T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 111, Iss. 13 ¦ Tuesday, December 7, 2021
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
flathatnews.com ¦ @theflathat
CONSERVATION
IIC holds discussion on women in conservation Dr. Dicenta, Dr. Obasanjo share experiences in environmental field EMMA HENRY THE FLAT HAT
developmental disability and psychiatric health issues. Williamsburg lies under the jurisdiction of Colonial Behavioral Health led by Coe. The second legal factor contributing to overcrowding in Virginia’s public mental health facilities is the 2014 “bed of last resort” law, which was spearheaded by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath. The law requires state psychiatric hospitals to admit patients under temporary detention orders if a bed cannot be found at another facility. TDOs are issued when a magistrate believes a person to be a harm to themselves or others, but they are unwilling to seek medical treatment on their own. Under a TDO, a person can be detained for 72 hours by law enforcement for emergency care before a civil hearing is conducted to determine whether that individual should be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. Around the same time as the passing of the “last resort” law, Deeds also created the Deeds Commission, the precursor to the joint subcommittee on mental health, which has continued its work in the state legislature through 2021. Deeds said the law was intended to ensure anyone is guaranteed treatment in a crisis. His push for the bill came after a tragic incident in late 2013, in which Deeds was stabbed by his son Gus, a student at the College of William and Mary who then died by suicide. A judge had ordered an involuntary temporary detention for Deeds’ son in the days leading up to the incident, though no hospital beds were available. The last resort law thus sought to avoid similar situations, and Deeds said it is still good policy. “That bed of last resort legislation was designed to prevent a problem that was occurring in Virginia,” Deeds said “A number of times it occurred, people that had been taken before magistrates and evaluated by qualified personnel and found to be a danger to themselves or others. But they were released. They were put on the street because there wasn't room for them. They couldn't find a bed for them. Well, that's just that's bad policy.” Though on paper, the law met its goal of mandating beds for all those in need, Interim Clinical Director at Eastern State Steve O’Brien said it has backfired in a sense, causing TDO admissions at public hospitals to rise from 3.7 cases a day in 2013 to over 18 per day in 2021, an over 500% increase that has overwhelmed facilities like Eastern State. “I think it was probably effective in achieving that goal under the current statutes and laws and codes,” O’Brien said. “But the other effect was greatly increased our admissions and census. And you can look back at 2014 as the time when a lot of those strains started happening in state hospitals.” Additionally, even though private and public hospitals have the same civil commitment laws and treatment processes, private hospitals can turn away patients if their conditions are deemed too severe, whereas public facilities like Eastern State cannot. “As far as psychiatric conditions, we have no exclusionary criteria,” O’Brien said. “And so we will get people that none of the other hospitals will treat.
Wednesday, Dec. 1, the Institute for Integrative Conservation’s (IIC) Student Leadership Council held their inaugural event “Trailblazing Women in Conservation.” The webinar, which was also livestreamed on Zoom, featured a panel of women who have made considerable contributions to the world of conservation and have consequently helped pave a pathway for underrepresented and marginalized voices to be heard within the realm of environmental and climate discourse. The panelists included Dr. Mara Dicenta and Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, who are both assistant professors at the College of William and Mary, and Senior Gender Advisor at Conservation International Kame Westerman. Katie Ridder ’24, a conservation major at the College, introduced the panel and facilitated the initial discussion with the panelists, starting with a discussion about their backgrounds in conservation. Obasanjo, an assistant professor of public health, started in the workforce as a veterinarian. She became interested in conservation after discovering the importance of the spread of diseases amongst wildlife and humans. Obasanjo then earned a doctorate in epidemiology. “For me, I see that nature and having animals around us is a part of that wellbeing, is a part of that ability to do well and thrive,” Obasanjo said. Dicenta, an assistant anthropology professor, started her journey in social work and started learning about conservation when she visited her home country of Argentina to learn about the eradication of beavers in Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia. Because Argentina had historically been involved in the attempted eradication of subversive people in the 1970s, Dicenta was particularly impacted by this concept of extermination within Argentinian conservation dynamics. “I was shocked how our scientists were willing to eliminate an entire species,” Dicenta said, “...it became complicated, and I realized that conservation is about everything, about caring for nature but also trying to restore histories of colonialism and injustice, because conservation has always been linked to colonialism.” After discussing their respective backgrounds, the panelists spoke about their professional careers, and the trajectory they took to get to where they are today. Westerman discussed her time in the Peace Corps, operating in Madagascar for about five years working on community based forestry, food security and marine enclosures. While working with a group of representatives to discuss octopus harvesting and enclosures, she noticed the lack of women as primary octopus harvesters within the discussion. “Gender is so infused into how power and decision making happens … it wasn’t until that moment that I really, truly understood just how deeply embedded gender is in conservation and governance,” Westerman said. Obasanjo said her passion for conservation was borne out of her love of human health, and she emphasized the importance of having different perspectives and voices within her field. “The idea that you cannot make people healthy without having nature being part of what makes up their well-being,” Obasanjo said, “... everything is related to one another…my passion for conservation is really a passion for people, for people to lead better lives.” The discussion then led to an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the field of conservation. Westerman began by talking about the growing body of research focused on linking gender inclusiveness to conservation outcomes. “What it really points to is gender inclusiveness leads to better governance,” Westerman said, “So it’s sort of indirect, the conservation outcome.” Westerman also emphasized that though this research is important, there has not been enough research done to make a distinct link between DEI, gender and conservation outcomes because there are many other factors that have not been studied. Obasanjo also weighed in, mentioning ways in which she thinks inclusion is important in these conversations. “The people most affected by the destruction of nature, which are usually poor people and
