{"id":42281,"date":"2022-02-07T14:09:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T21:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/family-highlights-behavioral-health-care-gaps-in-new-mexico\/"},"modified":"2022-02-07T21:09:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T21:09:09","slug":"family-highlights-behavioral-health-care-gaps-in-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/family-highlights-behavioral-health-care-gaps-in-new-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Family highlights behavioral health care gaps in New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Shawnna
Shawnna Boyd hangs out at home in Albuquerque on Jan. 28. Shawnna has multiple mental health disorders and everyone seems to agree she needs more help than she's currently getting. However, Medicaid won\u2019t pay for her to go to a treatment facility in Texas. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) \u2013 Police officers, health care workers and rescue personnel in Albuquerque know Shawnna Boyd well.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old is what they call a \u201cfrequent flyer.\u201d She has been calling 911 for years \u2013 expressing thoughts of suicide and getting taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n

Last July, she ran from her group home into the middle of a busy street and caused a three-car crash. Other times, she has been arrested \u2013 charged with battery on a health care worker, assault for threatening another resident at a group home or criminal damage to property \u2013 although all cases against her end up getting dismissed when she is found incompetent.<\/p>\n

Officers have had more than 150 contacts with her over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows she needs help and she\u2019s not getting it,\u201d said Shawnna\u2019s mother, Kathy Boyd. \u201cI don\u2019t know what she needs, but I know she needs something that she is absolutely not getting. It\u2019s going to end up \u2026 she is going to kill herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

For law enforcement and disability advocates alike, cases like Shawnna Boyd\u2019s highlight a lack of services to treat behavioral health issues in the state, the Albuquerque Journal reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advocates say jail is not a treatment facility and putting people with mental health issues into the criminal justice system won\u2019t help them. And officers tasked with responding to calls say they can take someone to a local hospital instead, but that is just a \u201cBand-Aid fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really difficult when there\u2019s not a whole lot for us to refer to,\u201d said Matt Dietzel, the acting commander of the Albuquerque Police Department\u2019s Crisis Intervention Division. \u201cThere\u2019s not a whole lot of intensive case management that we need so your police department\u2019s doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lack of coverage<\/div>\n

Kathy Boyd said her youngest daughter has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. She also has a traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n

She was living in a group home until she got kicked out last fall. Now she is living with her mother and sister in their Albuquerque home. She has a caretaker and takes daily medication but she continues to act out, hurt herself and run away.<\/p>\n

So Shawnna Boyd\u2019s treatment team recommended she be sent to Nexus Health Systems neurorecovery center outside of Houston for a month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe services available within the state of New Mexico at this time are inadequate to provide ongoing support of Ms. Boyd\u2019s recovery and rehabilitation,\u201d her outpatient psychiatrist wrote in an affidavit provided to the Journal by Shawnna Boyd\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n

Stacey Adams, the senior national complex care liaison for Nexus, said the facility sits on 26 acres and is a \u201chomelike environment\u201d that can offer one-on-one care if needed but the goal is to help residents transition to being more independent. Residents participate in group and individual cognitive and \u201cneurorehab\u201d sessions to improve behavioral issues and increase their ability to function.<\/p>\n

But Shawnna Boyd\u2019s insurance through Medicaid wouldn\u2019t cover the cost.<\/p>\n

According to a denial letter, the Blue Cross Community Centennial medical director determined Shawnna Boyd is not able to do three hours of therapy each day and does not need skilled nursing care.<\/p>\n

\"Shawnna
Shawnna Boyd, left, and her mother, Kathy Boyd, sit together at home in Albuquerque on Jan. 28. Shawnna has multiple mental health disorders and everyone seems to agree she needs more help than she's currently getting. However, Medicaid won't pay for her to go to a treatment facility in Texas. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Attorney Max Kauffman, with Disability Rights New Mexico, disagrees, citing the psychiatrist\u2019s affidavit that said Shawnna Boyd can participate in three hours of therapy a day and does need ongoing skilled care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reasons for the denial are not supported by the evidence that we see from the people working with her on a day-to-day basis \u2013 it\u2019s not supported by physicians who work with her,\u201d Kauffman said.<\/p>\n

