NARPA
Hospital-Based Advocates in Maine: A PAL on the Inpatient Units
Gabrielle Berube-Pierce, J.D., and Caleb Baker, J.D.
This workshop will introduce attendees to Maine’s hospital-based advocates and explore their role in preventing rights violations, advocating for policies and procedures that optimize the rights of individuals, and initiation of legal remedies where efforts at prevention and advocacy fail to secure individual rights. Presenters will share the successes and drawbacks of Maine’s hospital-based advocacy and provide recommendations for effective advocacy in inpatient settings. A question and answer period will follow a 70 minute presentation of Disability Rights Maine’s work in the state’s psychiatric hospital.
Learning objectives include:
- Understanding of the history of Maine’s mental health advocacy and the introduction of hospital-based advocates
- Understanding of effective advocacy in psychiatric hospitals
- Discussion of the potential risks and benefits of integrating advocates into psychiatric hospitals