Citizens in Lafayette County and surrounding counties with mental health issues have only one place to be evaluated before they can be committed to a health center, the Lafayette County Detention Center.
This is the closest thing in Oxford and surrounding counties for mental treatment. Every time there is a mental commit submitted through the county, that person has to stay in the detention center for about two days until there is a free bed at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
“There was one time that it was so crowded, the patient had to wait in the jail for two to three months,” Lafayette County Chancery Clerk Sherry Wall said. “But we have nowhere else to hold them because we need to keep them in the least restrictive environment where they are not a harm to themselves or others.”
Persons being committed are housed separately from other inmates and go through evaluations to ensure they need help.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time they are repeats,” Wall said.
This year alone, 58 individuals have been committed through the Lafayette County Courts and according to the North Mississippi Behavioral website, the Behavioral Health Center is a 66-bed free-standing facility located on the campus of North Mississippi Medical Center.
Lafayette County is not alone in transfering patients to Tupelo. Patients from surrounding counties such as Calhoun, Yalobusha and Pontotoc are also committed to the Tupelo Behavorial Health Center, which causes overcrowding.
In order to help with the overcrowding, Lafayette County Detention Center has been certified to treat mental patients, so in a case where there is not room in Tupelo, the patients can get the help needed at the Detention Center.
“A prime example of why we hold them in jail is a few years ago, there was a guy who lived in town with his parents,” Wall said. “His parents had him committed to a private facility. He stayed there two weeks, and they sent him home because they said he was fine. He came home and killed his brother and shot his dad. And that’s why we hold them in jail, but he had never been committed through us.”
Once the patients arrive at the detention center, they are examined by a doctor to determine whether or not they should be transferred to Tupelo for treatment, if they need drug and alcohol treatment or if they should be released.
If the doctor determines the patient needs medical attention, the Behavioral Center in Tupelo will contact the jail when a bed becomes available.
After the police hear from Tupelo, they will notify the patient’s parents or whoever needs to know to bring fresh clothes and toiletries, and the sheriff will transport them to Tupelo the following morning.
Once patients arrive in Tupelo, they are treated for about 30 days, depending on the case.
“This is a worst case scenario, last resort kind of situation for the people involved,” said Ken Winter, executive director of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police. “We know these people are not criminals, and we treat them with sensitivity and respect.”
