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G L Pierce

Publications and source records attributed to G L Pierce.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

The impact of public policy and publicity on admissions to state mental health hospitals.

This paper examines the impact of broadened Washington state civil commitment standards on utilization of the state's mental hospitals. Included in the analysis is an assessment of the impact of a public event (a well-publicized murder case) which was in all likelihood a precursor to the law's revision. We also examine the different ways Washington's two state hospitals managed the dramatic increase in civilly committed patients that occurred after the revision took effect. The findings indicate that the murder case, in which the defendant had been denied voluntary admission to a state hospital prior to the killing, resulted in an increase in involuntary admissions in the county where it occurred a full year before the standards were revised. The law itself had the effect of increasing commitments throughout the state, reducing the levels of voluntary admissions, and increasing the likelihood of involuntary admission for individuals previously admitted voluntarily, thus transforming a principally voluntary system into one which was primarily involuntary. Finally, it was found that the increased demand for services mandated by the broadened commitment standards was managed differently in the two state hospitals: one imposed a cap on admissions; the other phased out voluntary admissions at a rate roughly equal to the increase in commitments. These findings illustrate both the substantive impact of broadened civil commitment law and the importance, when assessing the impact of laws, of examining public events and administrative interventions which may have significant causal links with legal interventions.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1985

The impact of broadened civil commitment standards on admissions to state mental hospitals.

In 1979, the state of Washington broadened its criteria governing the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill. This study examined the impact of the revised law on involuntary and voluntary admissions and on the type of patient admitted to state hospitals in Washington. The short-term effect of the law was an abrupt increase in involuntary commitments, with a concomitant but not offsetting decline in voluntary admissions. Although the law resulted in a substantial change in admissions policy, it does not appear to have altered the type of patient admitted to state mental hospitals in Washington.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1985

Triangular-shaped radiolucent area between roots of the mandibular right canine and first premolar.

The squamous odontogenic tumor is a rare odontogenic neoplasm occurring primarily in the anterior maxilla and posterior mandible. The clinical presentation is that of tooth mobility with a semicircular or triangular, well-defined radiolucent area. Histologic features include dense fibrous connective stroma with scattered islands of bland epithelium exhibiting no ameloblastomatous features. Conservative surgical treatment in most cases is sufficient; however, lesions in the maxilla may require more extensive surgical procedures to ensure resolution.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Civil commitment reform: context and consequences.

Laws and policies governing the care and treatment of the mentally ill are in part shaped by the sociopolitical climate in which they are formulated, and their outcomes are similarly shaped by the context in which they occur. Civil commitment laws were narrowed in a liberal era but later broadened in response both to the outcome of the initial reform and the trend toward social and fiscal conservatism which emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s. This study, which reports on the evolution of commitment law in the state of Washington, indicates that while recent changes in these laws mandate greater use of state hospitals, the retention of the procedural safeguards set in place by the initial reform coupled with limitations on resources available to state mental health systems will prevent a return to the state hospital as it appeared prior to the deinstitutionalization movement. These factors may promote the search for non-institutional alternatives, such as efforts underway in Washington and elsewhere to implement civil commitment of community-based services.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