with mandatory overtime and worker
burnout.
File 2018, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Dr. Jack Barber, then acting director of Commonwealth Center for
Children and Adolescents in Staunton, is shown at the facility in
2018. Barber, a psychiatrist, served in the position for a year
MICHAEL MARTZ
Richmond Times-Dispatch
STAUNTON â When the aides who work at Commonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents pick up lunch at a local convenience store or buy their groceries, they see signs advertising jobs paying $14 to $15 an hour.
But when they return to work, theyâre making as little as $12.58 an hour for a job that requires them to work directly with children and teens who may be psychotic, suicidal and violent.
âThey work 16-hour days and get hit,â said Nancy Snead, the centerâs human resources manager, who has to face those facts while trying to fill 50 vacant jobs for direct-service aides at the only state mental hospital for children and adolescents in Virginia.
by Tyler Arnold, The Center Square | July 15, 2021 07:00 PM Print this article
More than half of Virginia’s adult mental health institutions are temporarily halting the admission of new patients in response to serious staffing shortages, according to a letter sent out by Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Commissioner Alison Land.
Five of Virginia’s eight institutions have stopped admitting new patients and must reduce their bed capacity limit to reflect their staffing levels. The letter said no person would be unsafely discharged, but the hospitals will not be able to admit new patients until patient volume is low enough to account for staffing shortages.
One officer is assigned to each shift to respond to calls about a mental health crisis, suicide threat or drug overdose.
“It’s one thing to go out there and to respond to a call and give them, you know, maybe a card with all the different resources they may need. It’s another thing to go back and then check and make sure that they’re doing it and that they’re getting the response that they need,” Sheriff Mike Chapman said.
So far, the team has responded to about 134 cases and is doing longer-term follow ups with 35 people.
Monday, July 12, 2021
(Washington, DC) – Today, at a White House meeting with President Biden and leaders from across the nation to discuss gun crime reduction strategies, Mayor Muriel Bowser shared the District’s comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence. The Mayor also advocated for federal support of amendments to the District’s bifurcated judicial system to improve public safety outcomes. Following the meeting, the Mayor released the following statement.
“We know ending the scourge of gun violence requires every level of government working together to get illegal guns off our streets, hold people accountable when they choose to use guns in our communities, and prevent violence by creating opportunity for those who need it. In DC, we are making historic investments in not just a whole-of-government approach to reducing gun violence, but a whole-of-community approach – in evidence-based strategies to prevent violence and expand opportunity. We also know that DC is uniqu