FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephanie Mantegna, House of Representatives,
stephanie.mantegna@state.de.us
STATE REPRESENTATIVE CATHCART CALLS FOR
THE RESIGNATIONS OF TOP DHSS OFFICIALS
House Majority Leader Richard C. Cathcart
(R-Middletown) today followed his colleague, State Representative Gregory
F. Lavelle (R-Sharpley), in calling for the immediate resignation of Delaware
Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Vincent P. Meconi and two other top DHSS officials, following recent
published reports about alleged mismanagement at the Delaware Psychiatric
Center (DPC).
In addition to Secretary Meconi’s resignation,
Rep. Cathcart also called for the resignations of Renata Henry, Director of the Division of Substance Abuse
and Mental Health, and Husam Abdallah,
DPC Director.
Rep. Cathcart, Chairman of the legislative Delaware Psychiatric
Center Investigative Committee, stated, “More than a year ago, my committee
began investigating the DPC, and what we found was astounding. We found patients had been abused, neglected
and intimidated, and to date, nothing has changed in DHSS leadership.”
Rep. Cathcart continued, “Now, we have more evidence from the State
Auditor’s Office that some DPC employees continue to mistreat the patients
they are supposed to be taking care of. We’re
talking about thousands of dollars in patients’ financial accounts that remain
unaccounted for. It is an embarrassment
that the only response on the part of DHSS is that the Auditor’s findings
were ‘unsubstantiated.’ The Secretary and
his two top officials continue to pick and choose what benefits them
over what benefits the patients and an overwhelming majority
of employees.”
After the State Senate refused to take up even one of the DPC Committee’s
many reform measures that passed the House this past legislative session,
Rep. Cathcart said it is time for Secretary Meconi,
Ms. Henry and Mr. Abdallah to resign. He said, “Nothing has improved at the facility
and it is business as usual at the DPC. I have no faith in the DHSS and DPC leadership
and the public’s trust continues to be violated. It is time for the Governor to remove Secretary
Meconi, Ms. Henry and Mr. Abdallah from their duties.”
Among the bills proposed by the DPC Investigative Committee that passed
the House but were never considered in the Senate include:
·
Legislation that requires the DPC to notify
the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) within 72 hours of a critical
incident and/or death at the facility. CLASI
is authorized by federal law to investigate all such occurrences.
The bill also requires all DPC’s critical incident reports to be sequentially numbered.
·
Legislation adding a number of protections
to the rights of patients at the DPC, including the administration of patient
restraints. The bill is intended to ensure that safeguards
are in place so that “the restraint is the least restrictive alternative intervention
to prevent physical harm to the patient or others.”
·
Legislation that ensures CLASI’s
Patient Advocate is granted clear access, without interference from the DPC,
to patient records and files as the organization investigates complaints of
abuse, neglect or mistreatment at the facility.
The bill also protects DPC employees from reprisal or harassment in
the event they report a case of alleged abuse at the facility.
·
Legislation establishing an independent Morbidity
and Mortality Review Committee that would be responsible for reviewing all
deaths at the DPC to determine the cause and to determine whether changes
to the delivery of services are needed.
·
Legislation that implements a mandatory uniform
policy for all staff to help delineate staff from everyone else.
·
Legislation that requires all DPC employees
responsible for direct patient care to be subject to criminal background checks
and drug testing.
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