Oregon’s Addiction Crisis Worsens as Study Reveals 3,000‑Bed Shortfall for Treatment
A recent study undertaken by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to assess behavioral health facility capacity and withdrawal management facilities across the state concluded that Oregon has a shortfall of 3,000 adult mental health beds.
Oregon Ranks Last for Access to Treatment Facilities
The OHA was contracted to work with the Public Consulting Group (PCG) and the study revealed that Oregon ranks last nationwide for providing access to treatment facilities, and second for untreated addiction.
The study said at least $500 million is needed for the construction of treatment centers to cope with the growing number of drug addicts in Oregon.
These findings served to underline a rally in downtown Portland where advocates for addiction gathered to urge Governor Tina Kotek, who spearheaded the OHA study, to find the necessary funding to address the addiction crisis in Oregon.
Participants in the rally expressed concern that issues surrounding Oregon’s addiction landscape will not be addressed before the legislative session ends on 29 June.
There are 1,650 Beds Statewide for Treating Substance Use Disorders
The key findings of the OHA study found that Oregon provides 1,650 beds statewide for Substance Use Disorders, representing 38.54 beds per 100,000 population.
However, acute care psychiatric facilities only offer 2.55 beds per 100,000 people. They are only available in two of the nine trauma service areas. The beds are available in the following counties: Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook, Benton, Lincoln, and Linn Counties.
There are 12 clinically managed withdrawal beds, representing 28 beds per 100,000 people, and 353 medically monitored withdrawal beds, representing 8.25 beds per 100,000 people.
There are Only 12 Beds in Gilliam, Hood River, Sherman, and Wasco Counties
The study found that trauma services in Gilliam, Hood River, Sherman, and Wasco Counties offered the least facilities, with only 12 residential treatment facility beds serving the four counties.
Oregon’s best-equipped trauma service area includes the counties of Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, and Tillamook with 2,062 beds. That region also offers 829 substance use disorder beds, more than any other county offering the service.
Anybody else noticing that the more money Oregon spends, the worse the population of Drug Addicts becomes? This was started, allowed and enabled by the leftist Oregon Government. This is a drug-drenched state that actually decriminalized the hardest of drugs at one point. It is a government smiling on drug addicts with food, housing and cell phones. Keep digging Oregon!