RERUN Brutal Discrimination: No Electric Wheel Chair For You, Audrey Peterson! Herein, only one more prime example of cold hearted cruelty and abuse at the Arizona State Hospital.

THIS IS A THIRD REPUBLICATION OF THE DETAILS UNDERLYING THE ABOVE ISSUE. WHEREIN, A PHYSICALLY DISABLED PATIENT AT THE ARIZONA STATE HOSPITAL HAS BEEN DENIED HER FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO ACQUIRE DEVICES THAT WOULD GREATLY IMPROVE HER QUALITY OF LIFE IN THAT SPECIFIC CONTEXT. AS ILLUSTRATED BELOW, THIS PATIENT'S PRIMARY ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, DR. RUBY RAMOS-ROXAS, WILLFULLY BLOCKED HER- A WOMAN WITH NO LOWER LEGS AND ONLY ONE ARM- ACCESS TO AN ELECTRONICALLY POWERED WHEELCHAIR, IN BRAZEN DEFIANCE OF THE FACT THAT SUCH A DEVICE HAD BEEN OFFERED TO THE PATIENT BY ONE OR MORE PUBLIC INTEREST RESOURCES DEDICATED TO PROVIDING SUCH PERSONS WITH TECHNOLOGY OF THIS KIND. TO DATE, I HAVE NO REASON TO BELIVE THAT THIS SITUATION HAS CHANGED, AND NOW THAT HEIGHTENED DIRECT ATTENTION IS BEING DIRECTED TO MY WRITING, I AM AGAIN GOING TO DO WHAT I CAN TO SEE THAT THIS ATROCIOUSLY INHUMANE ISSUE IS MEANINGFULLY ADDRESSED.  

In the context of this issue being meaningfully addressed, I am willing to state my express desire that Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas be stripped of her medical license, for never have I witnessed so graphically inhumane treatment of a medical patient; and in the context of so unconscionable an action, nothing short of such a penalty will protect Arizona's citizens as whole. I have already pointed in out in other articles my concern about the fact that some of ASH's senior psychiatric staff acquired training in foreign nations where human rights and the most basic precepts of  America's democratic values are literally  non-existent, and no one psychiatrist at ASH more falls under this concern then Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas. She was both raised as well as educated in the Philippines, which as any reasonably aware person knows is a cultural setting where some of the most horrific abuses of human rights occurs, even today. I feel safe in assuming that this individual emerged out of a distinctly brutal ruling class during the Marcos era and martial law (1965-1986), and only relocated to the United States in order to avoid being held accountable under her now native society; which only furthers my worry about the safety of all/any persons forced to undergo treatment from her. And as this story proves, my concerns are legitimate to the nth degree.

BACKGROUND: For a period of no less than 9 years, the senior clinical staff at the Arizona State Hospital have denied a woman with no lower legs and only one arm access to an electric wheel chair. I contend that this grossly inhumane case has everything to do with the fact that at ASH, foreign trained psychiatrists form some of the most corrupt third world nations in existence today, and therein subject ASH's seriously mentally ill and disabled and patients to blatantly unlawful standards of care and treatment that fly in the face of common understandings of American democracy and international human rights. 

Audrey Peterson's rights as a human being supersede the authority of any one person or representative staff at ASH or anywhere else in this nation. Bottom line.

Call ASH today (602)244-1331 and demand that Audrey Peterson be granted her full rights as a human being. Or better yet, share you awareness of this story with these guys. And be sure to mention the Americans Disabilities Act.

 

U.S. Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division

950 Pennsylvania Avenue

Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Main

Washington, DC 20530

ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

Jocelyn Samuels

Civil Rights Division (202) 514-4609

CENTRALLY INVOLVED ASH STAFF INCLUDE: DR. RUBY RAMOS-ROXAS, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER DR. STEVEN DINGLE, AND SENIOR SOCIAL SERVICES REPRESENTATIVES.

