a sick child without insurance may share a room with a smelly homeless person whose screams, spitz and swears. that patient strapped to the gurney should have been admitted to psychiatry, showered, fed and otherwise given humane and appropriate treatment. instead, according to one of my colleagues, he may spend up to four days in their emergency rooms strapped to the gurney. the reason for that is that st. luke's 32-bed psychiatric unit was closed entirely in 2005. 50 years ago, california decided the chronically mentally ill should not be segregated in government hospitals but should be treated in the community. sutter seems to be trying to reverse this with a policy of the few don't build it, they won't come. nevertheless, many psychotic or suicidal patients make their way to a medical emergency room and with no psychiatric facility, there is no way to give them adequate care. overcrowding and my facility makes transfer very impossible and the patient's room windup to quickly on the market street sidewalk. to make matters worse, sutter is petitioning you to build a 555 dead general h