The Richmond Times Dispatch recently reported that a Virginia State Commissioner failed to publicize serious problems at the Pines residential treatment facility after a State investigation. In 2009 State licensing investigators found a number of serious incidents had occurred at the program which is privately operated by Psychiatric Solutions Inc., a national organization. Responding to the newspaper’s request under the Freedom of Information Act, a State report revealed incidents that included:
•a choking that rendered one resident unconscious;
•staff members telling paramedics responding to a 911 call that a girl was suffering respiratory distress but not that she had attempted suicide;
•staff members failing to report two other suicide attempts to regulators;
•staff members telling regulators that the fire department responded to a false alarm instead of a small fire that forced an evacuation; and
•staff members allowing residents to run away—three of them at one point before any staff intervention, with that intervention unable to prevent a fourth from running away.
The Times Dispatch reports that “despite the list of problems, a recommendation to downgrade The Pines’ license to provisional—the most serious sanction short of shutting down the facility—was not approved.” Further the violations were shielded from public disclosure.
Parents who are trying to make important decisions about the therapeutic placement of their children deserve complete, accurate and uncensored information about any verified licensing violations for residential treatment programs. There is no excuse for the State to shield private companies from such disclosures.