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Discussion

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Full title	An Act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability

      
     So, here is a quick tale about one of the most horrifically disturbing things I experienced at the Arizona State Hospital (ASH), with added consideration that may very well relate to my sociological theories in this context. I had been hospitalized at ASH for maybe 2-3 weeks, when in early February, 2011, I met a very nice young woman named Audrey Peterson, who has been wheelchair bound since losing both of her legs and one arm in a near fatal train accident just NW of Tucson maybe 8-9 years ago. Audrey can be seen pretty regularly outside on the patient mall, struggling to push herself around with her one arm in a mechanical wheel chair. Without doubt, in terms of how unkindly some people treat others, this is one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed in my entire life; and the given fact that I encountered this display of cruelty and neglect in a hospital setting, of all places, exceeds my capacities as a moral being. Such is the reality at The Arizona State Hospital, where anyone of reasonable conscience will notice a one armed woman (that's it, the one limb out of four)laboring away in a mechanical wheelchair, literally inching her way up and down the 1/4 mile long outside mall area- which is only partially paved- while able bodied staff and patients virtually blow by her at a full walking pace as though the woman doesn't even exist. In this undeniably shocking context, and on the basis of the fact that Ms. Peterson's mobility has been willfully restricted in defiance of applicable state and federal law, I attest to the fact that Audrey Peterson has, and until I hear otherwise, is still being criminally denied reasonable access to the vast majority of therapeutic and recreational resources available to other patients at ASH, subject as such to gross humiliation that cuts to the core of her fundamental human right to dignity, comfort, and well being.

                    

                                                  (Note: this is not a photo of Audrey P.)

     I  first met Audrey Peterson at one of the outdoor patio tables on the patient mall within 5-7 days of my early January, 2011, arrival to the civil section of The Arizona State Hospital. It was an astounding introduction, in no small part due the the sickeningly pitiful sight of a woman with only one arm and no laser legs in a wheelchair that requires two arms to operate. Audrey is very polite and lucid patient, in my experience, and after basic niceties, we got around to asking each other somewhat inevitable questions regarding what led us to be hospitalized at ASH, and as it turned out, we both had a history of depression and potentially lethal attempts at suicide. I will just note that in this sense, Audrey and I were able to find solace in coming to know one another, and that is something I still appreciate today. Audrey then went on to the describe the fact that she had lain her body down on top of a major railroad track on the NW outskirts of Tucson after drinking an excess of alcohol, where she fell into a deep sleep, and that a train had come along at some point and run over both of her legs and one of her arms. A narrative possessing drama of this sort is bound to catch anyone's attention, and somewhat begs the question of how in the heck anyone could possibly survive an accident of this magnitude; and for this very reason, as we continued talking, it occurred to me that I actually recalled Audrey's story when it was reported in Tucson area newspapers. I was deeply moved by coming to meet this woman at the time (2011), whose near death had very much caught my attention at the time it occurred (2003-05 or so), both due to the drama of  the tale, as well in the context of my own experiences in terms of attempted suicide and related behavioral characteristics. 

       I recall thinking: "Oh my god... She survived something like that, this person, who had chosen death over life, only to find herself left permanently maimed, yet still alive…"

       I believe that it was in our initial conversation that I went on to ask Audrey Peterson how in the hell it could be that she didn't have an electric wheel chair, and she told me:
 "My doctor won't allow me to have one."
      I was so shocked to hear this addendum to her already tragic tale, that I found the claim audacious, and it is still somewhat beyond my sensibility and relative comprehension; it so shocked my sense of humanity at the time that I was initially unable to respond, in part because I simply could not believe what I was hearing. In order to clarify, I will just say that there are bound to be any number of goof-ball stories floating around a place like ASH (and I did hear my fair share of such), so I initially took Audrey's statements with an inevitable grain of salt.
      I then asked Audrey if she had, in her own right, ever looked into getting an electric wheel chair, and she told she hadn't. This compelled me enough I decided to see what I could come up with, despite my relative skepticism at the time. I shared my intent with Audrey, including my knowledge of the fact that there are any number of resources in the public service arena dedicated to providing persons affected as Audrey is by extreme physical disability.
      Under these terms, I also began asking patients and staff alike what they could tell me about Audrey Peterson's primary care physician Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas (a native Filipino woman who acquired her medical training in an unaccredited college there, her home country), because I most definitely sensed that something very unusual was going on in this given situation; and I realized, as well, that if I were to come to the conclusion that there was any merit to the allegation of this doctor's brutality, I was going to have to look into addressing that aspect of the issue at some point in time. Such is my nature, and I know that I am not unique, at least not in the greater American environment. But at ASH, such nuances of recognized civility simply do exist, and as I later came to learn, clinical wrongdoing of this nature is imparted on ASH patients as a matter of standard practice.  