See MENTAL HEALTH page 8
See CONSERVATION page 8
JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT
GRAPHIC BY CHARLES COLEMAN / THE FLAT HAT
Eastern State Hospital struggles to recover from bed capacity decrease ALEXANDRA BYRNE AND CHARLES COLEMAN // FLAT HAT NEWS EDITORS Content warning: this article contains references to suicide and self-harm. Friday, July 9, 2021, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, DBHDS, announced bed reductions at five of the state’s public mental health facilities, including Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg. In the months since, not much has changed for the strained, underfunded hospital. Likewise, support for supplementary, community-based mental health care is lacking. Eastern State is the oldest public mental health facility in the country, operating since 1773. It is one of nine state-run facilities in Virginia, which collectively house 2,124 patients at a given time. Eastern State’s bed capacity usually numbers 302, but it was recently mandated to reduce that licensed capacity to 242 beds, operating at roughly 75% capacity despite an urgent need for bed space. That capacity decrease order, issued by Commissioner of the DBHDS Allison Land, effectively halted new admissions to the hospital due to persistent staffing shortages. According to Assistant Director of Eastern State Dr. Dewey Jennings, without adequate staffing, the hospital cannot safely house its normal number of patients. “The difference is with a hospital, any kind of hospital, you want to have a certain complement of staff to make sure you can safely take care of the patients and perform those duties,” Jennings said. “Based upon what was going on, I think the decision was made higher up to look at those situations and say, maybe we should start closing beds to make sure we've got adequate staff to take care of the patients.” This decision to limit bed capacity made by Land, who did not respond to The Flat Hat’s request for comment, was not universally supported. Virginia State Senator Montgomery Mason ’89, D-Williamsburg, is a founding member of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the commonwealth in the 21st century and considers Virginia's mental health policy among his top priorities. He said that the decision to limit admission at the five facilities was unexpected and unwarranted. “As far as how the decision was made to stop taking admissions, it was unilaterally done by the commissioner,” Mason said. “While I understand the concern of safety, we had had like 90 employees resign within a month period, we'd had 50-60 injuries. You know, you were just putting people in dangerous circumstances. I understand, but to unilaterally close down accepting patients was something that I just don't know how she had the authority to do, right? But did.” At a capacity of 242 patients, Eastern State can accept new admissions as other patients are discharged. However, a number of legal stipulations have limited admissions and kept the staff at Eastern State overwhelmed and the hospital in crisis mode. The first stipulation involves the difference between civil and forensic admissions. Since Eastern State is a public facility, it must take on “forensic” cases — patients referred to psychiatric care by court order. These individuals are usually referred from jails and prisons, or they are found not guilty in criminal cases by reason of insanity. The high number of
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forensic patients waiting for admission to Eastern State has meant admissions for civil cases — any other patients coming from the community — have effectively ceased. Just because Eastern State is admitting forensic cases does not mean it has the capacity to admit all of them — there is a waitlist. In 2015, the average wait time for incarcerated individuals in need of a bed at Eastern State was 73 days, according to The Washington Post. That figure was brought to light after Jamycheal Mitchell died in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, where he was being held while waiting for a bed at Eastern State by orders from a judge. Mitchell was charged for stealing $5.00 worth of snacks from a 7-Eleven. Additionally, Mason said not all individuals in forensic cases are in need of inpatient psychiatric care, such as that given at Eastern State. For example, individuals charged for misdemeanor offenses, like stealing or failure to appear in court, may not need inpatient status, yet still receive it. If not for charges pressed against them in the legal system, their conditions would likely be better treated by outpatient care, like therapy. “55 to 60% of Eastern State’s admissions are forensic,” Mason said. “35 to 40% of those are from misdemeanor crimes. They are being sent to Eastern State because they're incompetent to stand trial for the restoration so they can come back and stand trial. For a misdemeanor crime.” Mason said this trend occurs largely because law enforcement and court officials are not adequately trained to respond to low-grade crimes involving individuals with mental health complications. Currently, Williamsburg police officers undergo 40 hours of crisis intervention team training, which Director of Colonial Behavioral Health David Coe said isn’t perfect, but effective in increasing capacity and confidence of officers. This training, however, is not required for officers prior to being hired — so not all active officers are trained. A community member would have to know this training exists in order to request a trained officer respond to their call. Public hospitals thus bear the burden of all forensic cases, since court orders do not allow individuals to seek alternative care in private facilities. Mason spoke on distinguishing clearer requirements for admittance at public institutions such as Eastern State and pursuing alternative community-based programs. “So part of this is up front trying to determine how we can divert from state hospitals,” Mason said. “But here's the thing not to be lost — while getting the person the treatment they actually need, right? It's not just about opening up, freeing up a bed. It's about properly treating. And that's where the stresses and pressures on our community based programs, run by the CSB, come into play.” Community service boards, or CSBs, are the 41 state-sponsored organizations responsible for establishing and providing behavioral and psychiatric health services within their respective jurisdiction. Each board is led by an appointed board of directors which holds responsibility for providing adult and pediatric services for substance abuse,
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Rebekah Cohodas '24 reflects on the public menorah ceremony
Cohodas shares that they believe that such celebrations should be more inclusive and reflect the diverse Jewish community on campus. page 3
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Cycling through the years:
Mens Basketball
Members of the College of William and Mary's student-run Bike Alliance discuss evolution of their organization. page 5
The struggling Tribe failed to regain momentum last Saturday, Dec. 4 at Davidson, going down 15 at the half and ultimately losing 70-46. page 7