Protecting the disabled does not come naturally to a society; it takes laws. The Alaska Legislature must give the rights (laws) to the disabled that was promised and correct the mistakes of the 1950’s that persist today.
In the 1950’s, the Alaska government placed many of the severely disabled in locked institutions. For the most part, each institution created and controlled the contents of the patient grievance procedure and the patient rights.
In 1992, AS47.30.847 was signed into law. The law gives acute care institutions the obligation to write the grievance procedure and appeal process for the disabled. In a 60-year period, all the Alaska government did was rubber-stamp really bad patient grievance policies from the 1950’s into law.
Acute care psychiatric institutions and units have a patient grievance procedure they really like (they wrote it). The disabled are left with a grievance and appeal process that makes them vulnerable and helpless.
It is worth repeating: In a 60-year period, the Alaska government rubber-stamped a lot of bad policies from the 1950’s into law to the detriment of the disabled. It’s time for changes.
Faith Myers and Dorrance Collins,
Anchorage