Anchorage Daily News

Sen. Johnny Ellis, the Salvation Army's Clitheroe Center and the state of Alaska are working on an innovative pilot project to bring 10 detox and secure treatment beds to the Clitheroe Center at Point Woronzof under the existing involuntary commitment statute. These spots will be for Alaska's most out-of-control alcoholics. This is a good idea.

The case to do this is compelling: These aren't casual drunks who need a sleep-off. The relatively small population, about 100 people, is responsible for the vast majority of Community Service Patrol calls, thousands of hours of APD and court time, the majority of alcohol-related emergency room utilization and for tying up needed hospital beds and resources. They account for about $4 million of taxpayer support annually. That's $40,000 per person per year we're spending to support their status quo. That would buy a lot of health-care reform.

Let's assume only 25 of them are committed annually (there will be four beds at a time for 30-day stays at least, some up to 180 days). Let's assume 10 stay sober. At a $1 million program cost, that's $100,000 per successful treatment. Sounds crazy? Not when you figure that those 10 successes averted $400,000 of costs this year, and another 400 grand each year going forward and compounding with next year's 10 cases.

And the other 15 cases who returned to drinking? It doesn't mean they won't quit next time. How many times did it take you to quit smoking? Besides, that's 30, or 60, or 180 days each they're not on the street, not in your ER, and not costing you money. It takes money to save money.

Some complain about individual rights. Society has answered this question. When citizens are mentally ill to the degree of threatening themselves or others, we restrict their freedoms. We all agree that we should intervene to stop a suicide; how is this substantively different? When citizens threaten us with intoxicated driving, we restrict their freedoms. We all agree that we should intervene to stop vehicular manslaughter; how is this substantively different? When citizens rob us by Ponzi investment schemes, we restrict their freedoms. How does robbing us by bilking our health-care dollars differ from bilking our retirement funds? We have an interest in their behaving like citizens, and they are not making good choices for themselves or us, so we must act.

I have participated in several involuntary commitments during my years of hospitalizing and managing scores of such cases. Many were rejected by the judge for insufficient documentation despite dozens of hospitalizations and evidence of self-harm; judges don't take involuntary commitment lightly. A few people were committed and are sober today.

They're my patients, real people, like you.

Thomas Hunt is medical director of the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center.

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