New York man charged with impersonating doctor, potentially providing mental health services to over 100 patients over a three year old.

From this report from Q13 Fox

Donald Lee-Edwards was arrested this week and accused of impersonating a clinical psychologist and medical doctor for three years and potentially providing mental health services to over 100 patients, said the Richmond County District Attorney’s office. He is “a dangerous scam artist who never completed any medical school or doctoral program. He merely bestowed upon himself the professional titles of clinical psychologist and medical doctor,” said Daniel Master Jr., Richmond County district attorney.

According to authorities, Lee-Edwards said he worked “extensively with family members and victims of 9/11” and made himself available for home visits. In June, the district attorney’s office was notified of his practice after skeptical patients complained of his unorthodox bedside manner and his prescription methods. CNN affiliate WCBS spoke to one of Lee-Edwards’ patients, Kim Broadie, outside his office. Broadie showed them a bottle of anti-depressants he had been prescribed with a different doctor’s name; the district attorney’s office said Lee-Edwards would call in his prescriptions under the identity of a different doctor with a similar sounding name.

Lee-Edwards operated out of a basement apartment below a two-family residence in Staten Island; he lived in the floor above his office with his parents, officials said.

Photographs released by the district attorney’s office show a waiting room with seating area, a kitchenette, a front desk and rooms for treatment. They also show shelves of blood vials and urine samples and medical equipment throughout the apartment.

Lee-Edwards’ letterhead advertised him as a clinical psychologist, Ph.D., M.D. and L.P., and when CNN called Lee’s business and cell phone numbers for comment, his voice mail did the same. Lee-Edwards and his attorney, Matthew Blum, could not be reached for comment. The district attorney’s office said during Lee-Edwards’ time practicing, he saw “approximately 10 parolees through word-of mouth referrals” and he would talk to their parole officers about session attendance. He also prepared progress reports for parolee’s files, officials said.

The district attorney’s office brought a 12-count indictment against Lee-Edwards, including charges of criminal impersonation, identity theft, unauthorized practice of medicine, criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions. Lee-Edwards is due back in court in September and is being held on a $150,000 bond/$75,000 bail.

Houston Hospital Leaders Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Alarming Psychiatric Fraud Scheme

Details of the fraud allegations against Riverside General Hospital executives

The bulk of the Medicare and Medicaid fraud allegations against Gibson, et al. center around Riverside’s psychiatric facilities, which are classified by the government as a “partial hospitalization program” (PHP) A PHP is technically an outpatient treatment facility, but is geared toward the round-the-clock care required for patients enduring a severe mental illness. Under government guidelines, mental health patients receiving care at a PHP must be routinely seen by a psychiatrist, guided through a care plan, and carefully monitored throughout the course of treatment.

According to the allegations, Riverside collected more than $158 million in funds from Medicare and Medicaid on behalf of PHP patients who rarely, if ever, saw a psychiatrist for their illnesses. Moreover, Riverside regularly billed the government for psychiatric services that were never rendered, mostly because the patients were in the advanced stages of dementia and unable to participate in the treatment.

Patient care aside, Riverside is also accused of offering kickbacks and financial incentives to executives group homes, as well as recruiters tasked with increasing referrals of mental health patients to Riverside’s facilities.

In addition to the three main participants listed above, six other individuals recently pled guilty to conspiring with Gibson to bring in the maximum number of Medicare and Medicaid clientele.

According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, “The former President of Houston’s Riverside hospital, his son, and their co-conspirators saw mentally ill, elderly, and disabled Medicare beneficiaries as commodities to be turned into profit centers – not as vulnerable individuals in need of health care….Rather than providing needed medical care to a historically underserved community, the defendants ran a longstanding hospital into the ground through their greed and fraud. According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendants had patients sit around the facility watching movies while they received no treatment. Meanwhile, the defendants billed Medicare more than $158 million for care that was never provided. This brazen fraud cannot and will not be tolerated.”

See Also

Department of Justice Press Release, “Former President of Riverside General Hospital Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison in $158 Million Medicare Fraud.” June 9, 2015.

Long Island woman says psych ward doctors believed she was delusional for insisting Obama follows her on Twitter

From the New York Daily News

A Long Island woman’s insistence that President Obama follows her on Twitter made doctors at the Harlem Hospital psych ward think she was delusional and suffering from bipolar disorder — but she was actually telling the truth, a lawsuit charges. Kam Brock’s frightening eight-day “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” ordeal at the mental facility included forced injections of powerful sedatives and demands she down doses of lithium, medical records obtained through her suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court show. They also indicate that doctors didn’t believe the leader of the free world followed her on Twitter — though @BarackObama follows over 640,000 accounts, including hers. They were also skeptical she worked at a bank, records show.

“I told (the doctor) Obama follows me on Twitter to show her the type of person I am. I’m a good person, a positive person. Obama follows positive people!” Brock, whose Twitter handle is @AkilahBrock, said.

A “master treatment plan” from Harlem Hospital backs up the Astoria Bank worker’s story.

“Objective: Patient will verbalize the importance of education for employment and will state that Obama is not following her on Twitter,” the document reads.

It also notes “patient’s weaknesses: inability to test reality, unemployment.”

Adding insult to insanity, the hospital hit Brock with a bill of $13,637.10, she charges in her suit seeking unspecified damages.

The bizarre experience began Sept. 12, when the NYPD seized her prized 2003 BMW 325Ci in Harlem because they suspected she was high on weed, her attorney, Michael Lamonsoff, said. Cops found no marijuana but confiscated her ride anyway, he said. The NYPD declined to comment.

The following day, Brock walked into the NYPD’s Public Service Area 6 stationhouse in Harlem to retrieve her car, her suit charges. Brock — an eccentric 32-year-old born in Jamaica with dreams of making it big in the entertainment business — admitted in an interview she was “emotional,” but insisted she in no way is an “emotionally disturbed person.” Nevertheless, cops cuffed her and put her in an ambulance bound for the hospital, her suit charges.

“Next thing you know, the police held onto me, the doctor stuck me with a needle and I was knocked out,” Brock said, tearing up. “I woke up to them taking off my underwear and then went out again. I woke up the next day in a hospital robe.”

Lamonsoff said race may have been a factor in the way Brock was treated. “How would you act if you were being told you were crazy?” he said. For eight days, she attended group therapy, endured injections of sedatives, and took lorazepam and lithium, medical records show, according to Lamonsoff.

When she was finally let go, the doctors didn’t tell her why she was being allowed to leave, Brock said. Harlem Hospital declined to comment. The city Law Department said the suit would be reviewed.

