Mar. 01, 2017
HARRISBURG – In order to assist individuals in need of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization or detoxification find treatment, Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon) has proposed legislation that would create a statewide bed registry through the Department of Human Services.
Under the bill, the Department of Human Services would develop and administer an internet-based psychiatric and detoxification bed registry to collect, aggregate and display information about available beds in public and private inpatient psychiatric facilities and licensed addiction treatment facilities for the treatment of individuals in need of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization or detoxification.
“We must ensure treatment is available for those who are seeking it. Our state is losing 10 people per day to drug overdoses, and I hear about far too many instances of families with loved ones in need of addiction treatment and mental health services waiting for hours to locate a facility to provide treatment,” Heffley said.
“This legislation is drafted to connect those looking for treatment with facilities best suited to provide those services. We should be using technology to create a bed registry listing all available treatment beds in the Commonwealth which will cut down on wait times, help local hospitals take advantage of excess capacity and ensure public safety,” he added.
This registry will contain information for facilities and licensed providers; information regarding the number of beds available at a facility; and provide a search function to identify available beds that are appropriate for the treatment of a mental health or substance abuse emergency.
The bill is currently being circulated to collect sponsors.
Representative Doyle Heffley
122nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Morgan Dux
717.260.6695
mdux@pahousegop.com
RepHeffley.com /
Facebook.com/RepHeffley