State investigating alleged sexual assault at Montana State Hospital

The state well being division confirmed Tuesday it’s investigating an allegation of a patient-on-patient sexual assault that occurred on the Montana State Hospital over the weekend.

In line with an worker who requested to stay nameless out of worry of retribution, the alleged assault occurred round 11 p.m. Friday. When a nurse checked on sufferers at shift change, the nurse discovered two male sufferers within the unit’s TV room the place one affected person was sexually assaulting the opposite, in keeping with the worker, who spoke to the nurse concerning the incident and relayed the data to the Every day Montanan.

The worker stated police have been referred to as, and the hospital’s new administrator, Carter Anderson, was conscious of the incident.

Whereas Jon Ebelt, spokesperson for the Division of Public Well being and Human Providers, wouldn’t touch upon the specifics of the matter, he confirmed the state was investigating, and that police had been referred to as to the ability, as reported to the Every day Montanan by two workers members. “As a consequence of confidentiality, we can’t touch upon the matter at this time limit,” Ebelt stated in an e-mail.

Anaconda Police Chief Invoice Sather and Deputy Police Chief Cody Hanson didn’t reply to voicemails Monday or Tuesday or an e-mail concerning the incident by the point of publication.

“Apparently, somebody didn’t shut the door to the TV room all the best way and (the nurse) discovered the 2 sufferers down there,” the worker accustomed to the incident stated. The worker stated sufferers are alleged to be supervised whereas in that space.

Friday’s incident isn’t the primary patient-on-patient sexual assault within the Spratt Unit. When Danielle Lewis was involuntarily dedicated to the state psychiatric hospital in 2020, she earlier instructed the Every day Montanan that sufferers on the ground groped her chest and crotch. And in March of this 12 months, a feminine affected person was bodily assaulted by one other affected person on the hospital, in keeping with earlier media stories.

The current assaults are a part of compounding points on the Heat Springs hospital, together with the hospital’s incapacity to stop lethal affected person falls and implement a COVID-19 prevention plan. A February investigation of the hospital by the Facilities for Medicaid and Medicare discovered the hospital was out of compliance with federal requirements, contributing to the dying of 4 sufferers in 5 months. On account of the investigation, the hospital misplaced its federal funding in early April.

Final week at a legislative interim committee assembly, lawmakers reiterated their issues concerning the situation of the hospital to DPHHS Director Adam Meier. Rep. Danny Tenenbaum, D-Missoula, and Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, referred to as on the division to take fast motion to treatment the hospital’s shortcomings.

In response to issues, Meier backed up his administration’s systematic strategy to addressing the problems, together with hiring New York-based consulting agency Alvarez and Marsal, which signed a $2.2 million contract with the state to overview the hospital’s operations and supply suggestions to the state. In line with the division, Alvarez and Marsal consultants started their work on April 18 and met with a handful of stakeholders within the state and on the hospital, together with workers, union representatives, and incapacity rights advocacy teams.

And DPHHS eliminated the hospital’s earlier administrator, Kyle Fouts. Workers closely scrutinized Fouts and alleged he created a hostile work atmosphere.

Jack Griswold, worker union president on the hospital, stated the reported sexual assault over the weekend was in the end a results of low staffing numbers on the hospital.

In line with a report from the Division of Public Well being and Human Providers, the general workers emptiness price on the hospital was 40% as of March 8. And the hospital has been hemorrhaging cash by hiring contracted staff to fill vacancies. By December of 2021, contracted nurse assistants have been billed for 16,000 hours in that month in comparison with simply 2,000 in January 2021, a 700 p.c enhance, in keeping with DPHHS knowledge. As of March, the hospital was $7.4 million over its price range for the present fiscal 12 months.

“The Spratt Unit is run by contracted staff … on the finish of the day, a number of these contracted staff are working a number of days with lengthy shifts in a row, and it’s affecting their potential to work,” Griswold stated.