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A task force spent a year looking at mental health crisis services in State College and Centre County. Members of the task force Patricia Best and Leslie Laing talked with WPSU about the current state of those services, the challenges service providers face and the recommended changes for reform. Here s their conversation.
Min Xian: Welcome to Take Note on WPSU. I’m Min Xian.
The fatal police shooting of Osaze Osagie in State College nearly two years ago prompted community discussion about mental health services, race relations and policing.
The Borough of State College and Centre County teamed up to create a Task Force on Mental Health Crisis Services. Thirty-two members representing local government, healthcare and law enforcement spent most of last year assessing the current system and recommended changes in a report.
From police procedures to outdated laws to systemic racism, experts say the odds are stacked against Pennsylvanians like Walter Wallace Jr inquirer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Pa. Justices Say UPMC Doctors Not Liable For Clinic Shooting
Law360 (December 22, 2020, 9:27 PM EST) A pair of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center doctors who considered but did not complete the involuntary commitment process for a patient who later carried out a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh psychiatric hospital can t be held liable under Pennsylvania law, the state s high court ruled Tuesday.
John Shick was still a voluntary outpatient when seen by the two UPMC physicians who were making inquiries to their colleagues about having him committed, so they weren t liable under the Mental Health Procedures Act when he fatally shot a therapist and wounded six other people at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the 6-1.
Paula Reed Ward
Justin Merriman | Tribune-Review
A file photo of the scene after the March 8, 2012, shooting at at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Oakland.
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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a lawsuit against the doctors who failed to involuntarily commit a man who killed one person and injured others in a March 2012 shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic cannot go forward.
In a 6-1 opinion, the court found that the doctors who were subject to the initial lawsuit could not be found liable under the state’s Mental Health Procedures Act because it applies only to involuntary treatment, and the physicians never took the steps necessary to have gunman John Shick committed.