Disability Rights DC report on Psychiatric Institute of Washington alleges neglect, abuse of patient
A new report from the District’s disability rights watchdog alleges systemic abuse and neglect at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, which advocates say has left some patients traumatized and injured at the hands of staff.
Disability Rights DC, a nonprofit with a federal mandate to advocate for individuals with disabilities in the District, released the report Wednesday, just over a year after it published a report with similar findings at the private, for-profit hospital. In that June 2021 review, advocates detailed examples of alleged malpractice at the facility — including a 2020 incident in which they say a patient died and did not receive timely care from the hospital’s staff.
Disability Rights DC has the authority to investigate allegations of neglect and abuse in mental health facilities in the city, and is able to review medical records, reports and video footage of alleged incidents. Advocates said reports of abuse at PIW have only increased since their report last year, and just like in the previous study, they charge the city agencies responsible for overseeing the facility to go further to ensure patients are protected.
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“We would’ve expected an improvement after our first report, and instead we got more calls,” said Andrea Procaccino, a staff attorney at Disability Rights DC. “We didn’t see evidence they were implementing any meaningful changes that would prevent these things that were going on.”
The additional calls spurred additional investigations, Procaccino said. The latest report describes a May 2021 incident, for example, in which an adolescent was allegedly stabbed in the cheek by another patient, causing a laceration, while the facility’s staff did not intervene.
“The videotape shows a striking lack of staff presence and effective staff interaction,” the report reads, adding that police arrived an hour after the incident took place. “More and better trained staff were clearly needed to ensure the safety of these adolescents, who were exposed to a terrifying experience.” The report uses pseudonyms and includes hand-drawn stills of the videos to protect patient privacy.
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In a statement, PIW said it is “dedicated to caring for and treating patients with compassion, dignity and respect” and has worked with thousands of patients over the years.
“Incidents are thoroughly investigated by regulatory authorities and by our internal team, per standard procedure,” the statement said. “Where appropriate, we implement operational changes. Due to HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] patient privacy laws, we cannot comment on specific patients or their care."
D.C. Health and the Department of Behavioral Health, which share joint responsibility for oversight of PIW’s services, did not return a request for comment on the report.
Opened in 1967, PIW is located in Tenleytown and is the only private, for-profit hospital in the city that treats patients for psychiatric and substance use disorders. The hospital contains 130 beds; patients can be admitted on a voluntary or involuntary basis and typically stay five to 10 days at a time, Procaccino said.
The range of allegations includes instances where PIW staff used drugs or other improper means to restrain patients — tactics that go against the hospital’s policy, according to the report. The nonprofit’s investigation found a patient, “Sarah Simpson,” was restrained twice using “unapproved techniques”; in one instance, six staff members allegedly converged on Simpson, causing her head to hit the floor. Simpson called the situation traumatic and Disability Rights DC alleges that PIW did not report either incident to the Department of Behavioral Health until almost three months later.
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In the second incident, PIW staff allegedly “failed to provide timely medical care” to Simpson after she reported arm pain to staff, administering an X-ray that confirmed swelling five days after her complaint, the report said.
The investigation found that another patient, “Maria Peters,” was allegedly dragged across the floor twice by a male staffer at the hospital — the report said they called her “disgusting” multiple times and pushed her into a room.
“She indicated that she resisted being forced in the room because she was very frightened, and she was fearful that the staff person was going to sexually assault her,” the report said.
In addition to improper restraint, Disability Rights DC said it investigated incidents where PIW staff allegedly injected patients with psychiatric medication against their will. A patient referred to as “Sarah Miller” reported that PIW staff told her she “had to accept” medication even though she did not consent to it. The report suggested the incident was in violation of D.C. law, which in most cases requires providers to obtain informed consent from a patient before administering mental health medication.
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Among PIW’s recommendations to resolve the reported issues: increasing staff to ensure units remain safe; hiring a consultant who specializes in trauma-informed care; and more robust oversight from D.C. Health and the Department of Behavioral Health, “which must have reliable incident reporting and a robust investigatory process," the report says. The recommendation for increased oversight also appeared in last year’s report. At a D.C. Council oversight hearing earlier this year, some advocates criticized the Department of Behavioral Health for unsatisfactory supervision of PIW, Washington City Paper reported.
PIW’s parent company, Universal Health Services, paid out $122 million to federal and state governments in 2020, settling claims that it provided inadequate services. Last week, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore) named Universal Health Services in a probe into alleged abuse at treatment facilities that house children. Universal Health Services did not return a request for comment.
Justin Wm. Moyer contributed to this report.
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