WASHPO: St. Elizabeths mental hospital still falls short, report says
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 30, 2009; B01
The U.S. Justice Department says that despite progress on some fronts, St. Elizabeths, the District's hospital for the mentally ill, is falling short in patient safety, nursing care and other areas covered by a court settlement intended to reform the infamous institution in Southeast Washington.
In a new report, civil rights attorneys for the federal government fault the hospital's handling of violent incidents and say that a gang rape of a female patient last summer highlighted some of the very safety problems that the Justice Department has been urging St. Elizabeths to correct.
The report, completed this month, notes improvement in some areas, and the District says the assessment reflects "substantial progress." But the 10-page letter that prefaces the 369-page report makes clear that the attorneys believe St. Elizabeths is still not in compliance with the settlement.
Indeed, the findings reflect the steep challenges facing the District as it attempts to remake the hospital and the rest of the mental health system and to end the long-running class action suit over care of the mentally ill. From the new hospital building that is scheduled to open in March on the St. Elizabeths campus to the closure of the government's main outpatient treatment agency, the D.C. Department of Mental Health has hardly been still over the past few years.
But the pace of change has yet to satisfy the federal judge overseeing the class action suit or the Justice Department team monitoring the settlement agreement for St. Elizabeths, the only public psychiatric hospital in the city and a landmark with a long, sometimes troubled history.
After a run of deadly violence among patients several years ago, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched an intensive investigation into conditions and care at the hospital. A settlement agreement negotiated with Justice in 2007 mandated major improvements at the hospital and regular reviews by federal monitors.
Go HERE to continue reading.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 30, 2009; B01
The U.S. Justice Department says that despite progress on some fronts, St. Elizabeths, the District's hospital for the mentally ill, is falling short in patient safety, nursing care and other areas covered by a court settlement intended to reform the infamous institution in Southeast Washington.
In a new report, civil rights attorneys for the federal government fault the hospital's handling of violent incidents and say that a gang rape of a female patient last summer highlighted some of the very safety problems that the Justice Department has been urging St. Elizabeths to correct.
The report, completed this month, notes improvement in some areas, and the District says the assessment reflects "substantial progress." But the 10-page letter that prefaces the 369-page report makes clear that the attorneys believe St. Elizabeths is still not in compliance with the settlement.
Indeed, the findings reflect the steep challenges facing the District as it attempts to remake the hospital and the rest of the mental health system and to end the long-running class action suit over care of the mentally ill. From the new hospital building that is scheduled to open in March on the St. Elizabeths campus to the closure of the government's main outpatient treatment agency, the D.C. Department of Mental Health has hardly been still over the past few years.
But the pace of change has yet to satisfy the federal judge overseeing the class action suit or the Justice Department team monitoring the settlement agreement for St. Elizabeths, the only public psychiatric hospital in the city and a landmark with a long, sometimes troubled history.
After a run of deadly violence among patients several years ago, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched an intensive investigation into conditions and care at the hospital. A settlement agreement negotiated with Justice in 2007 mandated major improvements at the hospital and regular reviews by federal monitors.
Go HERE to continue reading.