The Maryland Department of Health says it’s concerned about new revelations of abuse and mismanagement at the state’s maximum security psychiatric hospital recently outlined in an investigation in The Washington Post, and is taking measures to address them.
The investigation found that Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center failed to investigate violent staff assaults and sexual assaults against patients, as well as concerns about understaffing and dangerous conditions.
“The allegations raised by The Washington Post investigation are of serious concern to Secretary Laura Herrera Scott and the Moore-Miller Administration,” Chase Cook, a spokesman for MDH, told WYPR. “The Maryland Department of Health is fully committed to the safety and security of both employees and the patients that we serve at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. Allegations of neglect and abuse are taken seriously and are investigated to the fullest extent possible, including the involvement of independent oversight authorities and law enforcement when appropriate.”
The allegations come after the Maryland Department of Health initiated a third-party evaluation of the facility last week conducted by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
MDH says it conducted a review in June and has been working to improve issues at Perkins Hospital.
“The department is recruiting a clinical director that will work at MDH headquarters and report directly to the health secretary,” Cook said. “This role will provide clinical oversight for Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, the four other state psychiatric hospitals in the state, and the two Regional Institutes for Children and Adolescents.”
The hospital is also conducting a nationwide search for a new CEO and will continue working with outside organizations to modernize the hospital’s practices.
Earlier this year, the hospital’s former CEO, Scott Moran, left his position after employees alleged that he bullied and threatened them.
A temporary restraining order was filed against Moran that kept him away from the facility for six months and prohibited him from possessing weapons.
Complaints about the hospital reach back to 20-11 when workers said some patients were not receiving proper medications and that treatment teams were making dangerous clinical decisions.
An audit this summer also found that the hospital failed to verify if staff properly disposed of highly controlled drugs.