Five arrested in East Cove Psychiatric Services investigation

As seen here

Agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants Tuesday morning at a Kinston psychiatric facility. That afternoon, authorities arrested East Cove Psychiatric Services’ owners and operators Joanna Wolicki-Shannon and Walter Shannon. Shannon, 64, faces 12 felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery and received a $180,000 bond. Wolicki-Shannon, 50, received charges of six felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery and took a $90,000 bond. According to the SBI, “The doctors wrote bogus prescriptions for phentermine, hydrocodone, Percocet, Adderall, vyvanse and Ritalin using their psychiatric practice employees and members of the office staff’s families to submit them to pharmacies to be filled. The employees picked up the prescribed drugs and delivered them to the doctors.” Agents arrested three others in connection to the case. Lisa Renay Lankford, 53, faces 18 felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery and received a $279,000 bond. Candice Raegan Hill, 35, and James Howington, 31, were charged with 10 felony counts each of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery along with 10 felony counts of trafficking opium. Hill received a $650,000 bond, while Howington received a $659,000 bond. Hill and Lankford are both former office managers at East Cove, and Howington is Hill's boyfriend. East Cove’s main office is located in the 1300 block of North Queen Street, while an additional facility is open Thursdays on Limehouse Road in Kenansville. East Cove serves Eastpointe region clients who require mental health, developmental disability and/or substance abuse services. State agents are being assisted by the FBI in the case. Throughout the day Tuesday the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office also lent assistance at the scene. The suspects should make their first appearance in Lenoir County District Court on Wednesday.

Psychiatrist Arrested for Drugs Falsified Records

From the Ashley County Ledger in Arizona

Ashley County Quorum Court members received an update of the circumstances that led to the hiring, termination and arrest of a former Ashley County Medical Center psychiatrist employed two weeks at the facility's Generations unit.

Hospital Administrator Russ Sword terminated Paul Jay Loop, 46, Monday, December 3, after Sword learned of Loop's drug abuse.

According to the ACMC hospital report presented to the court during its December meeting, Loop was terminated and his privileges to practice medicine at ACMC were revoked. The Crossett Police Department was informed of the situation, and officers arrested Loop on possession of crack cocaine in Sword's office. At the time of his arrest, six rocks of crack cocaine were found in Loop's possession. In addition to the cocaine, law enforcement officers found drug paraphernalia during a search conducted by the Crossett Police Department and the Ashley County Sheriff's Department of his hotel room at the Levee Inn.

"ACMC responded to the situation promptly and decisively and reported the matter to the Arkansas Medical Board," Sword said in its report presented to the court.

"All Arkansas hospitals, including Ashley County Medical Center, are required by state regulations to use the centralized credentialing services of the Arkansas Medical Board when reviewing physicians who are applying for hospital privileges. "

It further notes that during the medical board's review process, applicants' background, medical school, residency programs, as well as previous practices and other state medical board's recommendations are checked. "ACMC receives a written report from the Arkansas Medical Board before acting on a physician's request for clinical privileges," he added.

Although ACMC received a favorable report on Loop from the medical board, it is now known that Loop falsified his application to ACMC as well as information he submitted to the Arkansas Medical Board, according to the report.

The Arkansas Medical Board has suspended Loop’s license pending a hearing in February in regard to revoking his license.

BC doctors double dipping - Clinic doctors got $500,000 in public funds, but walk-ins were charged for basic visits in violation of Canadian law

From this Report. There is also a lot more information in The Tyee

Doctors working at the private Copeman Healthcare Centre in downtown Vancouver received nearly $500,000 in fees charged to the public last year, though the clinic is also charging its 1,500 patients to use its services.

The top grosser in public funds was Tasha Bienert, a family physician at the clinic, who got $158,727 from the Medical Services Plan.

Psychiatrist Kevin Kjernisted was paid $120,568.

Another psychiatrist, Diane McIntosh, received $118,079.

Corporate medical director Peter House made $43,110 while family physician Beth Donaldson got $39,466.

The payments are recorded in the Medical Services Commission's annual financial report for the year ended March 31, 2007. Two other Copeman clinic doctors, Michael Koehle and Mark Gelfer, do not appear in the records. Nor for that matter does clinic founder and CEO Don Copeman, a businessman who once took pre-medicine courses.

It is unclear from the report how much of the fees paid to the various Copeman doctors was for work performed at the clinic, and how much was for work they may have done elsewhere. But medical director House says, "Nobody at Copeman works outside the clinic. We used to."

Besides whatever public money flows to Copeman clinic staff, the centre also charges patients a fee before they can see a doctor. To be seen by a doctor costs $3,900 for the first year, plus $2,900 for each year after that. That's up, by the way, from $3,500 for the first year and $2,300 annually when The Tyee reported on the clinic in May 2006.

Under the Medicare Protection Act, doctors who have "opted-in" and receive payments under the public Medical Services Plan may not charge a patient for any service normally paid for through public insurance. How then, are Copeman doctors charging twice?

In late November the government's Medical Services Commission, which oversees payments under the MSP program, ruled after an 18-month investigation that the private clinic on Vancouver's Hornby Street is operating legally, but it remains unclear how that decision was made...

Tantrums, casual sex and useless £12,000 therapy: what REALLY goes on inside rehab

Modern psychiatric and psychological drug rehab for the famous and the unknown is not only expensive, but worthless. As reporte4d in the Daily Mail.

[...]

I finally bottomed out in July 2005 when I had a panic attack. I'd been drinking for three days, virtually nonstop, having gone to a wild party at someone's house and slept on the floor for two nights.

My hands were shaking and I started hyperventilating and had to go to hospital where I was given Valium. It was an utterly terrifying experience and it signalled a turning point.

My body was clearly telling me it couldn't cope any more and I decided to tell my parents my secret - that I had a drink problem.

[...]

I had a high-flying career, good friends, and even a Prada handbag! I looked healthy and ate a reasonable diet. But I knew I needed help and I asked my father if he'd pay for me to go to rehab.

He generously agreed to do so at a huge cost of £12,000 for six weeks' treatment. I confessed all to my boss who was very kind, telling me to take a chunk of unpaid leave and simply concentrate on getting well. [...] My father was effectively paying £2,000 a week for me to sit around doing nothing.

[...]

In the evening we'd have "group workshops", which involved making notes about various aspects of our addictions and asking fellow patients to evaluate our work.

Most of the time we simply went through the motions quickly and then went back to playing Blackjack with Monopoly money and listening to our iPods.

