Patient-on-patient sexual abuse and harassment, excessive restraint and rodent infestations are just a few of the allegations documented in an investigative report released last year into conditions at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.
The inpatient psychiatric facility in New Haven faced scrutiny after a nonprofit published the findings of its nearly three-year-long probe into the facility.
That report, released by Disability Rights Connecticut, sounded an alarm not only about failings in New Haven, but also a lack of independent oversight of facilities run by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS).
The Accountability Project wanted to follow up on this issue to see how things have changed in the 10 months since the report was released. We discovered there are differing views on the progress made so far, and the need for systemic changes at Connecticut's state-run psychiatric facilities.
They include Capitol Region Mental Health Center in Hartford, and the Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center.
Celeste Cremin-Endes, the chief of state-operated services for DMHAS, told us the agency has implemented a better system for documenting complaints made by patients. She said DMHAS is also considering a new safety and security training program for staff.
“I think that there are strides made,” she said. “I think that there are, again, references that they had brought to our attention that we could enhance and did enhance upon.”
Cremin-Endes has previously expressed confidence that psychiatric facilities run by the state already receive thorough oversight, including through a triennial accreditation process.
But more work is needed, according to Rachel Mirsky, a lawyer who worked on the investigation on behalf of Disability Rights Connecticut, which is designated under federal law to protect and advocate for people with physical, mental and other disabilities. Mirsky said she believes state-run psychiatric facilities urgently need more independent attention.
"We're basically saying give a little responsibility to some agency on the outside to be able to look at complaints of abuse and neglect," Mirsky said.
We also learned that the issue of oversight made its way to the state legislature. State Sen. Saud Anwar, a Democrat and co-chair of the legislature’s Public Health Committee, voiced concern about the report’s findings, saying that other hospitals run by non-governmental entities routinely face more scrutiny.
He drafted a bill this session that adds guardrails for handling patient complaints. The legislation would require DMHAS to thoroughly document and investigate incidents affecting patient safety, and limit the use of restraints and seclusion.
But that bill won’t gain much traction this legislative session, Anwar told The Accountability Project.
“Sometimes you do not need to pass a law to change things,” Anwar said. “Right now, the way the conversations are happening, DMHAS recognizes that there should be far better systems for patients to be protected and kept front and center of this issue.”
