Rest in Peace, Chris.
BELOW:
A) INTRODUCTION
B) PHOENIX ABC CH15 INVESTIGATIVE NEWS REPORT, SEPT. 12, 2013
C) PERSONAL STATEMENT
D) DISCUSSION
E) AFTERWORD
A) INTRODUCTION
AS A MATTER OF PRACTICALITY, I WANT TO REMIND MY READERS OF THE FACT THAT:
AT THIS TIME (SEPTEMBER 2013), THE ARIZONA STATE HOSPITAL IS YET AGAIN OPERATING WITHOUT A DULY HIRED AND QUALIFIED SUPERVISOR, JUST AS IT WAS IN THE SUMMER OF 2011, WHEN THE VIOLENT ESCAPE OF JESUS MURIETTA OCCURRED, ONLY TO BE COVERED UP BY THOSE PERSONS GRANTED INTERIM AUTHORITY AT ASH, WHICH AS WE ALL KNOW BY NOW, DID IN FACT LEAD TO THE BRUTAL MURDER OF AN INNOCENT MEMBER OF THE GREATER PUBLIC.
THE LACK OF A DULY HIRED SUPERVISOR AT ASH IS 100% UNACCEPTABLE IN TERMS OF THE OBLIGATIONS DUE TO ARIZONA TAXPAYERS, AND HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE INEPTITUDE OF ADHS DIRECTOR WILL HUMBLE, AND HIS UNDERLINGS IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF AZ BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES. BUSINESS AS USUAL, AT THE EXPENSE OF ARIZONA'S TAXPAYERS, AND TO THE UNDENIABLE DETRIMENT OF THE SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS AT ASH.
------------------------------------------------------AT THIS TIME (SEPTEMBER 2013), THE ARIZONA STATE HOSPITAL IS YET AGAIN OPERATING WITHOUT A DULY HIRED AND QUALIFIED SUPERVISOR, JUST AS IT WAS IN THE SUMMER OF 2011, WHEN THE VIOLENT ESCAPE OF JESUS MURIETTA OCCURRED, ONLY TO BE COVERED UP BY THOSE PERSONS GRANTED INTERIM AUTHORITY AT ASH, WHICH AS WE ALL KNOW BY NOW, DID IN FACT LEAD TO THE BRUTAL MURDER OF AN INNOCENT MEMBER OF THE GREATER PUBLIC.
THE LACK OF A DULY HIRED SUPERVISOR AT ASH IS 100% UNACCEPTABLE IN TERMS OF THE OBLIGATIONS DUE TO ARIZONA TAXPAYERS, AND HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE INEPTITUDE OF ADHS DIRECTOR WILL HUMBLE, AND HIS UNDERLINGS IN THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF AZ BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES. BUSINESS AS USUAL, AT THE EXPENSE OF ARIZONA'S TAXPAYERS, AND TO THE UNDENIABLE DETRIMENT OF THE SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS AT ASH.
B) PHOENIX ABC15 NEWS ARTICLE, PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 12, 2013
Arizona mental hospital patient's death raising safety, staffing level concern. By: David Biscobing, September 12, 2013. (Phoenix ABC CH15)
"ABC15 has learned that top hospital administrators… are trying to find out who’s providing us with information." (see below)
"ABC15 has learned that top hospital administrators… are trying to find out who’s providing us with information." (see below)
Blackwell died early Tuesday morning after collapsing at the state mental hospital. The circumstances surrounding his death are raising further questions about safety, staffing levels, security and violence at the Arizona State Hospital (ASH). In a series of exclusive reports, the ABC15 Investigators have exposed a disturbing level of violence at the hospital and a startling number of escapes amidst deep cuts to security.
A TROUBLED YOUNG MAN LOSES HIS LIFE.
Chris Blackwell was a young man with serious mental illness. He had been committed at the state mental hospital for the past two years. According to hospital officials, Blackwell collapsed in his room just after 10 p.m. Monday.
A statement from a hospital spokesperson says staff immediately “initiated emergency medical response procedures.” Blackwell was transported by ambulance to the nearby Maricopa Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday.