The work assignments occasionally handed out were far too simple. For example, we were asked to write about our worst drinking experiences - but we'd already covered this in group therapy.

When we actually had lectures they were over simplistic, and patronising to anyone with half a brain.

We were asked to perform mimes showing each other how we could enjoy ourselves without resorting to drink and drugs on a given day. I mimed country-dancing.

[...]

After all this, and wasting 12,000 of her father's money, she eventually made some progress when she joined AA. Many more details at the original link.

A Witness to Torture at the Rotenberg School

I recently came across this commentary by Greg Miller, a former teacher’s assistant at the Judge Rotenberg Center, in response to an article on a ABC Nightline News story about the "Rotten-Berg" school. We commend him for his courage in speaking out, and for his honesty.

My name is Greg Miller. I used to work at Judge Rotenberg Center and spoke against the abuses in the ABC Nightline documentary. I appreciate reading your thoughts on the documentary.

ABC Nightline did leave out many facts. For example, I told ABC in my 2+ hour interview with them about JRC tying students into restraints on a four-point board and shocking them five times consecutively (over 10 minutes, or 40 minutes, whatever is on the student’s plan) for certain behaviors. The person with the remote control in one hand that you saw on the documentary, and a timer in the other hand, would remain out of sight from the student on the board to administer the shocks. That is to create as much panic and fear in the student as possible to make the punishment far worse than the shocks itself. This was all pre-approved by parents and the judges and the laws of Massachusetts.

There are worse things I’ve seen at Judge Rotenberg Center. Imagine watching a 40+ year-old adult male, in there with suicidal tendencies from a young age, get attacked three times per week by an adult male staff with a plastic knife. The student was left in restraints all day long for this procedure so that he was unable to defend himself. Then while the student is screaming for his life, TRYING HIS BEST TO DEFEND HIMSELF WHILE TIED IN RESTRAINTS, and the staff tries to jam the knife down the student’s throat while yelling the words,”Do you want to swallow a knife? DO YOU WANT TO SWALLOW A KNIFE???,” someone with the hidden remote control presses the button to shock the student. The student had tried to commit suicide by swallowing a small Exacto Knife blade, and this was their “treatment” for suicide! Ever see the movie Clockwork Orange?

Not only was this “treatment” traumatic for this student being attacked by the staff with the plastic knife and shocked while defenseless, the “treatments” were done right in front of 40+ other students and 7 - 9 staff in the large Workshop room. If other students screamed or jumped up in response to watching their classmate get attacked like this, they too would get shocked!

Again, all of this was pre-approved by the judge and is legal in Massachusetts. I have papers from the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) who investigated it to prove that this “treatment” was not “abuse” because it was ordered by the judge.

The student was not permitted a counselor to offer any type of counseling or psychotherapy, as they believed that it would be counterproductive to their stimulus-response behaviorist approach.

Dr. Matthew Israel, the owner and Director of Judge Rotenberg Center, was a personal student of Dr. B.F. Skinner, the behaviorist behind ABA. Dr. B.F. Skinner even visited Dr. Israel at the Behavior Research Institute, later renamed to Judge Rotenberg Center, while the Behavior Research Institute was located in Rhode Island. They relocated to Massachusetts after Rhode Island became outraged by the death of one or more students at that school.

The investigator from the Department of Mental Retardation told me that he was not a doctor to diagnose the bloody scabs as “burns”, that I was also not a doctor to diagnose the bloody scabs as “burns”, and therefore the accusation of “burns” from the electric shocks could not be validated - even if we could provide photographs of the actual injuries. He said even doctors could not diagnose the injuries from photographs, and would risk lawsuit to diagnose the bloody scabs (scabs on top of previous scabs, resulting from so many scabs that anywhere you move the electrodes on the arms, legs or torso will result in placing the electrodes on top of another scab) because doctors have not studied the phenomena of these types of injuries from these specific electric shock devices enough to be able to call it “burns”.

I came to the conclusion myself that there is a scam and coverup taking place, and that people are prevented from knowing the truth about the laws in Massachusetts that they support.

Best wishes to Massachusetts Senator Joyce while he tries to change those laws.

- Greg Miller
Former JRC Teacher’s Assistant

In response to this commentary, there is this comment by Phil Schwarz, who is the Vice President of Asperger’s Association of New England.

What is even more disgusting in many ways than the restraints and the electrical shocks is the inculcation of *learned helplessness* in the JRC students.

In the report compiled for the New York State Board of Education on JRC (NY State sends over a hundred kids to JRC at a cost of $200k per student per year, so you can begin to comprehend the lucrativeness of Mr. Israel’s dirty little business and the fierceness with which he defends it), students are described as being set up in patently unfair situations and then rewarded for not complaining about them, and punished for speaking up either for fairness for themselves or for classmates.

Mr. Miller, did you witness situations like that? Could you elaborate further if you did?

The parents are psychologically intimidated too: Israel holds the sword of Damocles over them, threatening them that if JRC is shut down, their children who are intractably unmanageable without those electrified fanny-packs will be deposited overnight on their doorsteps without a shred of further support. No wonder they clamor and sing JRC’s praises upon command.

Legislation that would indeed have shut down the abuses at JRC was killed in committee in the Massachusetts legislature — by a single spoiler vote held by Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, who has a nephew attending JRC.

Israel is a clever manipulator: he orchestrated the derailment of the career of Philip Campbell, the former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation, who attempted to shut JRC down.

Half a dozen JRC staffers recently acted in the capacity of licensed mental health professionals — and were advertised as such by JRC — *without* appropriate licensing. As far as I know, criminal litigation on this matter is still proceeding through the state court system.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven and is a blot upon my home state.

State files suit, levies fines over psychiatrist burning medical records

From this report

The state filed a lawsuit Wednesday and levied fines of $1 million against the owner of a Salem Township property where huge piles of burning medical records were found in August.

The seven-count complaint, filed by Attorney General Mike Cox for the state Department of Community Health, cites Dr. Soon K. Kim and his companies - Quality Health Plan and Signature Healthcare Services Inc. - for burning piles of records, some as large as a van, in violation of the public health code and privacy laws. Also named in as a co-defendant in the lawsuit was Dong Won (David) Kim.

The fines were imposed by the state Department of Community Health against Kim and Quality Health Plan for the improper disposal of health records.

The 415-acre property, at 6646 Six Mile Road, belongs to Soon Kim. He owned the bankrupt Greater Detroit Hospital, also known as North Detroit General Hospital. Officials said the records contained patient medical information, x-rays, and Social Security numbers.

