Washington House passes mental health bills
OLYMPIA – Eight months after a Spokane couple died in a murder-suicide at Deaconess Hospital, an effort to prevent similar tragedies is a major step closer to becoming state law.
The proposed Sheena and Chris Henderson’s Law passed the House on a 93-5 vote Monday, along with several other bills to improve Washington’s faltering mental health care system. Much of the legislation deals with detaining mentally ill people under the state’s Involuntary Treatment Act.
“Family and friends of Chris and Sheena Henderson wanted something positive to come out of this tragedy,” said Rep. Marcus Riccelli, the bill’s prime sponsor. “They knew that the mental health system was broken, and they wanted to do something about it.”
Sheena Henderson was working at the hospital when her despondent husband, Chris, shot her and then himself on July 8. Sheriff’s deputies had evaluated him as a suicide risk less than 24 hours earlier.
The bill would enable law enforcement officers to alert mental health experts after reports of an attempted suicide or a suspected suicide attempt. Even if a person doesn’t meet the criteria for placement in protective custody, officers could mention concerns in their incident reports.
Agencies would have 48 hours to send those reports to a designated health care facility. Officers also would be allowed to contact the facility directly to request a mental health assessment. The facility would have 12 hours to attempt to contact the individual causing concerns.
“We know this won’t fix all the gaps in the system, but we hope it will help get people the help they need,” said Riccelli, D-Spokane.
State law says mental health professionals can detain a person they believe to be “gravely disabled” or at risk of physical harm. But hospitals and care centers are often too crowded to accept new patients, leaving many without treatment that experts say they need.
Under legislation that the House passed Monday, some patients could be committed against their will for up to one year, and mental health experts would have to evaluate patients more promptly when they arrive in protective custody.
The bills now may get hearings in the Senate.