Citation

Bloom JD. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2009; 37(4): 552-555.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, Oregon 97201, USA. bloomj@ohsu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

20019005

Abstract

This commentary is dedicated to the memory of Peter J. Batten, MD. He was a public health physician, a psychiatrist, and a medical examiner who spent his entire career in Salem, the capital of the State of Oregon. Salem was a unique place to work because, early in the history of Oregon, the state elected to build all of its original public institutions in the environs of the city. As the county medical examiner, Dr. Batten reviewed all questionable deaths that occurred within the county and in particular within the public institutions. Many of his findings were subsequently published, and these reports influenced the direction of mental health policy in these same institutions. He also used his position as county medical examiner to examine deaths in road rage incidents and those occurring at railroad crossings in Salem. The commentary also emphasizes the benefits of collaboration within the forensic sciences.

Language: en