Nebraska state shrinks still double-dipping, a decade after vow to end the practice

From a report from the Nebraska Watchdog. Another case of getting paid for more than what they do.

Nearly a decade ago, the new head of the state psychiatric hospital promised change to the Lincoln Regional Center after lawmakers discovered most of the psychiatrists had other jobs. Some were double-dipping — working at the state psychiatric hospital and county mental health center — while others were triple- and quadruple-dipping. But, 10 years later, Nebraska Watchdog has found little has changed.

Take Dr. Sanat Roy: He’s a psychiatrist at the Mental Health Crisis Center of Lancaster County, contract psychiatrist at the Lincoln Regional Center and has a private practice at Plaza West Psychiatrists. He’s also listed as the medical director for Blue Valley Behavioral Health, a Beatrice nonprofit that serves 16 counties in southeast Nebraska.

Scott Etherton, program director for the county’s mental health center, said Roy works part-time and is on call 24/7. He gets $160,000 annually plus nearly $30,000 in benefits. Roy is on a contract with the state, earning more than $125 per hour for up to 1,664 hours per year (32 hours per week) or $210,266 per year.

[...]

Another psychiatrist, Dr. Klaus Hartmann, works full-time for the Regional Center, earning $243,884 annually — the highest state salary. He’s also listed as a psychiatrist for Bryan LGH and fills in for Roy when he’s on leave, according to Etherton.

A third psychiatrist working a second job is Dr. Rafael Tatay, a full-time psychiatrist at the Regional Center who makes $237,597 annually. He also is listed as a psychiatrist at Plaza West Psychiatrists.

After getting complaints for years that Regional Center psychiatrists weren’t putting in 40 hours a week, a 2005 performance audit by the Legislature found most Regional Center psychiatrists had other jobs that had them putting in upwards of 80 hours per week. The audit report didn’t say whether the psychiatrists were still able to properly do their jobs, despite holding down multiple positions. After the report came out, the new head of the Regional Center at the time, Bill Gibson, said he would work to end the double-dipping.

Back then, Roy and Hartmann were making about $330,000 annually working for the state and county, with jobs that required them to put in more than 65 hours per week, plus private practices. They’d been doing it for two decades [...] “It has been standard practice. I don’t think it has been detrimental to patient care. But it is not what I envision for the future,” he said in 2005.

Psychiatrists are among the highest paid state employees — with eight of them cracking the top 15 highest paid state employees

[...]

Judge allows portion of lawsuit filed by man locked up for 19 years

From a Report in the Journal Star

A federal judge ruled last week that parts, but not all, of a Florida man's lawsuit can go forward against his former doctors at the Lincoln Regional Center, where he was locked up for more than 19 years on a misdiagnosis.

For years, John Montin's doctors said his denials that he was mentally ill were evidence that he was.

But in 2013, his treatment team agreed with him. It was a medication-induced psychosis that led to an incident in Hayes County and his commitment at the Regional Center, the team said, and a judge let him out.

In July, Montin sued his former doctors, alleging:

• that his former doctors and treatment team members had deprived him of his rights, a so-called 1983 civil rights claim, and
• that they hadn't met the standard of care, a state medical malpractice claim.

He is seeking more than $22 million in damages for incorrectly being labeled mentally ill and for unnecessarily being held and subjected to treatments he didn't need. He also is seeking $760,000 in lost wages and $10 million in punitive damages.

In a decision that was neither all good nor all bad for either side, Senior U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom refused to dismiss Montin's case, a move the doctors had sought. But the judge also refused to let Montin go forward on a number of theories, including unnecessary bodily restraint.

While the doctors' annual reports might have kept Montin in the locked hospital for more than 19 years, they hadn't shackled him to his bed or otherwise physically restrained him there.

Montin also cannot go forward on a theory that his doctors hadn't made truthful disclosures in their reports. In other words, Montin had alleged that at some point the doctors had to know his diagnosis was wrong.

But Strom did allow Montin to go forward on a theory alleging that the doctors retaliated against him because he kept filing lawsuits.

