Lawrence, Ind. — The state and federal governments cited Lawrence Mental Health Facility following a survey of WRTV’s healthcare practices.
The optional behavioral health system faces 10 pending lawsuits from former patients and their families, with facilities holding them against their will and operating “like a prison.”
Records show that Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) inspectors are working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 21st, 22nd and 25th, 2024.
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WRTV looked into the first questions about optional behavioral health on October 29th, introducing Frankfort’s father, Craig Inman.
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Inman is also known as chemical restraint, complaining to the Indiana Department of Health in October, claiming that his then-12-year-old daughter had been significantly sedated by optional staff.
WRTV
“I took a lot of action,” Inman said. “When you hurt my child, I have no choice but to fight back.”
He also filed a lawsuit alleging that optional behavioral health staff had detained his daughter against her will without medical basis.
“This is a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide, went to the hospital for help, was tortured and held hostage,” Inman said. “They shouldn’t be able to do this to their kids.”
IDOH inspectors discovered multiple violations of federal regulations regarding optional behavioral health during their November visit to the facility, records show.
- Inappropriate control and isolation. The state noted that the facility had sedated (using chemical restraints) on Inman’s daughter, but failed to show that staff tried restrictive methods such as “verbal discussion, relaxation activities, voluntary timeouts, redirects, and/or distractions.”
- Not promoting or protecting patient rights. The state called it a “systematic issue,” noting that staff were unable to conduct in-person evaluations of patients within an hour of the onset of detention. Before administering chemical restraints, the least restrictive method of restraint could not be documented, and the patient’s response to chemical restraints could not be documented.
- Inappropriate supervision and missing documents. The state noted that nursing staff at the facility were unable to complete the case report due to assault, physical conflict and/or chemical detention of a patient of Craig Inman’s daughter. The inspectors have discovered other cases of lost documentation, including injections not recorded in the patient’s medical records.
The state interviewed the “Quality Director” of Option Behavioral Health System on November 22 to confirm that nursing staff did not complete an assault or suppression case report of Inman’s daughter, but should.
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Craig Inman said the lack of documents is the most prominent thing about the state’s inspection report.
“The paperwork and how they treated themselves and they say they are experts,” Inman said. “They haven’t even apologized yet. We haven’t received an apology.”
According to a February 5 letter from Idoh to Inmans, Options Behavioral Health has identified ways to fix the issue and submitted a revision plan to prevent it from occurring in the future.
Mental health facilities were not fined by IDOH or CMS.
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Father files lawsuit against mental health facilities
Read the IDOH letter: “We will continue to monitor compliance with these requirements when we complete the required condition of the facility and/or federal investigation.” “The complaints are currently closed.”
Craig Inman said that wasn’t enough.
“There’s zero accountability,” Inman said. “I have never seen a bit of accountability from Acadia, and when you hurt my family, a red flag was raised.
Acadia Healthcare is the parent company of Options Behavioral Health.
The WRTV investigation contacted the IDOH testing report, and the spokesman provided the following statement on behalf of Acadia Healthcare:
“While we cannot discuss a particular patient situation due to patient privacy laws, patient dignity and happiness are at the heart of everything we do, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for actions that may put our protocol at risk. Patients and communities provide behavioral health care based on the latest evidence.”
Craig Inman says his daughter is still struggling with what happened at Options Behavioral Health.
“It’s not gone because of options,” Inman said. “They are still open. They had no issues.”
IDOH’s November 2024 optional behavioral health test report Not posted online As of March 21st.
“It definitely should be,” Inman said.
Kenny, Kara
Idoh and the CMS asked why the report was not published online.
As of the March 21 deadline, we have not received an explanation as to why the inspection report is not a public record.
A CMS spokesperson said the optional behavioral health system currently complies with all federal requirements for participation in the Medicare program.
CMS also provided WRTV with a copy of the facility’s amendment action plan.
You can search for healthcare facility inspection reports here: Healthcare provider consumer reports
However, another state agency, the Department of Family and Social Services (FSSA), also inspects mental health facilities, which are not posted online.
In fact, if the public wants to view a mental health hospital’s testing report, they must request a copy through a formal record request under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
The WRTV survey took four months to receive an optional behavioral health test report. I requested them on July 15th, 2024 and received two reports on November 13th, 2024.
The last two FSSA test reports on optional behavioral health were completed in July 2023 and July 2024. Therefore, WRTV expects FSSA to perform its next test this summer.
“I want the state to come in and take a more active role, so that businesses won’t be able to come and do this,” Inman said. “That’s crazy.”
Inman also contacted him the Indiana Attorney General’s office and said they were investigating.
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“Hopefully there’s a lot more,” Inman said.
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“We are aware of optional behavioral health complaints and are making appropriate enquiries,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said in an email to WRTV.
The WRTV investigation was also contacted the FSSA.
“Both the Indiana Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health Addictions of the Indiana Department of Social Services can investigate complaints received by agencies,” FSSA spokesman James Vaughn said in an email to WRTV. “To get a license, a private mental health agency must meet up. Indiana Management CodeRequirements. As a licensing agency, DMHA can conduct annual inspections and investigate all complaints and cases reported by licensed private mental health agencies to determine whether there is a violation of Indiana’s administrative law. ”
The WRTV investigation also found that they file a complaint against Indiana Mental Health Facilities. It cannot be done online. You have to call 1-800-901-1133.
You can contact Kara Kenney on wrtv survey kara.kenney@wrtv.com