The Arizona State Hospital is not releasing any additional information about Blackwell's death, citing privacy laws. But insiders and sources close to the case tell the ABC15 Investigators there is more to the story of how Christopher Paul Blackwell lived and died. Despite Blackwell's illness, he was never considered dangerous to others, according to our sources. However, Chris had a history of swallowing dangerous objects. A friend of Chris Blackwell told ABC15 he told her earlier this year about swallowing a radio antenna. He wasn’t suicidal, but mental health experts say some patients do things like cutting themselves or swallowing dangerous objects to deal with stress. Multiple sources told the ABC15 Investigators that Blackwell was designated a “one-to-one patient.”
That designation means he was considered such a danger to himself because of his propensity to swallow objects that he was supposed to be carefully monitored, watched by a staff member 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The official cause of Blackwell's death has yet to be determined. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner will conduct an investigation and make a determination. But sources say doctors at the county hospital found Blackwell had lacerations to his colon and small intestines caused by objects he had swallowed while at the Arizona State Hospital. Sources told the ABC15 Investigators that despite being closely watched, in the past few months Blackwell managed to swallow pieces of a broken compact disc and a piece of an eyeglass frame. Insiders claim that because of low staffing levels and a dangerous environment, it’s difficult or impossible to provide adequate care for patients and recently at least one Arizona lawmaker has said he is considering calling for hearings to address problems at the hospital. Dozens of current and former hospital staffers have told the ABC15 Investigators that high levels of staff turnover that results in part from dangerous levels of violence at the hospital are factors in their ability to adequately monitor and provide treatment to patients.
One of numerous insiders we spoke with who have actually treated Chris Blackwell told us staffing shortages and violence inside the hospital have a direct impact on staffers' ability to watch patients like Blackwell 24/7.
“It actually got to the point where every single day, I’m on the floor alone,” said one insider, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. “There are many days I will be on the floor alone, other staff will be on the floor alone.”
People who knew Chris Blackwell said he was well-liked and they are heartbroken over his death.
Officials at the Arizona State Hospital declined to provide answers to most of our questions about the tragedy, citing privacy concerns, but a spokesperson with the state health department issued this written statement:
“At approximately 10:10 p.m. on September 9th a patient at the hospital collapsed in their room. Hospital staff observed the patient collapse and immediately initiated emergency medical response procedures. The individual was transferred by ambulance to the emergency room and was treated for several hours by medical staff. Medical staff was unable to stabilize the individual’s medical condition and the patient expired shortly after 3:40 a.m, on September 10th. The cause of death remains under investigation and will be determined by the medical examiner.”
ABC15 has learned that top hospital administrators are also investigating Blackwell's death as well as trying to find out who’s providing us with information. We’re working to find out if police are also investigating the death.
If you have any information about the Arizona State Hospital, contact ABC15 Investigator David Biscobing at dbiscobing@abc15.com.
Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/abc15-exclusive-death-of-state-mental-hospital-patient-under-investigation-raising-concerns#ixzz2etjm2vok
(END OF ARTICLE)
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C) PERSONAL STATEMENT
I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the staff of Phoenix ABC Ch15's for their willingness to grant Chris Blackwell his due respect in relation to his tragic and untimely death. My thanks to friend and reporter David Biscobing, for I know just how committed he is to delving into the deplorable care practices at ASH, as they have stood for far, far too many years. It is clear to me that if not for this report, we the public- including Chris' personal friends (such as myself)- would never have learned that this troubled young man lost his life while undergoing treatment in a hospital. I can attest to the fact that, if the administrators and senior clinicians have their way, the standard protocol, aka "What happens at ASH stays at ASH", would continue to allow the grossly substandard conditions at ASH to prevail, unabated and without due oversight.
