A dispute over Oregon’s residential mental health treatment rules is widening beyond Marion County, with providers across the state urging health officials to change how facilities respond to safety threats.
Marion County and the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health brought treatment providers together on October 15 to discuss concerns about the rules. Four days later, the public comment period on the county’s formal rulemaking petition closed, placing renewed pressure on the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to address those concerns.
For workers and residents at Salem-area treatment facilities, the disagreement centers on how quickly staff can respond when threatening behavior puts people at risk…