Alaska’s Lack of Psychiatric Beds and Consequences

Abstract

Patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies referred to Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) in Anchorage must frequently must wait four to six days before being admitted. API, with 80 beds, is the state’s sole psychiatric hospital and provider of inpatient services. Two additional Designated Evaluation and Treatment (DET) hospitals — Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (20 beds) and Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital (12 beds) — provide care for acute psychiatric emergencies. According to a recent privatization report there is no infrastructure in Alaska to support longer, more complex intervention as a routine form of inpatient treatment. This has not always been the case. This article traces the history of Alaska mental health policy and discusses the consequences of the lack of capacity to treat mental illness in the community, including growing numbers entering the corrections system.