Oklahoma State Activities

Oklahoma

Recent news

OKLAHOMA LINKS
Oklahoma legislators
Oklahoma newspapers

NEWS Gunman may have been off medication - "Ricky Martin, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was not taking his medication when he gunned down nurse DeAnna Dorsey, the victim's husband said this week."
OK - Tulsa World, Feb. 21, 2002 (this is a paid subscription site)

LETTER Everyone hopes the death of a Vinita Hospital nurse at the hands of a man overcome by severe mental illness was an isolated incident. (“Mental health report doubted,” Dec. 2 Tulsa World). Oklahoma may pass new laws to prevent further tragedies. But what about current laws that could have helped but were not used?

LETTER Gov. Frank Keating is right to push for answers in the death of a Vinita Hospital nurse at the hands of a man with severe mental illness ("Keating seeks 'full-scale review' in Vinita nurse's shooting death," Oct. 23, Daily Oklahoman). But he needs to make sure he is asking the right questions.

PREVENTABLE TRAGEDIES The Preventable Tragedies database includes summaries of news articles of which an individual with a neurobiological brain disorder (usually untreated) is involved in a violent episode, either as a victim or perpetrator. Search for Oklahoma episodes by choosing OK in the drop down box.

History

NEWS "No vacancy" faces mentally ill - Many people think that the era of closing large, state psychiatric hospitals and dumping the mentally ill on city streets is a thing of the past. Sadly, Oklahoma is proving them wrong and perpetuating the failure of deinstitutionalization and success of transinstitutionalization by downsizing Eastern State Hospital in Vinita.
Daily Oklahoman, Oct. 6, 2000

PERSONAL STORY A tale of two Katys - This story was written by Alice Woodrome, a NAMI member from Oklahoma City. Ms. Woodrome wrote this out of frustration when she observed first-hand the discrepancy in the way our society treats those with schizophrenia and those with other brain disorders. Her mother-in-law spent the last weeks of her life in a nursing home with many Alzheimer patients, and Alice observed the compassionate care they received while her daughter was left to fend for herself in the streets.

Treatment Advocacy Center

The contents of TAC's website are copyrighted by the Treatment Advocacy Center unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved and content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational purposes only, if correct attribution is made. TAC is an I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. Donations are appreciated and are eligible for the charitable contribution deduction under the provisions of I.R.C. § 170. Please note that TAC does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or entities involved in the sale, marketing, or distribution of such products.

Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 730, Arlington, VA 22203
703 294 6001/6002 (phone) | 703 294 6010 (fax) | www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org (website)
info@treatmentadvocacycenter.org (general email) | press@treatmentadvocacycenter.org (press contact)
webmaster@treatmentadvocacycenter.org (webmaster)