PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A patient died while restrained. Others say they were assaulted and abused by staff.
Those are just some of the allegations surfacing in a federal report that led to a local psychiatric hospital losing its Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Previous report: Feds terminate Medicare funding for Pontiac General over alleged patient rights violations, layoffs announced
“I think about it every single day — every day,” Bri Jackson said about the way she says she was treated when she was held for nine days inside Pontiac General Hospital.
Bri says after she lost her job and her health insurance in 2022, she ran out of her anti-depressant medication. When she qualified for Medicaid, she went to a family doctor to try to get her medication refilled. Jackson says she was not suicidal but says that request for medication turned into her being hospitalized against her will.
“I just wanted to get help. And what I got was not help. I was not helped,” Jackson said.
Earlier this year, the 7 Investigators first showed you how other psychiatric patients alleged they were held against their will, not provided any therapy inside the hospital and some of them alleged they experienced abuse.
You can watch that report below:
Lakeshia says she became her daughter’s legal guardian after the 23-year-old was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In January of 2022, Lakeshia says she had to take her daughter to a local emergency room during a depressive episode. She then got transferred to Pontiac General Hospital.
“My daughter was there for nearly a week without Pontiac General making contact with me, without even so much as a phone call,” Lakeshia said.
Lakeshia says when her daughter was able to call, she got terrible news.
“She was crying, crying. I’m like what’s wrong? She said they just jumped on me,” Lakeshia said. “I said who jumped on you? And she says an employee.”
Lakeshia filed a police report about the incident with Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Previous report: Trapped in a Psych Ward: ‘I felt kidnapped.' New patient speaks after 7 report
Now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the hospital’s participation in the Medicare program will be terminated on Nov. 24, 2024.
That means they won’t be able to get reimbursed for Medicare or Medicaid patients.
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
“I'm happy that the spotlight is on them and there are going to be consequences and they can stop doing what they're doing to people,” Jackson said.
Records obtained by the 7 Investigators give us some insight as to why the feds are doing this.
In early April, CMS records show that a 41-year-old male patient was restrained after he started “swinging at staff.” The patient fell “prone to the floor” and staff kept him in that position. The records show one mental health tech used his knee, elbow and chest to keep the patient restrained.
The patient stopped moving, but it took staff several minutes to start CPR and even longer to bring a crash cart with a working defibrillator to the patient. Records show the defibrillator was not used for at least 13 minutes. The patient was pronounced dead after EMS transported him to a separate hospital.
Other findings by CMS investigators include staff punching a patient and hazardous items left accessible to developmentally delayed patients in a janitor’s closet.
CMS isn’t the only agency investigating Pontiac General.
“It started following your reporting, Heather, that we opened a project into looking into Pontiac General, Stonecrest Center and Harbor Oaks. That project is related to mental health treatment at those facilities and whether proper protocol is being followed for involuntary treatment and the quality of treatment there. We've been to all three facilities in person in the past six months, including Pontiac General, and we continue to receive calls on those issues and actively investigate them,” said Simon Zagata, director of the Community and Institutional Rights Team at Disability Rights Michigan.
Zagata says he’s saddened to hear a patient died after being improperly restrained.
“The way the restraint was done was contrary to how you're supposed to do a restraint based on the standards. Michigan has standards for how a restraint is conducted in a mental health facility and the fact that this restraint was prone — so the patient was face down and had somebody’s elbow, chest, knee on that patient's back for an extended period of time — that is not how a restraint is supposed to occur. So to hear that someone died because this protocol was not followed, it's sad and quite frankly, it makes me angry," Zagata said.
Zagata says he’s relieved to know CMS is taking action.
“I was really happy to see those enforcement powers used in a situation where it's pretty clear that patients are not getting appropriate treatment and patients are getting abused,” Zagata said. “No money, but especially federal money, should be going to pay for treatment that results in that. We're also very concerned and keeping an eye on how the transition happens for people in that community and people receiving treatment there to make sure that they have a place to go to receive high quality treatment.”
Previous coverage: 'We don't want patients to be mistreated.' Agencies push for change in wake of 7 investigation
In their notice to the state for laying off employees, the hospital owner indicated they expect to get their contract with Medicare reinstated, but it’s not clear if or when that will happen. Pontiac General Hospital is privately owned. It's CEO is Sanyam Sharma, who has not returned calls and emails asking for comment.
In the meantime, the Oakland Community Health Network had a contract that allowed Pontiac General to bill Medicaid $950 a day for their psychiatric patients. They are now in the process of terminating that contract as well.
A spokeswoman for the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network did not respond to questions about whether they are revoking their contract with Pontiac General.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com.