Kim and his attorney, Laura Sanders, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Kim has had a medical license as a psychiatrist in Michigan since 1973.

The suit alleges that on Aug. 29, David Kim was burning at least three large bonfires on the Salem Township property, and told police that Sanders told him to do it. The suit said David Kim had been dumping and burning on the Salem Township property since October or November 2006.

Some of the records, according to the suit, were blowing onto other properties.

The state is seeking a preliminary injunction against burning any other medical records, and an order asking for the address and owner of all locations from which the records were taken. The state also wants information about who created the records, how many were destroyed, how far back the records went, and a description of what was destroyed.

The lawsuit asks that Kim be ordered to hire a reputable disposal company to destroy the records, and to allow the Department of Environmental Quality to determine whether the site was contaminated by burning the x-rays.

A criminal investigation into the burning, which is illegal under both privacy and toxic waste laws, remains open, officials said.

The lawsuit can be downloaded from this link

Outspoken Official Critical of Delaware's Mental Health System Departs Amid Rumors She Was Forced to Leave

Of course, this could all be a legitimate departure for the reasons given. But nobody is talking on the matter, and it looks suspicious. As seen in this report.

An outspoken and well-respected critic of the state agencies responsible for treating the mentally ill -- including the Delaware Psychiatric Center -- is out.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Delaware, or NAMI, longtime executive director, Rita Marocco, is leaving her position with the advocacy group, "to pursue other interests."

For many patients and their families, Marocco was NAMI in Delaware. Marocco said she has yet to receive official confirmation of her status with NAMI-DE.

As she was preparing to testify Thursday night before a legislative committee investigating patient abuse and retaliation at DPC, several lawmakers told her they'd received a letter from NAMI-DE, which stated she was "leaving NAMI to pursue other interests."

Marocco has repeatedly stressed the need for systemic improvements at the state hospital, which caused several lawmakers to comment about the timing and possible motivations behind her dismissal.

"I've heard rumors that Secretary [Vince] Meconi has been involved, but I have nothing to substantiate that," Marocco told The News Journal.

But Meconi, secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, said in an e-mail to The News Journal: "I have no information about Ms. Marocco's employment status. I would suggest you check with NAMI."

The News Journal sought to interview all 22 members of the NAMI-DE board of directors. Most refused to comment, or never returned phone calls.

"I'm not at liberty to talk about it," said board member Chuck Tarver.

"She wasn't fired," said board member Mary Berger, who added, "I don't feel comfortable answering questions."

Board member Julius Meisel said Meconi wasn't behind and changes to Marocco's employment status.

"That's bunk," he said. "This is an internal matter. I'm not going to comment further."

John P. Smoots, another board member, said nobody at the state orchestrated Marocco's departure.

"That's absolutely false," he said.

Edward N. McNally, president of the NAMI-DE board of directors, said "the board and Rita had a difference of opinion with regards to management of NAMI's housing operations, particularly our 55 group homes.

"As a result, when we could not reach an agreement on that part, she asked for a severance package and we worked it out."

Marocco presents a different version: "I did not receive the letter from the board, and I have not heard from them as of yet."

McNally said Meconi, whom Marocco has asked to resign, had nothing to do with the board's decision.

"NAMI-DE completely supports everything Rita had to say about the DPC situation," he said.

McNally sent the letter to the legislative committee investigating DPC because he "wanted everyone to understand about who to get in touch with if they had questions."

"What I was trying to do was head off the rumors," McNally said. "There's no tie to Rita's position on DPC."

Board member Janis Chester, a psychiatrist and past-president of the Psychiatry Society of Delaware, said she never witnessed any conduct by Marocco that could have merited discipline, or possible termination.

"She is NAMI-DE," Chester said. "I always saw her as a role model. I had the pleasure of working with her in a variety of settings. I always thought I should be more like her. She can get her message across in a strong assertive way, without ever being impolite. It's such a loss to NAMI. I hope it's not a loss to the mentally ill in Delaware."

"I joined the board and was recruited there because of Rita," Chester said. "She's really been a beacon and has been devoted and capable and irrepressible as an advocate for the mentally ill."

When The News Journal began investigating conditions at the Delaware Psychiatric Center, exposing cases of patient abuse and allegations of rape, Marocco expressed frustration with DPC administrators. She suggested there were coverups as well as shortcomings.

"It's obvious they're not adhering to any standards known to good-quality care," she said at one point. "What we expect from a psychiatric hospital is that their people work toward providing what's best for the patients in their care. In my opinion, they've come up short."

Asked Friday if she regrets her statements, Marocco said no.

"I've gone over and over it in my mind," she said. "I can't think of a single thing I'd have done differently."

State seizes pyschiatrist's records

From the Enquirer in Cincinnati

State investigators are trying to determine whether a Cincinnati psychiatrist improperly billed patients with workers’ compensation claims.

Agents from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation seized records Tuesday from Dr. Kode Murthy’s two offices in Cincinnati and Milford. They also used search warrants to get records from Murthy’s billing specialist.

The search warrants were not made public, but state investigators confirmed they are looking into allegations of “billing irregularities” by Murthy.

Those irregularities could include billing for services the patient did not receive or billing the state for treatments unrelated to workers’ compensation claims.

Joel Demory, agent in charge of the bureau’s special investigations unit, said information gathered Tuesday would help determine the next step, which could include a referral to prosecutors or a decision not to take action against Murthy.

Efforts to reach Murthy Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Demory would not comment on the records seized or on the nature of the allegations against Murthy, other than to say they involved billing. He also would not say how many complaints the bureau received or how many workers’ compensation patients receive treatment from Murthy.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation handles claims and oversees treatment of people suffering from job-related injuries.

The bureau’s investigations unit examines allegations of fraud by either the workers or the doctors treating them.

In the past year, the unit conducted almost 3,000 investigations and referred about 300 cases for criminal prosecution, a bureau spokesman said. More than 100 of those referrals resulted in indictments.

The investigation into Murthy also involves the Ohio Department of Insurance, the State Medical Board of Ohio and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Another Psychiatrist Under Investigation Closes Office

From WKRC TV Local 12 in Cincinatti Ohio

A local psychiatrist shuts down his office while state officials are taking a serious look at the way he does business.

Local 12 has learned that, for the last few weeks, investigators from the Kentucky State Medical Board have been looking at the practices of Covington psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Rank.

Allegations have been made against Rank that he over medicates patients, and it's not the first time he's come up on charges.

