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Texas accused of ‘Warehousing’ mentally disabled population
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Thirteen state hospitals house over 5,000 patients
In the past forty years, most states determined that psychiatric institutions or as they were once known “Insane Asylums” have been abolished as a psychiatric model. In the 1960s a mass deinstitutionalization took place in 13 states, with the idea that patients fared better in smaller, community based settings. Feeling that institutions were far too isolating to people from their communities, families and that the large population of these places overwhelmed the staff and lay the patient open to abuse and exploitation.
However, the Justice Department on Tuesday accused Texas of violating the constitutional rights of these patients. By keeping 13 state hospitals open housing around 5,000 patients. In addition, hundreds of documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that some patients have been neglected, beaten, sexually abused or even killed by caretakers. Inspection reports also describe filthy rooms and unsanitary kitchens.
On a per-capita basis, Texas has 20.4 people per 100,000 in large institutions; the national average is 12.2 people. With the induction of the Mental Health Parity Bill and Federal law dictating equal rights for patients diagnoses with mental illness with those of medical illness coupled with the high abuse cases that were opened just in the fiscal year of 2007, prompted the Justice Department to open this case against the state of Texas.
In 2007 465 cases of abuse were confirmed while hundreds more were opened. In the same year, 53 avoidable deaths were documented such as pneumonia, flu, overdose and bowel obstruction. More disturbingly, two employees were fired (not arrested) for throwing a patient into a pool while in full restraints, nearly drowning him. In 2002, at Denton State School, a care worker kicked and punched a patient until they were nearly dead. As a result this patient is now confined to a wheelchair and unable to go to the bathroom on his own.
This widespread, abuse is only that which is documented. Which is to say, that many more of these people, obscured from society have no voice at all and may, in fact suffer far worse. While Texas is an extreme example of what happens at many state run, large population institutions, it is not just confined simply to this state and is noted in nearly every state in the union. Increasingly so in places which still house large number of patients in the aforementioned facilities.
