Oregon has years of work ahead to eliminate its shortage of beds that provide residential care and treatment for people with behavioral health needs. (Getty Images)
Oregonians can face waits as long as six months to enter the residential facilities they need for mental health or addiction care.
During that time, they might overdose or lose their desire to get help and end up deteriorating on the streets.
It will take Oregon years to fully address this problem, according to a legislative hearing this week.
“We know how critical facility-based care is,” Ebony Clarke, behavioral health director for the Oregon Health Authority, told lawmakers in the Senate Health Care Committee on Monday. “We are navigating and trying to climb out of the hole that was created during the pandemic and even pre-pandemic.”
Across the whole system, Oregon needs to almost double its number of staffed beds to treat people in residential care. The current capacity is 4,033 beds, which includes inpatient psychiatric facilities like Oregon State Hospital, mental health residential treatment facilities, secure treatment facilities and residential facilities for alcohol and drug addiction treatment.