And the judge refused to throw out the case on an argument by the Nebraska Attorney General's office, which represents most of the defendants, that the state employees couldn't be sued because they were acting essentially as part of the judicial process.

"The court disagrees," Strom wrote in the order.

Much much more at the link

Nebraska Report Show High Goverment Psychiatrist Pay

A new report (pdf) from the State of Nebraska Auditor's Office reveals who are the highest paid people on the state's payroll. Not unexpectedly, the highest paid were associated with the University of Nebraska football program. But many of the top paying jobs not involved with football went to government psychiatrists. See this snippet from the report:

Over 200 State Employees received gross salaries of $100,000 and above. The Department of Health and Human Services takes many of the top spots on the list, followed by Supreme Court, District and County Judges.

The top 20 State Employees receiving gross pay of over $100,000 are:

NAME	POSITION	PAY	DEPARTMENT
Hartmann, Klaus	Psychiatrist	$206,023.70	Health and Human Services
Oneill, Stephen J	Psychiatry Clinical Director	$205,107.60	Health and Human Services
Tatay, Rafael	Psychiatrist	$200,710.55	Health and Human Services
Kohl, Randy T	Medical Director	$199,905.67	Correctional Services
Shaffer, Lawrence B	Psychiatrist/Clinical	$196,737.23	Health and Human Services
Moore, Yancey S	Psychiatry Clinical Director	$189,805.62	Health and Human Services
Stephenson, Daryl R	Psychiatrist	$180,174.56	Health and Human Services
Carpenter, Stanley H	Chancellor	$176,090.00	State Colleges
Kamal, Mohammad S	Psychiatrist	$171,375.61	Correctional Services
Roth, Barbara	Psychiatrist	$166,152.90	Health and Human Services
Dewan, Vijay	Psychiatrist	$165,000.00	Health and Human Services
Voss, Tod W Medical	Director	$164,442.97	Health and Human Services
Christensen, Douglas D	Commissioner Of Education	$159,567.24	Education
Collings, Richard J	President	$157,513.04	State Colleges
Martin, Louis C	Psychiatrist	$157,027.32	Health and Human Services
Johnson, Ben E	President	$156,404.00	State Colleges
King, Jennifer L	Medical Director	$154,603.82	Health and Human Services
Hill, Marshall	Director	$152,370.96	Coord. Comm. for Postsecondary Education
Thaut, Harold W	Medical Director	$152,367.94	Health and Human Services
Park, Janie	President	$151,664.00	State Colleges

The list of vendors and state and university personnel gross salaries was summarized from the detailed information provided at the request of State Auditor by the Nebraska Information System (NIS) team and the University of Nebraska-Central Administration.

The purpose of the Auditor of Public Accounts’ office is to provide independent, accurate, and timely audits, or reviews, of the financial operations of Nebraska State and local governments.

The Special Audit and Evaluation Unit manages a ‘whistle-blower’ hotline the public can call, anonymously if necessary, to report suspected abuse of government resources.

The hotline number for Lincoln is (402) 471-3686

and outside of Lincoln is 1-800-842-8348.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.auditors.state.ne.us

Any reasonable person looking at this would likely say that this is odd. We have to wonder what value these highly paid psychiatrists are delivering to the State of Nebraska, and we think that legislators would do well to look at these psychiatrist salaries as a prime place for cost savings.

Psychiatric drugs in the life of the Nebraska mall sniper Robert Hawkins

From an interview on ABC News Good Morning Program:

Rodriguez said her son's life had been a challenge from the start. She divorced Hawkins' father when the boy was 3-years-old, she said, and by 5 he was taking prescription Ritalin and Zoloft. She said she watched, feeling helpless the way a parent can, as raw anger took root inside her son.

First there were fights at school, she said. Then he was caught smoking cigarettes. Then marijuana.

He became a ward of the state in 2002 after apparently threatening his stepmother. He was moved through facilities and foster homes for several years, until he was released in 2005. Two weeks before the shooting rampage, Hawkins parted ways with his girlfriend.

