Board hears DART bed shortages and difficulties placing some patients at Norristown State Hospital

Board members questioned how DART numbers relate to Norristown transfers and were told the data sets are tracked separately.

Mr. Kratz said the DART program is not part of the Department of Corrections and that the county "feeds the DART with some of our people and stepping down." He described the beds as: four restoration-of-competency (ROC) beds, 11 community-integration beds and roughly six step-down beds, and said Montgomery County has two reserved beds under contract. "Getting in has not been a problem once the district attorney and the other people have agreed to it," a commissioner added, noting that the units are near capacity and turnover is slower than expected.

Kratz also told the board that Norristown State Hospital has been declining some inmates who refuse vitals and PPDs, and that staff are seeking court orders to allow evaluations when needed. "Norristown is not taking those folks," Kratz said, describing a placement bottleneck that the county is addressing with the courts.