06-06-2005, 04:57 PM
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryne...826749.htm
NORWALK, Calif. - A state mental hospital that was previously investigated by the federal government could face new scrutiny after five teens escaped and another hanged herself in recent weeks, state officials confirmed.
A patient also tried to sexually assault a nurse at Metropolitan State Hospital, which houses some of the most severely mentally ill adults and youths in the region, officials told the Los Angeles Times. Officials with the state Department of Mental Health say they plan a systematic overhaul of the 650-patient hospital's treatments and programs in light of the recent incidents.
"I don't think there is any number (of incidents) that is acceptable, but we have to keep continuing to work on it," Cindy Radavsky, assistant deputy director of long-term care services for the Mental Health Department, told the Times.
The latest problems follow several instances of rape, patients running away and other dangerous behaviors that have been noted by both state and federal inspectors within the past three years.
Last year, three patients died after trying to harm themselves or others. The state determined that the hospital did not violate rules in two of the deaths, but inspectors concluded that the hospital wasn't doing enough to prevent such situations.
Radavsky and other hospital employees told the Times that three teenage girls, ages 16 and 17, overpowered a nurse last month in a locked ward, cut phone lines and stole the staffer's keys to flee the hospital compound. The next night, one of the girls returned and, with two other teenage girls, overpowered a nurse and stole her keys, then fled again.
Three of the five girls never returned to Metropolitan and have been officially discharged from the hospital because they were gone for more than 10 days, officials said. The whereabouts of the girls remain unknown although their escape has been reported to local police.
On May 27, an 18-year-old woman hanged herself. She was taken to Los Angeles Community Hospital in Norwalk where she died early Friday, the newspaper reported. The day after the hanging, an adult male patient tried to sexually assault a nurse, state officials said.
Metropolitan has been has been the subject of two federal reports. The first, in May 2003, was on the care of juveniles and the second, in February 2004, was on adult care. Both reports alleged that the hospital routinely failed to protect patients, many of whom were misdiagnosed and given improper medications.
The state, which visited the hospital more than two dozen times in 2004, also concluded that Metropolitan's staff failed to stop patients from attacking or raping one another, harming themselves with potentially dangerous objects or fleeing, according to documents obtained by The Times under the California Public Records Act.
The Justice Department and the state Department of Mental Health have been negotiating for months over a plan of correction. If the Justice Department is not satisfied with fixes to the hospital, it can sue the state to force changes.
Eric Holland, a spokesman for the Justice Department's civil rights division, told the Times he could not comment on the latest episodes at Metropolitan, or on what follow-up actions are underway.
Radavsky said that Metropolitan has met state licensing standards and that incidents of mental patients harming themselves are quite common. In addition, after the Justice Department findings, the Department of Mental Health hired two mental health contractors at an annual cost of $1 million to help oversee changes at Metropolitan, officials said.
NORWALK, Calif. - A state mental hospital that was previously investigated by the federal government could face new scrutiny after five teens escaped and another hanged herself in recent weeks, state officials confirmed.
A patient also tried to sexually assault a nurse at Metropolitan State Hospital, which houses some of the most severely mentally ill adults and youths in the region, officials told the Los Angeles Times. Officials with the state Department of Mental Health say they plan a systematic overhaul of the 650-patient hospital's treatments and programs in light of the recent incidents.
"I don't think there is any number (of incidents) that is acceptable, but we have to keep continuing to work on it," Cindy Radavsky, assistant deputy director of long-term care services for the Mental Health Department, told the Times.
The latest problems follow several instances of rape, patients running away and other dangerous behaviors that have been noted by both state and federal inspectors within the past three years.
Last year, three patients died after trying to harm themselves or others. The state determined that the hospital did not violate rules in two of the deaths, but inspectors concluded that the hospital wasn't doing enough to prevent such situations.
Radavsky and other hospital employees told the Times that three teenage girls, ages 16 and 17, overpowered a nurse last month in a locked ward, cut phone lines and stole the staffer's keys to flee the hospital compound. The next night, one of the girls returned and, with two other teenage girls, overpowered a nurse and stole her keys, then fled again.
Three of the five girls never returned to Metropolitan and have been officially discharged from the hospital because they were gone for more than 10 days, officials said. The whereabouts of the girls remain unknown although their escape has been reported to local police.
On May 27, an 18-year-old woman hanged herself. She was taken to Los Angeles Community Hospital in Norwalk where she died early Friday, the newspaper reported. The day after the hanging, an adult male patient tried to sexually assault a nurse, state officials said.
Metropolitan has been has been the subject of two federal reports. The first, in May 2003, was on the care of juveniles and the second, in February 2004, was on adult care. Both reports alleged that the hospital routinely failed to protect patients, many of whom were misdiagnosed and given improper medications.
The state, which visited the hospital more than two dozen times in 2004, also concluded that Metropolitan's staff failed to stop patients from attacking or raping one another, harming themselves with potentially dangerous objects or fleeing, according to documents obtained by The Times under the California Public Records Act.
The Justice Department and the state Department of Mental Health have been negotiating for months over a plan of correction. If the Justice Department is not satisfied with fixes to the hospital, it can sue the state to force changes.
Eric Holland, a spokesman for the Justice Department's civil rights division, told the Times he could not comment on the latest episodes at Metropolitan, or on what follow-up actions are underway.
Radavsky said that Metropolitan has met state licensing standards and that incidents of mental patients harming themselves are quite common. In addition, after the Justice Department findings, the Department of Mental Health hired two mental health contractors at an annual cost of $1 million to help oversee changes at Metropolitan, officials said.