Rodriguez said she sympathizes deeply with the families of her son's victims.

There is no reason to suppose that these deadly drugs did not continue while Hawkins was in state custody. Or that the known side effects of these drugs did not have a deadly impact.

Psychologist who evaluated sex offenders resigns over child pornography

Seen in the American Chronicle. As the seamy side of psychiatry becomes more well-known, practitioners are starting to get nervous.

A psychologist in North Dakota who conducted sex offender evaluations for the state has resigned over a self-admitted child pornography compulsion. Joseph Belanger had run the state's Sexually Dangerous Individual (SDI) civil commitment program. In that capacity, he evaluated sex offenders and testified in court that they were sexually dangerous and should remain hospitalized.

It was unknown what triggered the investigation against Dr. Belanger, but Homeland Security officials recently seized his home computer, according to the Forum newspaper in Fargo, ND.

Dr. Belanger had worked for the state hospital for more than 20 years.

He is at least the second forensic psychologist this year to be tarnished by accusations of sexual deviancy.

In July, prominent forensic psychologist Stuart Greenberg killed himself after being arrested on suspicion of voyeurism; he had allegedly secretly videotaped a woman in his office bathroom. Greenberg was known for his expertise in child custody evaluations, but he was also a consultant for the Archdiocese of Seattle in sex abuse cases.

In addition to their connections with the burgeoning sex offender industry, another commonality in these cases in that both men allegedly used modern technology to further their deviant interests - Greenberg using a concealed video camera and Belanger using the Internet.

[...]

What is relevant to the field of forensic psychology, however, is that the revelations will likely cause scrutiny of cases in which the two men were involved as expert psychologists. This scrutiny is already occurring in Greenberg's case, with parents protesting unfavorable child custody court decisions that were based in part upon his opinions. In King County (Seattle), the presiding judge anticipated a flurry of legal challenges to cases in which Greenberg was a court-appointed evaluator. Although Greenberg's arrest would not be sufficient to reopen a case, a parent could argue bias if Greenberg's custody recommendations hinged on a parent's sexuality. Similar challenges by civilly committed sex offenders evaluated or treated by Belanger in North Dakota can be anticipated.

[...]

Omaha Mall Shooter reported on Anti-Depressants

From CBS46 KETV - it seems that the Omaha Nebraska Mall shooter Robert Hawkins had been on anti-depressants prior to the shooting. This just is another bit of anecdotal evidence on the dangerous side effects of anti-depressants.

Shortly after the shooting, Hawkins' mother walked into its office with a note that "could be interpreted as suicidal," the sheriff's office said.

KETV reported that the note left with the Sarpy sheriff's office said Hawkins wanted to "go out in style."

It also reportedly said Hawkins was "going to go out and be famous."

Yost said Sarpy County is working with Omaha police.

A friend of Hawkins told KETV that Hawkins had been on antidepressants, staying with friends and bouncing from job to job.

[...]

Another friend, Andrew Bigler, said that Hawkins was "an awesome kid" and that he loved him like a brother.

"Robbie was anything but a terrorist," he said, and said he didn't think Hawkins was filled with anger, just that he was an average teenager with average problems.

Other friends told KETV that Hawkins was a funny person who liked to make others laugh.

[...]

Rumors that Omaha Shooter Robert Hawkins Had Been "Treated" For ADHD, Depression

A report has surfaced that Omaha shooter Robert Hawkins had been treated for ADHD and Depression. You can see the full report online here. Hard data that psych drugs were involved has not surfaced in the mainstream media. While the possibility of the presence of psych drugs is quite believable, and even predictable, I cannot say that it is true without some confirmation. There are reports that he had a troubled past, having spent many years shuffling between a variety of homes and facilities for troubled children:

The young man who killed eight people and committed suicide in a shooting rampage at a department store spent four years in a series of treatment centers, group homes and foster care after threatening to kill his stepmother in 2002.

Finally, in August 2006, social workers, the courts and his father all agreed: It was time for Robert Hawkins to be released — nine months before he turned 19 and would have been required to leave anyway.

