On azcentral today there was another negative story about the way Magellan is running the mental health system in Maricopa County. This time the focus is on the Urgent Psychiatric Care Center (UPC) at 2nd St and Roosevelt.
In my job as a crisis counselor in the county, I frequently have contact with UPC as we bring clients there for emergency mental health treatment. We have known for years that this has not been a well oiled machine but with Magellan taking over those of us in the field thought we’d see positive changes. According to the article, this is not happening.
An audit has found that UPC is not placing clients who are there for more than the initial 23 hours into inpatient beds, even when they have inpatient beds available. This is ridiculous. There is no reason to not provide proper care to clients in need of help. UPC was also found to not provide the proper documentation and treatment plans, as directed in the contract with the state.
It is disturbing that I am not shocked by the findings as, like I said, as a crisis worker I frequently have to utilize this facility in order to help clients. And it is not a facility that is customer friendly. I hope these recent audits and findings make enough waves to make REAL changes in our system. Only time will tell.