       I also had no grand visions of charitably saving the day Audrey- it simply seemed to be the least I could do under the circumstances, given Audrey's obvious hardship, and the fact that I had more than an ample amount of free time; I mean, it's not as though ASH patients are steeped in therapy, and on average, I had anywhere from 5-7 hours of free waking time on any given day to pretty much do whatever I wanted, in context. I thus took this unsettling body of concern with me into the patient library, where I came upon a public directory of resources for persons affected by disability in all contexts, and in that directory I came upon a section dedicated to the topic of wheel chairs. Within one hour I had drafted a straight forward cover letter (of inquiry) wherein I described the fact that I had a friend in the Arizona State Hospital who had a very real need for a electronic wheel chair, detailing Audrey's basic situation and the fact that she was limited to a mechanical wheelchair. As a matter of understanding patient confidentially and related hospital policy, I also made clear that I was not a doctor, and that I could have nothing more to do with the matter (beyond my initial letter of inquiry); and simply asked that anybody willing and able to help Audrey should feel free to to contact her treatment team there at the Hospital, including the name of Audrey's primary attending physician, Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas. I printed up copies of this simple one page inquiry and on April 8, 2011, mailed it to the following seven organizations:

          1) Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix, AZ    

          2) Margaret T. Morris Foundation, Prescott, AZ           

          3) Disability Funding News, Silver Springs, MD  

          4) Arizona Department of Economic Security, Phoenix

          5) AZ Center for Disability Law, Phoenix     

          6) Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Stone Mt. GA

          7) Mobility International, USA, Eugene, OR

Audrey's
Current                        A Powered Chair

Chair

       

     I fully explained to Audrey P. that I had put the letters into the mail, and I further  explained to her that I was not going to be able to do anything beyond that, telling her to be sure and talk to her primary attending physician about it (Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas), and I expressed my relative confidence that her clinical treatment team would very possibly would be hearing from one or another of the seven resources that I sent the letter to. Audrey, in turn, was clearly appreciative of my action, but I explained to her that I had taken me less than 90 minutes of my time, and that the action should have been taken long before this. It was a very positive interaction at the time, and I knew that it boosted Audrey's spirit simply in the sense of friendship.  

       It was, indeed, a simple act of faith and decent courtesy. I recall being bothered by the attendant fact that somebody else hadn't already gone about dong this, chocking the situation up to the basic bizarreness ASH, which I had already struck me in a small variety of ways. I had little idea, however, of how out of touch with reality the caregivers at ASH are, in fact, or of what I was getting into via this arguable simple act of kindness.  

      On April 22, 2011, I asked Audrey if there had been any developments, and she told me that her primary attending physician, Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas, was angry at her, for a reason that Audrey could not grasp; and angry at me, too, for "interfering" with Audrey's treatment. Needless to say, this shocked me (yet again), so I asked a member of ASH staff who I knew for a fact held a position on Audrey's treatment team there at ASH about the matter, and she told me that Audrey's claim was true! This staff person further informed me that several of the contacts I had made had been in touch with Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas as a matter of offering to help Audrey P. acquire an electronic wheel chair of her own, but Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas had literally discarded these good faith responses into the nearest trash can, stating to Audrey in full presence of Audrey's entire treatment team, that my attempts to contact the involved resources on Audrey's behalf was in violation of hospital policy. I attest to this conversation, and can and will identify the staff member when the time comes, as she had already agreed to cooperate with any investigations into this matter. This same staff person also informed me that Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas' position on the issue was that ASH had provided Audrey P. with two prosthetic legs and one prosthetic arm, and that if Audrey was not willing to take the initiative to learn how to use the prosthetic devices, she has no right to an electric wheel chair.

          "Why not just take her mechanical wheelchair away while you are at it, Dr. Ruby Ramos-Roxas?!! We don't want Audrey getting away with anything, do we?"