The group homes and treatment centers were for youths with substance abuse, mental or behavioral problems.

Altogether, the state spent about $265,000 on Hawkins, officials said.

On Thursday, while some of those who knew Hawkins called the massacre Wednesday at a busy Omaha mall unexpected, not everyone was surprised.

“He should have gotten help, but I think he needed someone to help him and needed someone to be there when in the past he’s said he wanted to kill himself,” said Karissa Fox, who said she knew Hawkins through a friend. “Someone should have listened to him.”

Todd Landry, state director of children and family services, said court records do not show precisely why Hawkins was released. But he said if Hawkins should not have been set free, someone would have raised a red flag.

“It is my opinion, it was not a failure of the system to provide appropriate services,” Landry said. “If that was an issue, any of the participants in the case would have brought that forward.”

Given the body count, we disagree.

Psychiatrist extradited to face charges in patient's suicide

As reported in The Coloradoan.

Dr. Christian Hageseth III of Fort Collins has been extradited to California to face charges that he illegally prescribed Prozac for a Stanford student who later committed suicide.

Hageseth, a psychiatrist, was to enter a plea Friday in San Mateo County, Calif., to one an count of practicing medicine without a license. However, the judge delayed the hearing until Tuesday so that she could consider defense motions filed earlier this week regarding Hageseth's bond.

Hageseth is expected to enter a not-guilty plea to the charge, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Hageseth was extradited from Nebraska, where in October he was arrested near Sidney during a traffic stop.

Authorities say Hageseth prescribed Prozac for John McKay through the online pharmacy USAnewRX.com. At the time, Hageseth’s restricted medical license did not allow him to give prescriptions.

Two months later, McKay killed himself. He was found with alcohol and the drug in his system.

Hageseth lost his license in Colorado in 1999 due to a relationship that led to his marriage to a former patient, Laurel Burson. However, in 2001, the state Court of Appeals reversed the Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners decision and reinstated Hageseth’s medical license. Still, under the conditions of his reinstated license, he was not allowed to write prescriptions.

Hageseth is being held on $500,000 bond.

Scraping by on $150,000 a year

From a report on CNN Money, in which psychiatrist Amy Schuett of Omaha, Nebraska has trouble scraping by on a measely $150,000 per year.

If she thought it would really fix her family's finances, Amy Schuett would make it her New Year's resolution to squeeze every bit of extra spending from the family budget.

But she's already slashed so many little luxuries - the gourmet coffee, the restaurant lunches, the weekly dates with husband Brian - that she's fresh out of ideas.

Cable TV? Unplugged. Pool membership? Down the drain.

They've even considered giving up their unlisted phone number. At a cost of $3 a month, this move wouldn't save much - even over, say, 150 years - but it shows how desperate the couple feel about easing their financial strain. "We're struggling week to week to get by," says Brian, 42. "Any money that comes in gets chewed up right away."

Digesting that fact becomes harder when you consider that the Schuetts earn a comfortable living, with Amy, 39, pulling in $150,000 a year as a hospital psychiatrist. True, their income did take a big hit last summer when Brian got laid off from his job as a sales rep for a pharmaceutical firm (he'd been making a base salary of $82,000 a year, plus commissions as high as $24,000).

And they do have four daughters to raise, ages four to nine. But still.

The Schuetts don't have any child-care bills (Brian is now a stay-at-home dad). They don't have credit-card debt. They don't splurge on fancy vacations. And they live in a nice but definitely not luxurious home on a three-acre plot in Elkhorn, Neb., just west of Omaha, where the cost of living is, well, livable.

Yet, says Amy, "We live from one paycheck to the next, we're struggling to save and we never seem to have enough money to do anything fun."

And yet we see this:

Last year, for instance, Brian's parents gave the Schuetts a horse named Red for their kids to ride. They think it will cost a few hundred dollars a month to feed and care for the animal, and they're willing to give up ballet lessons and gymnastics classes for the girls to pay for it.

I'm sure that most folks would love to be able to afford a horse for the girls. As seen here, 95% of American households make less than 150,000 a year.