Government-run mental hos-pitals have come a long way since One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. For one thing, the sadistic bastards mostly work in the boardroom these days. And in addition to caring for patients, the hospitals are often bastions of research that attract the best doctors.
Naturally, Cuyahoga County no longer has one.
The Ohio Department of Mental Health moved the last patients out of the 100-bed Northcoast Behavioral Center near MetroHealth at the end of June. Now the suicidal and tormented must schedule their breakdowns to take place at an area hospital or the nearest mental-health facility: in Summit County.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2011.