He has appealed the decision to an administrative law judge with the New Mexico Human Services Department. A decision has not yet been made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tend to look at the individual and point the finger at them to say, \u2018why can\u2019t you get your life together,\u2018\u201d Kauffman said. \u201cBut when they try they meet a big barrier such as this \u2013 where nothing in the community is working out so what\u2019s left is to try this one last thing == and then she\u2019s shot down because the (Managed Care Organization) doesn\u2019t want to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blue Cross Blue Shield wrote in a statement that to protect the privacy of its members it doesn\u2019t disclose personal or benefit information. It added that there is a process in place to protect the member and hear their concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur members are at the center of all we do, and we are committed to providing them access to the right care, at the right place, at the right time,\u201d the company said. \u201cOur care management tools and processes are designed with this in mind, considering among other factors state and federal regulations and medical necessity criteria set forth in our medical policies and backed by evidence-based medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Long-term fear\u2019<\/div>\n

When Dietzel joined APD\u2019s Crisis Intervention Division several years ago he began looking at reports to determine who were the \u201chigh utilizers\u201d in terms of contacts with officers.<\/p>\n

No matter how he looks at it, Shawnna Boyd is always No. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer case is really difficult, because she calls police constantly,\u201d Dietzel said. \u201cHow this plays out is \u2013 in my mind \u2013 the care that she receives is not at a high enough level for the need that she has and so she has ways to get out of the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said in one scenario, Shawnna Boyd calls 911, officers respond and she tells them she wants to hurt herself and they take her to the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis happens extremely often, to the point where officers in that area command know her by name,\u201d Dietzel said. \u201cThe other scenario is, she\u2019ll get angry at the other people that she lives with and sometimes it becomes physical and there\u2019s occasional arrests as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dietzel said there are at least 155 cases involving Shawnna Boyd, although he expects there are more under incorrect spellings of her name or the wrong date of birth. Of those, 15 resulted in an arrest but the vast majority were reports for behavioral or mental health, several of which were transports to the hospital.<\/p>\n

He expects responders with Albuquerque Community Safety \u2013 the city\u2019s newest department which responds to behavioral health calls \u2013 will soon know her by name as well.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Dietzel agreed that what\u2019s happening now isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

He said the incident in July where Shawnna Boyd ran into traffic and caused a crash scares him because there are so many people his unit has tried to get help for who have ended up getting hit by a car and killed.<\/p>\n

He said he worries what will happen if, in the future, Shawnna Boyd can no longer stay with her mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the plan here?\u201d Dietzel said. \u201cShe\u2019s living somewhere safe for now but my long-term fear is, that\u2019s not going to work out either and maybe this time there isn\u2019t a plan and she ends up completely homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

A call for care<\/div>\n

Sitting in the living room of the house she shares with her mother and older sister, Shawnna Boyd is outgoing and eager to contribute to the conversation. She shows off her nephew\u2019s puppy and a remote control WALL-E toy that lurches around the room, skirting the Christmas tree set up for a delayed family celebration.<\/p>\n

Shawnna Boyd said she wants to go to Texas and she is hopeful that the center will help her feel better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019ll help me out,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be better and then I can live at home permanently with my family and not in the dang group home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kauffman and Dietzel are also optimistic that it could work, with Dietzel pointing out that if her calls to the police and for emergency transport get cut in half \u201cit\u2019d be a huge victory for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to look at this in terms of violent crime, that officer that\u2019s responding standing there with her, isn\u2019t responding to the person who just was involved in a shooting,\u201d Dietzel said.<\/p>\n

As for Kathy Boyd, she remembers a time when spending time with her daughter was fun \u2013 they\u2019d go to the park or the zoo, or ride horses training for the Special Olympics. Now there are a lot of fights and stress and she\u2019s always worried her daughter will get hurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just would like to have a quiet peaceful life,\u201d Kathy Boyd said. \u201cI\u2019d like to know she\u2019s taken care of. That\u2019s the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shawnna Boyd hangs out at home in Albuquerque on Jan. 28. Shawnna has multiple mental health disorders and everyone seems to agree she needs more help than she's currently getting. However, Medicaid won\u2019t pay for her to go to a treatment facility in Texas. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)Roberto E. Rosales ALBUQUERQUE (AP) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[815,138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-42281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-associated-press-new-mexico","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42281"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=42281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}