      It is common knowledge that psychiatric care and related treatment relies on sound communication. In this context, many people refer to the field of psychiatry as somewhat of an art, and I have come to wholeheartedly agree with that idea, because the fundamental elements of trust and reliability necessary to carry on a healthy psychiatric relationship flow from the critical one on one patient to doctor interactions that underlie such treatment. At ASH, however, it was apparent to me rather quickly that my primary attending physician(s) did not give a rat's ass whether I trusted them or not, because to most of the clinical staff at ASH, the relationship is purely about power, and the doctors wield a peculiar authority that's only granted to them through their relatively unique positions at the Arizona State Hospital.

Anybody familiar with the history of state operated mental hospitals knows how graphically inhumane such facilities are known to be, this as per established history, as well as in terms of the fact that seriously mentally ill persons across the board are still today subject to gross discrimination and mistreatment. So it is no surprise to many contemporary Americans that the conditions at ASH fall short of standard care and treatment, including in terms of my own attempts in recent years to advocate on behalf of the ASH patent community. I contend via my very real experiences at ASH, that such facilities are breeding grounds for abuse and related substandard care providers, for I witnessed and was subjected to it on a regular basis. 

Abuse and malpractice as a matter of standard practice. 

I further attest that it is terrifying to experience this sort of mistreatment, particularly if you are a person affected by childhood trauma and other like characteristics specific to the issue of mental and emotional instability, as I am. What's most shocking to me, even today, is knowing as I do that the senior ASH psychiatrists I interacted with, from the four primary attending psyche docs assigned to me during my 13 full months at ASH- Laxman Patel, Pervaiz Akhter, Lynn Lydon, Slvia Dy- to ASH's chief medical officer at the time, Dr. Stephen Dingle- posses little to no evident awareness of how grossly egregious their given misconduct is, in fact. 

     In this specific context, I contend the senior psychiatric clinicians at ASH are due serious oversight and related accountability as licensed medical doctors, public health care employees, and persons granted authority over persons affected my serious mental illness and disability. I know that I am risking my own sense of decency when I declare that at least some of these doctors reflect behavioral shortcomings that have everything to with where they come from, but in truth, I see little other option in terms of seeking a basic  understanding of how and why persons in these positions could be so radically out of touch with their obligations and responsibilities. I do in fact cite the lack of relationship with common human rights because even today, the nations of Pakistan (Akhter), the Philippines (Ramos-Roxas, Dy), and India (Laxman Patel- who is now ASH's chief medical officer) are known as being dismally effected by human rights abuse in all senses; and I cite a similar disconnect from common precepts of democracy on the basis of the fact that those same countries are anything but democratic. I attest to having been subjected to clear exhibitions of these dynamics- fundamental human rights abuses, rejections of applicable/required democratic protocol, at various points in my time at ASH, in a range of circumstances- and I can prove it.

  

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Full title	An Act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability

       I don't know quite else to say about this horrific story. But I am of the opinion that any man or woman willing to deny Audrey Peterson the fullest comforts available to her as a physically disabled person is a criminal. As always, I will attest to the validity of my experiences in this case, in support of my current sentiments as they stand, and I do so in good faith, on behalf of each and every patient still being subjected these conditions there at ASH. 

And as stated, anybody who has spent much time at ASH has seen my friend Audrey Peterson trying to push herself with only her one arm, moving slower than cold maple syrup in her mechanical wheelchair,  while ASH staff as a group turn a blind eye to the issue. It as shocking a display of inhumane treatment as I have ever witnessed, and know that many of my readers would agree. Depravedly substandard medical-mental health care, and they are getting away with it every day. This is occurring at the expense of Arizona's taxpayers, and to the deep detriment of ASH's seriously mentally ill and disabled patients. 

IN CLOSING: Audrey Peterson's rights as a physically disabled human being supersede the authority of any one person at ASH, bottom line. So here again, a clear cause for you to get involved. Please visit my April 30, 2012 "Resources Ideas" article and consider how to take action today. I also encourage you to contact the Arizona State Hospital at (602) 244-1331 in order to advocate for Audrey Peterson at this time. Defy the Arizona Department of Health's willingness to ignore this matter, and speak out against any statement(s) to the effect that granting this woman a powered wheelchair is  against her welfare and interests as a patient there at ASH.

paoloreed@gmail.com