CRANSTON – Expanded services at Eleanor Slater Hospital will allow more people under court order to receive mental health competency evaluations to do so in an outpatient setting.
With the expansion, Rhode Island joins a long list of other states that prioritize outpatient visits for people ordered to undergo mental health evaluations in preparation for trial, according to the R.I. Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.
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The expansion will increase Eleanor Slater’s outpatient capabilities for court-ordered evaluations, reducing the number of people admitted to the hospital for those procedures.
Last year, about 500 evaluations were performed at Eleanor Slater, and the hospital expects to total about 600 for 2019, BHDDH spokesman Randal Edgar said.
“In Rhode Island, too many people who require court-ordered evaluations receive these evaluations in the state prison or through inpatient services at Eleanor Slater Hospital,” said Dr. Brian Daly, chief medical officer at BHDDH. “Providing more-robust outpatient forensic services will reduce those numbers and help the state foster a better system of treatment while minimizing loss of liberty when there is no safety concern.”
Launched early this month on the hospital’s Pastore Campus, expanded services are staffed by at least one full-time licensed independent clinical social worker, a psychiatrist and a full-time administrative specialist. Patients are assessed, evaluated, treated and referred to health care providers who can direct them to other services.