As stated already, I contend that it is no coincidence that this young man's death just happened to occur at a time when ASH was lacking a duly hired and qualified Supervisor/CEO. For it in was the summer of 2011, when this precise condition was also in effect, that the criminal cover up of Jesus Murietta's escape occurred, which directly led to the brutal murder of an innocent young Phoenix woman. Responsible parties include:
-(then) interim ASH Supervisor Ann Froio;
-(then) ASH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven Dingle (since promoted within the ADHS/BHS framework!);
- ASH Chief Operating Officer Donna Noriega (who is at this very time the acting Supervisor at ASH!);
- long time on-site ASH legal counsel Joel Rudd (who works at ASH in his capacity as a staff attorney with the Arizona Office of Attorney General);
- Jesus Murietta's primary attending psychiatrist Dr. Steven Morris (who as per the practice was most directly familiar with and responsible for establishing Murietta's state of mind, and who I believe is now in private practice in the Phoenix area: 8151 E Indian Bend Rd, Set 105B, Scottsdale, AZ 85250 [this is the man's purported operating business address, available online at www.vitals.com);
- and not to be forgotten, former short time ASH Supervisor Cory Nelson, who willfully engaged in furthering the highly inaccurate information specific to this issue following the horrific slaying of April Mott, by characterizing the cover up process itself as a matter of Murietta's "civil rights";
- and finally, any number of other like administrative representatives, senior clinical staff (including current ASH Chief Medical Officer Laxman Patel), and any associated staff who had/have the common sense to recognize the critical nature of this matter as it played out in May-September, 2011; all of whom willfully chose to deny the public of their due rights in this context- which did undeniably cost April Mott her life.
As a matter of fact, I further contend that any/all senior staff members at ASH, be it in the clinical or administrative context, had reasonably clear awareness of the nature of this matter as it arose (five days a week, at 9:00 a.m., the various senior staff at ASH attend a formal daily planning meeting, and herein would be that moment when they did on fact opt to deceptively alter the factual reality at stake in this matter), and then- as a group sharing equal obligation to Arizona taxpayers- willfully turned a blind eye towards the issue, in graphic defiance of the public trust, a shared action that did- AGAIN- undeniably cost April Mott her life.
This simple fact clearly illustrates how critically deep the wrongdoing at ASH is, and I need to emphasize again the simple fact that these issues directly detriment the flow of treatment that is required to serve the overall needs of ASH's patients, for all such ineptitude invariably lands squarely on the heads of the patient community as a whole. There is no justification at all for allowing a hospital with this type of history to function under the authority of persons willing to break the law in this context. And yet at ASH:
I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the staff of Phoenix ABC Ch15's for their willingness to grant Chris Blackwell his due respect in relation to his tragic and untimely death. My thanks to friend and reporter David Biscobing, for I know just how committed he is to delving into the deplorable care practices at ASH, as they have stood for far, far too many years. It is clear to me that if not for this report, we the public- including Chris' personal friends (such as myself)- would never have learned that this troubled young man lost his life while undergoing treatment in a hospital. I can attest to the fact that, if the administrators and senior clinicians have their way, the standard protocol, aka "What happens at ASH stays at ASH", would continue to allow the grossly substandard conditions at ASH to prevail, unabated and without due oversight.
As stated already, I contend that it is no coincidence that this young man's death just happened to occur at a time when ASH was lacking a duly hired and qualified Supervisor/CEO. For it in was the summer of 2011, when this precise condition was also in effect, that the criminal cover up of Jesus Murietta's escape occurred, which directly led to the brutal murder of an innocent young Phoenix woman. Responsible parties include:
-(then) interim ASH Supervisor Ann Froio;
-(then) ASH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven Dingle (since promoted within the ADHS/BHS framework!);
- ASH Chief Operating Officer Donna Noriega (who is at this very time the acting Supervisor at ASH!);
- long time on-site ASH legal counsel Joel Rudd (who works at ASH in his capacity as a staff attorney with the Arizona Office of Attorney General);
- Jesus Murietta's primary attending psychiatrist Dr. Steven Morris (who as per the practice was most directly familiar with and responsible for establishing Murietta's state of mind, and who I believe is now in private practice in the Phoenix area: 8151 E Indian Bend Rd, Set 105B, Scottsdale, AZ 85250 [this is the man's purported operating business address, available online at www.vitals.com);
- and not to be forgotten, former short time ASH Supervisor Cory Nelson, who willfully engaged in furthering the highly inaccurate information specific to this issue following the horrific slaying of April Mott, by characterizing the cover up process itself as a matter of Murietta's "civil rights";
- and finally, any number of other like administrative representatives, senior clinical staff (including current ASH Chief Medical Officer Laxman Patel), and any associated staff who had/have the common sense to recognize the critical nature of this matter as it played out in May-September, 2011; all of whom willfully chose to deny the public of their due rights in this context- which did undeniably cost April Mott her life.
