The bill is based on recommendations made by a task force formed in the wake of the physical and mental abuse of a patient in 2017.
Whiting Forensic Hospital
Posted inJustice
Multimillion-dollar settlements OK’d in psychiatric hospital, prison lawsuits
The settlements deal with hepatitis C among those in the state’s prisons and jails and the abuse of a patient at Whiting Forensic Hospital.
Posted inJustice
Crime victims’ concerns and patients’ rights at odds in debate over Whiting bill
A bill would make it easier for people found not guilty by reason of insanity to earn release from Whiting Forensic Hospital.
Posted inJustice
Investigation finds ‘grave staffing shortages’ at Whiting Forensic Hospital
The report underscores how a stubborn staffing shortage at the state’s sole maximum security psychiatric hospital can erode patient safety.
Posted inHealth
COVID lawsuit against CVH and Whiting hospitals dismissed
With vaccines for patients on the horizon, plaintiffs agreed to the case’s dismissal.
Posted inHealth
Panel says it’s time to start planning for a new psychiatric hospital to replace Whiting
Task force co-chair says it will be a “long process” to replace the 50-year-old building.
Posted inHealth
‘Out of sight, out of mind’: few testify in Whiting Task Force public hearing
The Whiting Task Force blocked out eight hours for a public hearing. They only needed one.
Posted inHealth
‘More like a prison than it is a hospital.’ Whiting, CVH patients testify before task force
Understaffing, a dearth of programming for substance abuse and a shortage of community beds are recurring concerns raised by patients.
Posted inJustice
Competency exams are being used in more criminal cases, even as criminal court dockets shrink
Courts’ use of competency exams increased while the criminal docket shrunk between 2015 and 2019.
Posted inHealth
Watchdog organization calls for ‘drastic change’ at Whiting Forensic Hospital
Another investigation of Whiting Forensic, a state-run psychiatric facility, calls for significant reforms.
Posted inJustice
DMHAS not candid with Whiting advisory board about abuse scandal, chairman says
“I think the biggest problem that we had was that if we were to give any sort of advice, we’d like to be informed,” Board chairman William Wynne said. “And we were never informed.”
Posted inHealth
Health care workers describe staffing crisis at Whiting
The workers said chronic staffing shortages and forced overtime have created a dangerous situation for both employees and patients.
Posted inJustice
Incidents of harm and abuse at Whiting trending down, officials say
Hospitals officials told Whiting task force members the number of harmful incidents last month at the maximum security psychiatric facility decreased by almost 60 percent compared to May 2018.
Posted inHealth
Reforms to stem Whiting abuses head to the governor
Spurred by urgent demands that horrific abuse at Whiting Forensic never happen again, the state House of Representatives unanimously gave final approval to a series of reforms designed to increase oversight of the facility. The House vote was 148 to 0.
Posted inHealth
Senate passes bill increasing oversight to stem abuse at Whiting
More than a year after the repeated, cruel abuse of a Whiting Forensic patient was captured on videotape, the state Senate approved a bill that would create an independent task force to oversee the maximum security psychiatric facility and would make staff there and other state behavioral health facilities subject to fines or even criminal charges if they fail to report abuse.