The former patients would be afforded a normal life free of the devastating effects of schizophrenia. Some jobs would a lso be gained in the community due to some patients being sent to nursing homes. If the closed beds are filled with prisoners needing alcohol and drug abuse treatment, some of the same types of jobs currently held by state hospital staff could be retained, such as directors, counselors, clinical supervisors, nurses, clerical staff and various support personnel. Beds could also be filled to meet other mental-health related needs. If all eligible patients in the state hospitals were given Cloz aril trials, a minimum of 35 percent could be successfully moved into the community, based on conservative statistics derived from current research.
Some statistics support a higher percentage of success.
With community psychiatric care for those eligible, Medicaid would cover 64 percent of the costs of case management, rehabilitation services and Clozaril treatments for eligible patients. The state would use general revenue for only 36 percent of these costs. The program could also free-up 500 state hospital beds to alternative uses. Because of uncertainty about the t iming of implementation of the program and the positive response rate among patients, the actual fiscal impact of this program cannot be estimated. Clozapine A Novel Antipsychotic Agent, The New England Journal of Medicine, vol.