As a matter of fact, I further contend that any/all senior staff members at ASH, be it in the clinical or administrative context, had reasonably clear awareness of the nature of this matter as it arose (five days a week, at 9:00 a.m., the various senior staff at ASH attend a formal daily planning meeting, and herein would be that moment when they did on fact opt to deceptively alter the factual reality at stake in this matter), and then- as a group sharing equal obligation to Arizona taxpayers- willfully turned a blind eye towards the issue, in graphic defiance of the public trust, a shared action that did- AGAIN- undeniably cost April Mott her life.
This simple fact clearly illustrates how critically deep the wrongdoing at ASH is, and I need to emphasize again the simple fact that these issues directly detriment the flow of treatment that is required to serve the overall needs of ASH's patients, for all such ineptitude invariably lands squarely on the heads of the patient community as a whole. There is no justification at all for allowing a hospital with this type of history to function under the authority of persons willing to break the law in this context. And yet at ASH:
SNAFU personified. Substandard medical-mental health care as a matter of standard practice- and they are getting away with it!
Chris was admitted to ASH during the latter six months of my time as a patient at The Arizona State Hospital. I met him pretty quickly, for he has a very friendly demeanor, and for at least some period, was not being subject to one-on-one care, which allowed him to move freely around the hospital grounds, engage in group therapy and recreational activities, and generally interact with the greater patient community. And while I do not recall all of our conversations, I do remember that he was struggling with the impacts of a recent heartbreak in his own right, a romantic loss which he stated did in fact cause him to be considering suicide, at that point in time. This was one key aspect to why I took an interest in Chris's well being, for I too know what is like to seriously consider suicide in relation to life's various stresses. And as stated already, this young man was one of the kindest individuals I have ever come to know, at ASH or elsewhere; but I am also compelled to add that, given my having met him at The Arizona State Hospital, this is not unusual. For I have learned in recent years that many persons affected by serious mental illness possess the most virtuous personality characteristics imaginable, in spite of the debilitating affects of their mental health problems, a dynamic that I sincerely believe exists in direct relation to the fact that through their given experiences as persons affected in this context, such individuals know how critical it is to share kindness and civility to fullest of your given ability. I am, thus, also very concerned about the impacts of Chris Blackwell's death on the patient community at ASH, for those of us who posses sincere care for each other really suffer whenever our peers are subject to harm in any context.
Chris and I became friends as soon as he arrived at ASH, and I am very disturbed to learn of his untimely passing. There is simply no justifiable reason for this young man's death, and no matter how much ASH's administrators try to rationalize this as an unavoidable event, the bare bones fact that he was a residential patient at ASH has as much if not more to do with his death than any one other related fact.
D) DISCUSSION
D) DISCUSSION
So far as the fact that ABC Ch15 reporter David Biscobing is now aware that at the administrators at ASH are "trying to find out who’s providing us with information", I will take advantage of the opportunity to state four specific dynamics that I feel are of crucial worth to this issue as it stands:
(1) I am one of Phoenix area ABC/Ch15's sources, openly sharing my information about the substandard conditions at ASH- JUST AS I DID WITH THE AZ REPUBLIC NEWSPAPER IN RELATION TO THE BRTUAL MURDER OF APRIL MOTT IN SUMMER, 2011, WHEN I WAS AN ASH PATIENT. And at this time, ABC Ch15 is far from the only source of public interest reporting that I am currently collaborating with. I am not afraid or otherwise unwilling to openly attest to this. In express contradiction to the perverted beliefs and gross ineptitude of ASH administrators and senior clinicians- who willfully engaged in systematic retaliation when I openly sought to address staff misconduct while in their highly questionable "care"- , I do as a citizen of the United States have an obligation to report such unlawful misconduct anytime I witness or experience it, and I am more than happy to do whatever I can to see that the individuals most responsible for these issues are brought to justice. The fact is, the Rat Bastards at ASH already know this about me anyway, for I did make clear my intent to bring these matters to light, and I somewhat relish this chance to remind Cory Nelson, Donna Noriega, Dr. Stephen Dingle, Dr. Laxman Patel, and Dr. Pervaiz Akhter (just to name a few), of the fact that while I was hospitalized at ASH, and therein being subjected to clearly unlawful medical practices, I warned them in no uncertain terms, in words not entirely unlike these: "You people know that you are conducting yourselves in gross violation of the law, and if you are not willing to cease and desist with engaging in this highly unlawful conduct while you have the chance, I guarantee you I will do everything within my power to see that you are exposed." And, this of course, is precisely where we are today, as this process continues to evolve.