Local 12's Rich Jaffe says the sudden closing of Rank's store front operation, has left some of his patients wondering what they don't know about their doctor.

Jerry Black showed up today at 12 West Pike Street in Covington, expecting to see his doctor. What he found was a letter saying the office is closed.

Jerry Black, Patient: "Makes me wonder why it's closed, and he didn't tell anybody, didn't send me a letter...makes me curious what he did wrong you know..."

Until recently, Dr. Douglas Rank operated his psychiatric practice out of this store front. His attorney says he advised him to close the doors, while a number of investigations take their course.

An investigation by the Kentucky State Medical Board is based on complaints by Emily Hill that Rank gave her too many drugs. Hill says, with piles of prescriptions, she was sleeping 18 hours a day.

Emily Hill, Ex-Patient: "He just said, well you need these drugs to function, and I said, Doctor Rank I can't function like this. I feel like I'm on too many drugs and he really just kind of blew it off."

Hill's husband, who worked in Dr. Rank's office, says as soon as another doctor took his wife off her meds, she came out of her zombie-like state.

Robert Hill, Patient's Husband: "She starts coming back, recovering, she starts to be the Emily I used to know, and I thought, well gosh, I've got some problems with this you know."

Douglas Rank has been brought up on charges by the Kentucky Medical Board before. In May of 2000, he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a patient... and in November of that year, his license was restricted because he wrote another patient 57 different prescriptions for controlled substances over a 15 month period. As a result of action in Kentucky, he had his license revoked in the state of New York, and Ohio permanently denied him a license to practice in 2003.

"The letter to Dr. Rank's patients on his door says the office is now closed, in the best interest of the patients, he lists a phone number here and since he wasn't available to talk with us on camera we decided to call that number to see what Rank was telling the people who counted on him."

"The office is closed for business in the best interest of our patients. The doctor will call in enough prescription refills for you to find alternate care."

While Rank didn't want to talk with us, a friend and self professed business partner, who's opening an outreach operation in the old office, says Dr. Rank isn't done in Northern Kentucky.

Dennis Northcutt, Noah's Ark: "He's not going to be working straight up forward with us, but he's going to be pointing me in the right direction of how I should get help for people."

Rich Jaffe, Local 12.

We wanted to interview Dr. Rank about these issues, his attorney advised him to decline. As part of his sanctions in 2001, Dr. Rank agreed to probationary terms that included "abstaining from sex with patients, continuing to receive psychiatric treatment, and participation in the Kentucky Impaired Physicians Program. He was also ordered to use a chaperon in all contacts with female patients.

It really should be Rotten-Berg Center

The Technology weblog BoingBoing has picked up on the Mothers Jone expose of the electric shock treatment featured at the RotenBerg center. (Link to our own story on this item)

Mother Jones has a long, chilling feature on The Judge Rotenberg Education Center, a private radical behavior-modification school based in Canton, Mass. The school is run by a rogue behaviorist who uses discredited "punishment" techniques -- electroshock -- on children as young as nine to change their personalities. Matthew Israel, the school's $400,000/year executive director, straps homemade, overpowered shock apparatus to children (including severely autistic and retarded kids) and has his staff administer strong shocks for even minor infractions. Some children have been shocked thousands of times a day, and several children have died at the school.

Eight states send troubled children to the school, where "high functioning" kids are "educated" by being sat in front of computers all day, running through automated tutorial programs. Talking, fidgeting, or acting out during this "school" time is punished with shocks. Some kids' shock apparatus misfires, shocking them without any provocation. The staff are instructed to activate the shock apparatus out of sight of the children, so that they can't mentally or physically prepare for it.

The Rotenberg process lacks any kind of scientific basis, and the school uses a 20-year-old film of its "successes" to convince parents to send their children to the program -- however, some of the success stories in the film are still institutionalized at Rotenberg 20 years after their "cure," wheelchair bound and in terrible shape.

Then, in June of 2006, a report produced by the New York State Education Department threatened to destroy the program's carefully cultivated image. A group of investigators, including three psychologists, spent five days at the Rotenberg Center and compiled a 26-page document packed with damning findings.

• Staff shock kids for "nagging, swearing, and failing to maintain a neat appearance" and once threatened to shock a girl who sneezed and then asked for a tissue.
  
• Some students must "earn" meals by not displaying certain behaviors. Otherwise they are "made to throw a predetermined caloric portion of their food into the garbage."
  
• When students enter and leave the school each day, "almost all" are wearing some type of restraints, such as handcuffs or leg shackles.
  
• "Students may be restrained"--on a four-point restraint board or chair--"for extensive periods of time (e.g. hours or intermittently for days)."
  
• Some students are shocked while strapped to the restraint board.
  
• A "majority" of employees "serving as classroom teachers" are "not certified teachers."
  
• Rotenberg's marketing reps bestow presents on prospective families--"e.g. a gift bag for the family, basketball for the student."
  
• Although the center has described its shock device as "approved" by the fda in its promotional materials, it "has not been approved."
  
• The facility collects "comprehensive data" on behaviors it seeks to eliminate, but "there was no evidence of the collection of data on replacement or positive behaviors."
  
• The facility makes no assessment of the "possible collateral effects of punishment such as depression, anxiety, and/or social withdrawal."

Feds, state warn Delaware Psychiatric Center about shredding evidence

From Delaware's The News Journal

Revelations that documents were being shredded at the Delaware Psychiatric Center at the same time federal and state agencies were investigating the hospital have prompted stern warnings from the United States Attorney's Office and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden.

In a letter Friday to DPC, U.S. Attorney Colm Connolly's office warned Vince Meconi, secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, that Connolly did not take the possible destruction of evidence lightly.

"We are concerned about this reported document destruction, and write to remind you and your employees of your duty to preserve any materials that may be relevant to reasonably foreseeable litigation, as well as your duty to not destroy or impair any documents so as to interfere with their availability in an official proceeding," wrote First Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss. "Accordingly, we ask that you cease any document destruction efforts that relate to DPC."

After revelations about patient abuse and retaliation against nurses who report the abuse were first chronicled last month in The News Journal, Connolly notified Justice Department regulators in Washington about possible civil rights violations at DPC. At least six state and federal agencies are examining conditions at the trouble-plagued state hospital, including a task force recently established by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

The News Journal broke a story about the shredding program last week. Meconi and other state officials said DPC was not involved, even though DPC's administration building was on the list of buildings visited by the contract shredding firm. According to the firm, the shredding operation ended Friday.

