Among medical and mental health care providers patients who repeatedly experience crisis episodes are often called "frequent flyers".
Many of these people have untreated mental health disorders and they seek help in emergency rooms or are locked up in jails. This untreated mental health problem costs $1,000 a year for every resident of Colorado
Health officials say it is difficult or impossible to treat these expensive frequent flyers without addressing their mental health. Much of the problem is due to lack of resources
This month Rocky Mountain PBS’s I-News team focused on untreated mental health in Colorado. Aspen Public Radio, in conjunction with station KUNC and Rocky Mountain PBS I-News takes a look at all of these issues. The special is hosted by APR’s Roger Adams.
Learn more about the series here:
http://inewsnetwork.org/series/untreated
http://kunc.org/term/series-untreated