(2) Any attempt of hospital administrators to identify those persons sharing critical data that proves the grossly substandard conditions at ASH is 100% in defiance of established law and policy. Federal whistleblower protection as well as the required obligation(s) of any/all licensed medical professionals to immediately and openly report their awareness of unlawful conduct or related substandard protocol and practices have direct applicability in this context; and even the basic state employment contracts that all ASH staff enter upon employment there include this same obligation. And not to mention- goddammit!- the constitutional right of any citizen to exercise their given civic duty in terms of reporting crime in any form or fashion, a right and duty which applies to ASH patients, as well as ASH staff. Herein, clear evidence of the egregious wrongdoing of ASH and ADHS/BHS administrators, senior ASH clinical staff, and virtually any licensed staff who are aware of these issues, but nonetheless refuse to participate in the process of bringing these issues to light. Likewise, in the public milieu, anybody claiming to have concern for the well being of ASH patients has no excuse to not share the onus of getting this shit cleared up once and for all- and you know who you are (e.g. members of the co-called ASH Human Rights Committee, etc.).
(3) "Citing privacy laws" as matter of refusing full disclosure in this matter is 100% consistent with the fact that ASH administrators blatantly hide behind the Hospital Information Portability and Protection Act and other like notions of patient privacy in order to engage in unlawful care and practice, including in the context of the public trust. Yes, of course, HIPPA and other like edict have very real merit in terms of public health care, but I contend that it is grossly unethical to rely on such provisions of law and policy in order to shroud the presence of issues that are of critical concern to the public interest. The reality that ASH administrators willfully manipulate the purpose of HIPPA was undeniably illustrated in relation to the 2011 escape of ASH patient Jesus Murietta, and the subsequent brutal murder of April Mott. I further attest to the fact that senior ASH clinicians (ASH psychiatrists, namely) actively engage in violating patient' rights specific to HIPPA, in order to get away with subjecting ASH patients to grossly substandard care and practice. Herein, proven harm to all citizens of Arizona as a direct consequence of this misconduct, including very real death, and nothing short of full accountability under each and every applicable law will serve the public's need that these issues be resolved once and for all.
(4)
(4) These facts add just that much more credence to the undeniable fact that the administrators at The Arizona State Hospital, in direct complicity with senior ASH clinicians, are willfully violating applicable state and federal law as a matter of standard practice. They are engaging in this unlawful conduct with the full support of executive staff in the AZ Dept. of Health/Behavioral Health Services (inc. ADHS director Will Humble, Kara Burke, Manager of ADHS/DBHS Office of Grievance and Appeals, and many others), with the added protection the Arizona Office of Attorney General (Joel Rudd, most specifically). It is clear herein that this misconduct includes highly egregious methods of systematic retaliation (specific to employment practices, clinical conduct, and related administrative responsibility), which is a grave and profoundly unacceptable violation of an equally wide range of common law and policy; and as such, clarifies my long standing allegations(s) of unlawful misconduct at ASH is 100% accurate and on point, thus highlighting the dismally substandard conditions and practices at ASH that did in fact cause me very real harm when I was a patient there (2011-12). More specifically, I attest to the fact that I was subject to such retaliation when as an ASH patient, I exercised my lawful right to report the misconduct of one of my primary attending psychiatrists, Dr. Pervaiz Akhter. This is the norm at ASH, and the one's most responsible know it.
E)AFTERWORD
REST IN PEACE, MY FRIEND. I WILL CONTINUE TO DO JUST AS I PROMISED, AND I AM WILLING TO BELIEVE THAT YOUR SPIRIT IS ALREADY SHARING THE WORKLOAD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP, TIME IMMEMORIAL.
paoloreed@gmail.com
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I would really love input of any kind from anybody with any interest whatsoever in the issues that I am sharing in this blog. I mean it, anybody, for I will be the first one to admit that I may be inaccurately depicting certain aspects of the conditions
at ASH, and anonymous comments are fine. In any case, I am more than willing to value anybody's feelings about my writing, and I assure you that I will not intentionally exploit or otherwise abuse your right to express yourself as you deem fit. This topic is far, far too important for anything less. Thank you, whoever you are. Peace and Frogs.