Connolly and Biden declined to comment for this story.

DPC director Susan Watson Robinson said only that she received Connolly's letter Monday, which "reminded us of our obligation not to shred any documents."

In a written response to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which Robinson provided along with the Justice Department warning, Meconi said that "no DPC documents have been destroyed or discarded, nor will they be destroyed or discarded during the course of any state of federal investigation or inquiry."

"All records pertaining to DPC remain intact and accessible to any law enforcement or monitoring agency," Meconi wrote. "In addition to your directive, we have previously been directed not to destroy or discard DPC documents by the state Department of Justice."

The "document shredding program" has prompted calls for Meconi's resignation from Rep. Gregory F. Lavelle, R-Sharpley, who described the shredding as "the straw that broke the camel's back."

It also prompted action from State Treasurer Jack Markell.

Markell sent a letter to the co-chairs of Minner's task force, Rita Landgraff and Peter Ross, requesting they "make every attempt to address a series of pressing questions being raised by Delawareans."

"Over the past several weeks, I have heard again and again while traveling the state a deep level of concern over the many and continuing unanswered questions about ongoing care at the Delaware Psychiatric Center," Markell said. "With this letter, I am hoping to bring a more focused voice to many of those concerns that I share with so many other Delawareans, and to request of Governor Minner's task force that they try to make every attempt to provide these answers to the concerned families and friends raising them."

In his letter to the task force, Markell asks a lengthy series of questions, covering a broad scope of problems identified in the ongoing News Journal special report.

"There's a lot of unanswered questions," he told The News Journal. "I think the task force's work could benefit the state and the public if they tried to answer some unanswered questions. The commission they've been given is important, but I think there's a lot of unanswered questions that could restore public trust. The letter speaks for itself, in terms of my motivations."

Markell wants the co-chairs of Minner's task force to determine whether security cameras -- promised early on during The News Journal's investigation -- have been ordered, and whether DPC would be better off with a psychiatrist in charge.

He also wants to know why a request made by The News Journal under the state's Freedom of Information Act for copies of every patient-abuse report filed since 2001 was rejected. He hopes that the task force reviews the forms.

Another series of Markell's questions pertains to documented patient abuse. On July 2, patient Preston Hudson's jaw was broken in three places inside DPC's admissions unit.

On July 15, The News Journal quoted Jay Lynch, spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Services, saying that Hudson's claims of being beaten by employees of the hospital "are not credible" and that Hudson tripped on the edge of a mat.

On Aug. 6, an attendant was indicted for second-degree assault and patient abuse in the case. Anthony R. Liggians Jr., 32, of Wilmington, was fired by DPC shortly before the charges were filed. His criminal case is pending.

"The original statement by DPC that the patient 'tripped' is, frankly, suspect, in light of this indictment," Markell wrote. "The Department's spokesman said hospital investigators initially relied on internal reviews and medical records to conclude Hudson's claims were not credible. What exactly did those medical records say? Did the doctor who performed the surgery indicate that the patient likely tripped? Is there to be any accountability beyond the indictment of the attendant?"

Of the shredding, Markell asked: "What is the shredding policy for DPC if one exists at all? What exactly was shredded and why was this particular time chosen for the shredding?"

On Monday, Robinson said Markell will get his answers during an upcoming public hearing by the legislative committee investigating DPC.

"All of these questions are the ones that we're looking forward to answering at the Sept. 11 hearing," Robinson said. "We're happy that in his letter, he acknowledges there are a lot of employees that are dedicated to providing high-quality patient care."

Markell is expected to face Lt. Gov. John C. Carney in a Democratic primary next year to replace Minner. On Monday, Carney said he called Meconi about the shredding.

Last week, Gov. Minner has expressed her "utmost confidence in Secretary Meconi and his leadership team."

Asked Monday if he shared the governor's confidence in Meconi, Carney repeated his concerns about the shredding.

"I am very concerned overall about this issue of public trust," Carney said. "I think the administration out there needs to change their attitude a little toward the whole process, and be more responsive to the questions being asked."

Methadone Clinics Can Be Liable for Corporate Negligence

As reported here

A press release announces a landmark ruling by a Pennsylvania Court on Monday. A Blair County Common Pleas Court judge has ruled that methadone clinics can be liable for corporate negligence, just like hospitals. This is believed to be the first ruling of its kind in Pennsylvania.

The ruling comes as a result of a lawsuit brought before the court in 2004 against a private for-profit methadone clinic in Pennsylvania, a hospital, and a psychiatrist. The estate of Crystal M. Ickes filed this suit with the court. Crystal M. Ickes was a single mother of three who died in a car crash shortly after leaving Alliance Medical Services, Inc., a methadone clinic in Johnstown, PA. Crystal was returning home after her visit to the clinic, a journey of 46 miles back to her home in neighboring Altoona, PA.

Less than an hour after receiving the methadone dose, the car Ickes was driving crossed a median strip and struck a car operated by Matthew Stever, who suffered head injuries resulting in permanent neurological damage.

The Ickes complaint states that the combination of methadone, anti-depressants, and sleeping pills had impaired her ability to drive safely. The complaint states that she must have either suffered a seizure or fallen asleep at the wheel. This conclusion is supported by the fact that her car left no skid marks during this incident.

Judge Hiram A. Carpenter stated in this opinion, "For purposes of corporate liability, Alliance clearly meets the criteria of a healthcare provider." Alliance attorneys cited a Superior Court decision in Shannon v. McNulty, a lawsuit against an HMO. This case concluded that corporate liability is inapplicable to facilities that deal with limited aspects of a patient's care. Hospitals, on the other hand, provide a total healthcare approach to their patients.

The judge disagreed, however, and argued that the defendants' reliance on Shannon was "misplaced." The judge cited another case, Thomson v. Nason, where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court revealed a two-prong corporate liability test that the judge felt was met in the Ickes case.

The judge wrote in the opinion, "First, Plaintiff alleges that Alliance knew that its policies were ineffective in protecting the safety of its patients, yet failed to correct them. Plaintiff additionally alleges that failure resulted in Ms. Ickes being allowed to leave the facility to operate a vehicle in an overly-sedated state, causing her injuries."

This case is a landmark case as far as corporate negligence for healthcare providers goes. Other cases involving injuries suffered and inflicted by patients undergoing treatment at methadone clinics have come forth recently. With this decision by the Pennsylvania court today, we will have to see if the methadone clinics take extra precautions when treating their patients.

