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Tulsa World
December 17, 2001
Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Letter to the Editor
By Mary T. Zdanowicz
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?
That may
be because Oklahoma rarely uses this legal mechanism, although studies have shown it to be
extraordinarily effective in reducing hospitalization, arrests, and episodes of violence.
Ricky
Martins family said that Martin would periodically check into Eastern State Hospital
for help. Eastern States downsizing likely contributed to Martins inability to
get treatment. But we still must ask why Martin was not in a monitored outpatient
treatment program designed to keep conditions like his from deteriorating.
Both
DeAnna Dorsey and Ricky Martin lost their lives because Martins brain disease was
not being consistently treated. Oklahomans are lucky state laws allow court-ordered
outpatient treatment. Lets hope the commissions confidential report examined
why those laws were not used to prevent this tragedy. And whether they are being used
today to prevent another.
Sincerely,