Las Vegas psychiatric hospital accused of patient dumping

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — According to a published story, Nevada’s primary state psychiatric hospital has transported over 1,500 mentally ill patients to cities across the nation by Greyhound bus over the last five years.

The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday that as Nevada has slashed funding for mental health services, the number of such patients being bused out of Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas climbed 66 percent from 2009 to 2012.

The issue has been under scrutiny since February when one Rawson-Neal patient turned up suicidal and confused at a homeless complex in Sacramento, where he knew no one and had never been before.

Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Director Mike Willden categorically denies the state of Nevada is “patient dumping” due to budget cuts and says he’s offended by that characterization.