Recovered/Located TX - Daniel Almendi, 34, Houston, 30 Nov 2016 (27 Feb 2018)

JerseyGirl

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  • #1
34-year-old Daniel Almendi, who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic with paranoia – has been missing since Nov. 30, when he was discharged from the UTHealth Harris County Psychiatric Center and disappeared into the urban jungle.

Almendi needs his medication. His ID, wallet and cell phone remain at home, and there have been no transactions on his bank account.

more .... http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...uston-for-missing-10857006.php#photo-12188358

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  • #2
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  • #4
I sure hope they find him. I'm also hoping that his discharge is an indication that they didn't find him to be a threat to himself or others. Surely the insurance running out wasn't their only grounds for release. From what I understand they're not supposed to release someone that poses a threat, regardless of insurance. I pray he's not a case that fell through the cracks and he's found safe soon.


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  • #5
I just can't understand how a person who has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic can be released into the wild, alone, whether he was on medication or not. If the hospital was the last to see him, there are so many questions...
 
  • #6
I just can't understand how a person who has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic can be released into the wild, alone, whether he was on medication or not. If the hospital was the last to see him, there are so many questions...

If insurance has stopped benefits on inpatient care and doctors don't diagnose the person as a threat to themselves or others, then they will release them. Plus, unless they are a threat and the patient isn't a minor the facility lawfully has to let the patient leave if they don't want to be there. Another family member can't force an adult family member to remain in inpatient care, only the courts or a patient's threat to themselves or others can force the care providers to keep a patient in the facility when it comes to mental health.


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  • #7
Walking distance from the address provided by NAMUS would be approximately 5.9 miles (walking) from the facility he was discharged from. Could be a possibility, still praying for better news for his brother.

Houston police responding to reports of a body in a wooded area Friday found a man's body in a state of "severe decomposition" in Houston's Heights area.

RSBM

4200 block of Kolb just off the Katy Freeway about 2:30 p.m. Friday

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/body-decomposition-houston-heights-kolb-police-10858058.php
 
  • #8
I just can't understand how a person who has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic can be released into the wild, alone, whether he was on medication or not. If the hospital was the last to see him, there are so many questions...

If he wasn't a threat to himself or others they couldn't keep him against his will. That's terrible if they just neglected to tell his family he was being released, but if he was still delusional and insisted he didn't want his family to know he was being released, the hospital would have to respect that.
 
  • #9
If insurance has stopped benefits on inpatient care and doctors don't diagnose the person as a threat to themselves or others, then they will release them. Plus, unless they are a threat and the patient isn't a minor the facility lawfully has to let the patient leave if they don't want to be there. Another family member can't force an adult family member to remain in inpatient care, only the courts or a patient's threat to themselves or others can force the care providers to keep a patient in the facility when it comes to mental health.


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To rephrase and simplify - I was questioning how they released him alone without someone there to receive him. There is no such thing as a paranoid schizophrenic that is not potentially a danger to himself or others, and most people diagnosed with this disease need a ward, helper or caretaker, professional or otherwise. I realize how poor the laws can be in many parts of the world for mental disorders, it doesn't help make the disbelief easier to swallow.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...s-streets-of-Houston-for-missing-10857006.php

No one notified Ruano that his brother was being released, and Almendi's whereabouts remain unknown.
It's an all-too-common problem for the families of mentally ill people: They want to help but often are stymied by the health system, according to mental health advocates. Attempts to balance the privacy of adults and loved ones' concerns about their safety can leave individuals unaccounted for and relatives frustrated.

That is unacceptable IMO.
 
  • #10
To rephrase and simplify - I was questioning how they released him alone without someone there to receive him. There is no such thing as a paranoid schizophrenic that is not potentially a danger to himself or others, and most people diagnosed with this disease need a ward, helper or caretaker, professional or otherwise. I realize how poor the laws can be in many parts of the world for mental disorders, it doesn't help make the disbelief easier to swallow.

That's just not true. You are stereotyping all people with schizophrenia. Yes all people with schizophrenia can potentially be a danger to themselves or others, but so can all people with depression, or all people that abuse alcohol. That doesn't mean society gets to take their rights away when there is no indication of any immediate danger.
 
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Daniel went missing again 27 Feb 2018. Entered into NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/42467/

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Circumstances: "Picked up form hospital on 02/27/18, when I got back home from work on Wednesday evening,missing. Medications left behind. Suffers from schizophrenia"

May be carrying a green back pack.
 
  • #13
Namus profile says he paid for a plane ticket and a cab in NY so it doesn’t sound like he’s in Houston any longer.
 
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14 hospitalizations since he left Texas in Feb?!? Why didn't any of the hospitals keep him? Clearly he needed to be in a hospital and not out on the street if he kept getting readmitted. The state of mental health care in this country is tragic. I hope Daniel will have good care and better health in the future. His poor family. Schizophrenia is one of the most difficult illnesses to deal with. My heart really goes out to them. :(
 
  • #16
14 hospitalizations since he left Texas in Feb?!? Why didn't any of the hospitals keep him? Clearly he needed to be in a hospital and not out on the street if he kept getting readmitted. The state of mental health care in this country is tragic. I hope Daniel will have good care and better health in the future. His poor family. Schizophrenia is one of the most difficult illnesses to deal with. My heart really goes out to them. :(
I can answer your question with an acronym: HIPAA

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