State rips nursing home - Violations at East Peoria facility lead to a $100,000 fine

The hell of a mental health facility combined with a nursing home. An investigative report by the Chicago Tribune

A troubled East Peoria nursing home and state health officials are gearing for battle after authorities fined the home $100,000 -- one of the largest such fines ever -- for neglect and faulty care of mentally ill and elderly patients.

In a report obtained by the Tribune, state health officials detailed violations at East Peoria Gardens Healthcare Center that are unusual in scope and severity, according to state officials and watchdog groups.

After a police raid in April, the state report provides additional evidence to support claims that mentally ill patients were sometimes out of control and tormented elderly residents, a pattern that developed after the facility began accelerating the admission of younger, more volatile psychiatric patients in August.

In the 1990s, the state relaxed rules on nursing homes, allowing psychiatric and geriatric patients to live side by side. After a disturbing series of incidents involving abuse of the older patients, including dozens of injuries and deaths reported to the state, new rules were created in 2000 governing the way those two patient populations are monitored.

But among nearly 4,500 detailed investigation reports compiled each year, officials say the situation at East Peoria this spring was one of the worst they have seen.

The Illinois Department of Public Health cited the facility for poor or no staff training, ignoring numerous falls of patients, failing to check patients for criminal backgrounds and providing no appropriate service to mentally ill residents, according to the report dated June 26, which was made in response to two dozen separate complaints.

"The facility failed to provide services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness," the report reads.

A police dragnet at the home in April led to the arrests of three patients and two employees on outstanding criminal warrants.

East Peoria Gardens plans to contest the fines and charges at a state hearing, a date for which has yet to be determined.

"Not only are we now operating in compliance, we categorically deny each and every charge -- including the fine -- presented by the state," said Meyer Magence, attorney for the home. "We are going to fight every one of them."

Authorities say the facility, which has about 100 residents, has improved procedures and conditions since the April raid.

The 50-page report paints a picture of a period in which communication was poor, mental patients did not receive proper medical and psychiatric care, and elderly patients were left to deteriorate.

"The breadth of the violations is extraordinary," said Wendy Meltzer, executive director of the watchdog monitor Illinois Citizens for Better Care. "It's really unusual to see this many violations affecting so many people. It's not something you see, fortunately, often."

Among the allegations in the report:

• Staff failed to try to revive a heart patient who fell and injured his head because they believed he was a hospice patient. He died soon after.
  
  
• Staff failed to properly diagnosis and monitor a 54-year-old patient who developed gangrene in his left toe.
  
  
• A 72-year-old mentally ill resident choked and died after eating a doughnut. A speech therapist had warned against giving the man difficult to swallow food but staff said they knew of no such order.
  
  
• An 81-year-old woman at the facility fell 10 times without staff putting in place precautions and a prevention plan. She died of complications from a fall.
  
  
• The facility did not have any treatment programs in place for 11 of 51 residents identified as "seriously mentally ill." With limited proper supervision in place, the safety of elderly residents was threatened when some psychiatric patients became agitated.
  
  
• The facility added more than 40 mentally ill patients from August 2006 to January and had no effective administration or adequately trained staff in place for the change.
  
  
• Seven patients were admitted with criminal records. The facility was unable to produce records showing it had notified the state as required.
  
  
• The facility failed to do background checks on 15 of the 19 residents with criminal records.

Magence declined to respond to the charges individually but called them "inaccurate."

State officials are not the only ones threatening the nursing home.

Medicaid and Medicare withheld five days of reimbursements for 66 eligible patients who were at the home in April, according to federal and state officials. Magence said he plans to contest that action.

A relative of Betty Saal, the 81-year-old woman who died after falling, is suing the facility.

The Tazewell County coroner also said he plans to soon convene an inquest into Saal's death to decide whether to file homicide charges.

"We don't know if she was pushed or fell down," said Coroner Dennis Conover. "We do know this was a nursing home gone wrong and that neglect led to her death."

The state also cites neglect in the case of 72-year-old Donald Utech, who died in April after eating breakfast. According to a preliminary autopsy, Utech died of choking. A Peoria County coroner's inquest concluded last week that the death was accidental.

But there is still conflicting testimony in Utech's case; home staffers say no food was in the man's mouth, while paramedics said food was trapped in his airway. The coroner's finding does not address the issue of neglect, according to Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll, who has jurisdiction because Utech was taken to a hospital in her county.

Officials from the Department of Public Health have called three other deaths in the last two years suspicious, but Magence said the facility bears no responsibility in any deaths.

"Absolutely none," he said.

Last month's $100,000 citation and report mark the second time the facility has faced stiff fines and sanctions.

In 2005, the facility was fined $20,000 by the state and faced weekly monitoring after two residents died following choking incidents.

The facility is again being monitored, this time twice a week, state officials said.

"The question is why was this allowed to go on for months unchecked?" asked Steven Levin, a Chicago personal injury attorney representing Saal's relative in a civil suit.

Settlement in psychiatric care lawsuit

A man seeks help, and doesn't get it. From the Herald Online in Rock Hill, SC

The family of a Rock Hill man who killed himself after being denied admission to Piedmont Medical Center will receive $1 million from the hospital in a lawsuit settlement, according to court documents.

Swain Walter Wright Jr., a 71-year-old father of two, was homicidal and suicidal in December 2001 when he twice sought admission to the psychiatric unit at PMC, the lawsuit says. He hung himself from a tree in his back yard, according to the lawsuit.

Wright's family sued Tenet Healthcare, the parent company of Piedmont Medical Center; Amisub of South Carolina, which does business as Piedmont Medical Center; Dr. Bruce H. Lobitz; and Lynn Murphy, a registered nurse and an employee of Amisub.

Tenet Healthcare and Lobitz later were dropped from the suit.

Amisub, a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare, will pay $1 million, according to the suit, filed by attorneys Joey Wright and Johnny Felder.

"The family hopes that the tragic loss of their father will cause changes to be made regarding admission of psychiatric patients seeking help at the emergency room of Piedmont Medical Center so that this does not happen to anyone else," Wright said.

Swain Wright had struggled with the death of his wife of 38 years and his retirement after 40 years with Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co., Joey Wright said.

"He had never had any psychiatric problems," Joey Wright said. "It is felt that if Mr. Wright had received appropriate counseling, he would have been able to deal with his problems."

Charles Miller, PMC's chief executive officer and president, referred questions to Spartanburg attorney Billy Gunn. He could not be reached for comment.

At issue in the lawsuit was Swain Wright's request for treatment in PMC's psychiatric unit. [...]

