by Bruce L. Davidson M.D., M.P.H.

Have you wondered why that ill-kempt shirtless man shouting on the street isn’t in a hospital somewhere? If he were convulsing or sitting up clutching his chest instead, he would have been phoned in to Medic One and whisked away. But he’s on his own since so many inpatient mental health facilities and beds were taken away nationwide when bad conditions were revealed during the 1970s.