Involuntary Hospitalizations Stress Resources at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

The state's involuntary hospitalization program is straining the resources at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's emergency room.

Chief of staff Dr. Robert Monger told hospital board members that the medical center does not have enough inpatient beds to accommodate all who are taken to the facility because they are a danger to themselves or others.

People wait in the ER for beds to become available at the center's mental health unit, where staff members are trained to care for these types of patients.

Monger said the emergency room recently held 10 psychiatric patients in one day.

Legislators and executive branch officials are looking for ways to cut costs and streamline the state's involuntary hospitalization program, called Title 25.