When Riverview Psychiatric Center opened its doors just 10 years ago, it symbolized a new beginning for how Maine cared for its most acutely ill psychiatric patients. The dark legacy of Riverview’s predecessor, the Augusta Mental Health Institute — where patient deaths and inhumane conditions ultimately lead to court-ordered oversight of Maine’s mental health system — was to be a thing of the past. Riverview represented not only a new era but a model for modern treatment and recovery. When it opened, the Department of Health and Human Services boasted that the “new facility … will offer a state-of-the-art treatment environment that supports healing, respect and safety.”
Maine has moved ahead over the past two decades, but in just three short years under Gov. Paul LePage that progress has unraveled, and we now face another crisis. It is hard to believe that we could be returning to the bleak days of AMHI, but according to the court-appointed special master, former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, “there’s unfortunately too many similarities between now and then.”
Riverview is in turmoil. It lost its Medicare and Medicaid certification over a year ago because it can’t maintain minimum federal standards met by every other hospital in Maine. The lack of federal certification has blown a $20 million-per-yearhole in a state budget already challenged by other management scandals within DHHS. The cost to taxpayers will continue to grow, and we may need to pay back the feds for the money the state has drawn down since learning the hospital was decertified.
The LePage administration’s management of the hospital, including the decision to place corrections officers in the treatment areas, has had unconscionable results. Instead of active treatment, patients have been subdued with Tasers and subjected to abuse. Just last week video evidence emerged of a female patient being doused with pepper spray as she cowered naked and helpless in her room. She was then unnecessarily restrained for hours as she cried and begged for help. Employees at the hospital say that incidents like these go unreported and are swept under the rug by the people in charge.
Medical professionals and other staff report that in spite of all the public attention, additional funding and changes in administration, things aren’t getting any better. A Riverview psychiatrist with over 25 years of experience says that DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew and other officials continue to ignore the problems and have created “the most dangerous psychiatric unit” he has ever seen. Staff are losing confidence and are discouraged because even after all this time, things continue to get worse.
If this type of abuse was occurring in a private hospital the state would undoubtedly step in, seek receivership and demand immediate improvement. (This is exactly what the state did in 1998 when mismanagement caused dangerous conditions at the Jackson Brook Institute, a private psychiatric hospital in South Portland.)
Riverview is broken and needs to be fixed immediately. LePage claims to be a “turnaround specialist.” Well, if ever there was a situation that needs to be turned around, it’s the crisis at Riverview.
The Legislature will continue to do its part and has funded additional staff, training and consultants. Unfortunately, however, after a year and a half we still haven’t seen the results that the people of Maine deserve from our chief executive. What we’ve gotten so far are excuses, finger pointing and the usual parade of scapegoats. Last fall, Mayhew told the Health and Human Services Committee that three units at the hospital were ready for recertification and that the fourth unit — Lower Saco, where the most acutely ill forensic patients are admitted — would meet the federal standards by February 2014. A year has gone by and the hospital continues to fail when federal inspectors show up. Even worse, the feds continue to identify new problems.
What’s happening at Riverview is unacceptable and should outrage every Mainer. It has gone on for too long and represents a huge step backwards for our entire mental health system. We have a 21st century facility, but this governor is mismanaging it back into the 19th century by failing to prevent abuse and providing substandard care. Calling attention to this critical issue is not making patients a political football. It’s holding the governor and his administration accountable — and that is all of our responsibility.
Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, is a former assistant attorney general serving on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. He served as the House chair of the Forensic Mental Health Services Oversight Committee.