The suit is the second one settled by the hospital since March 19. The family of Herbert Cogan received $1.77 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after he was given the wrong drug because of a doctor's error.

Sentencing in Medicaid Fraud Case at MYPO Mental Health Clinic

From a press release by the Masrlyland Attorney General, as reported on South Maryland Online

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Angelo Reynolds, 39, of the 8400 block of Pattette Place in White Plains, has been sentenced to five years incarceration with all but one year suspended, and to be served in home detention. The sentence comes after Reynolds pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to one count of felony Medicaid fraud for his role in defrauding the Medicaid program of at least $150,000. The Honorable John M. Glynn also ordered Reynolds to pay restitution of $150,000 over the course of five years of supervised probation.

Reynolds, who holds a PhD in Education and is a former police officer, was the owner of MYPO, Inc, a mental health clinic that had its principal office at 1600 Calvert Street in Baltimore City. From November, 2003, through June, 2004, Reynolds’ company billed Medicaid $496,000 for mental health therapy sessions it claimed had been provided to residents of Baltimore City and Prince Georges County. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General revealed that throughout the seven month period, MYPO billed for multiple therapy sessions before anyone from the company had met with the patient. Additionally, company documents showed that Reynolds’ company billed for having treated patients during time periods when no therapist was even assigned to the individual seeking therapy.

MYPO received the vast majority of its patients as a result of referrals from The Bridges Project, LLC, a provider of unskilled counseling services to eligible Medicaid recipients, mostly children, in the Baltimore area. Prior to referring patients to MYPO, Bridges had been referring patients to Dr. James An Nguyen, a psychiatrist. Dr. Nguyen pled guilty in 2005 to defrauding Medicaid of $340,000 and received a sentence that included 18 months incarceration. Two of the owners of Bridges, Guy Bell and Robin Carroll-El, have been charged with felony Medicaid fraud and theft of as much as four million dollars in and are scheduled to go to trial in Baltimore Circuit Court on May 16, 2007.

The case was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. The MFCU conducted the investigation with assistance from the Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA), which suspended payments to MYPO in June of 2004. MHA has been working with the MFCU to root out fraud in its programs, and several cases of fraudulent behavior by MHA providers have been successfully prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstock for his work on the case.

Death of impaired woman: Another psychiatric clinic drops the ball

A sad tale in which the experts at a state psychiatric institution screw up and cause the death of an impaired woman. via KVOA

A woman who died in a Flagstaff jail wasn't supposed to be behind bars at the time of her death, and may not have died in the first place if jail staff had known about her serious medical condition, according to police and investigative reports.

Lindsey G. Chewning, 23, died of complications from morbid obesity in the Coconino County Detention Facility in November, according to an autopsy report.

Other reports obtained by the Arizona Daily Sun show Chewning had sleep apnea and was not given the oxygen she needed while she slept.

Jail staff said they were never told Chewning had sleep apnea, and that if they had known, they would have been able to help her.

Chewning had been transferred to the jail after police records show she bit a staff member at the Guidance Center, a mental health clinic. Chewning was mentally ill and had the mental capacity of a child.

Jay McCarthy, attorney for the Guidance Center, declined to comment on the case.

But police reports show Flagstaff officer Michael Lavelle responded to the Guidance Center on Nov. 11 after receiving a call about an assault.

Staff in the psychiatric acute care unit told Lavelle that Chewning, angry over not being able to watch "The Little Mermaid," had bitten one of the staff members, leaving a mark and bruising. A supervisor requested that Chewning be taken to the jail.

Lavelle did just that. He later told an investigator that staff at the Guidance Center never told him about Chewning's condition.

The nursing staff at the jail also said they were not told of Chewning's condition, even after they called the Guidance Center for more information about Chewning, according to Coconino County Sheriff's Office reports.

Department of Economic Security investigator Mark Adams interviewed Guidance Center staff responsible for Chewning's care. They could not recall if they had told the jail or arresting officer of Chewning's sleep apnea, according to Adams's report.

Guidance Center CEO Linda Cowan declined to comment about Chewning's case.

Reports also show Chewning was supposed to be released from the jail three days before her death, when a judge had decided that no charges would be filed against her.

But rather than being sent back to the Guidance Center, where Chewning was to await a transfer to the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix, a Guidance Center psychiatrist decided it would be best for Chewning to stay in the jail, according to Adams's report.

The psychiatrist, Christopher Linsky, told Adams he didn't want to needlessly stress Chewning.

Chewning was to be transferred to the state hospital the day after she died.

Sheriff Bill Pribil said that jail was no place for Chewning or any other acutely mentally ill person. But, he said the Guidance Center wouldn't take Chewning back.

"One alternative was to let her out the front door, but because of her issues, that would have put her in harm's way, and she probably would have committed another crime," Pribil said. "We were trying to do the best thing for her."

Psychiatrist Accused Of Sexual Misconduct With Patients

Reported by WSB-TV Atlanta

There is also this extended report, as well as this

A Tuscaloosa psychiatrist has been banned from practicing medicine in the state after allegations of sexual misconduct with at least four of his patients.

Allie Boyd's medical license was revoked when the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners ruled on Jan. 4 that he engaged in unprofessional conduct that was "immoral, willful, and shameful" and goes against the Medical Licensure Commission's rules.

Five former patients filed suit against Boyd in May 2005, claiming sexual harassment during his care at North Harbor Pavilion, at the Tuscaloosa Treatment Center and his private residence.

Telesa Dent Morrison, Dianna Marie Spencer, Diane Cannon Watkins, Jeremy Franklin and Marcus W. Skelton filed lawsuits against Boyd, alleging that he made inappropriate sexual advances, offered prescription medication for sexual favors and, in some cases, groped them.

The suit also states that Boyd threatened to withdraw prescription medications from the patients if they did not keep the events secret.

The Tuscaloosa News reported on the incident in a story for Friday's editions. Boyd's attorney, Robert Coleman, did not immediately return calls from the paper.

Boyd sent a letter to his patients Wednesday, stating that he is retiring.

"After over 30 years in the practice of medicine, and due to recent personal health issues, I find it necessary for me to retire," the letter said. "This retirement is effective immediately."

Justice Smyth, who represents the patients, said Boyd is not facing any criminal charges but that could change if one of his previous patients makes a complaint to the district attorney.

DCH Healthcare, which runs North Harbor, is named as a defendant in two of the suits.

Spokesman Bernard Grappe said DCH first learned about the complaints through a letter from Smyth in September 2004, and Boyd was immediately placed on temporary suspension. The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners was also notified at that time.