Outsourcing: Americans For Responsible Solutions.

  www.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org

INTRODUCTION: There is an ongoing national discourse right now that has created a great opportunity for people to stand up in defense of the rights and care needs of America's most vulnerable citizens, including but not limited to children. I feel that it is critical right now for us to ensure that the conversation includes the responsibilities granted to state behavioral health care systems, such as the Arizona Department of Health Services/Behavioral Health Services, and the central role that such agencies play in the very fabric of the American landscape. This role extends to the treatment facilities that these agencies operate, such as the Arizona State Hospital. There is a very real need, as exampled by the various tragedies being highlighted in the media and creating panic in the populous, for all of us to speak out defense of our children and loved ones in general, and this includes person affected by serious mental illness. Only by working together in order to expose weaknesses in our current system of public mental health care will we see the improvements called for today, and in Arizona, there is no better place to begin that exposure than ASH.

     Less than one week ago, I was invited to join a new super pac, established by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly. It is called Americans For Resposible Solutions. The super pac itself is one of myriad new efforts to address the topic of gun violence in America today, and the invitation itself, I am proud to say, was personal, as follows: 

     I originally established contact with Gabby Giffords in late summer, 2011, following the tragic shooting that left her gravely and permanently wounded, and six others dead, but prior to the date when she formally resigned her position in congress. Her story in this context is not one that I need to recap at this time, I am sure. The shooting is amongst the most graphic in terms of violent acts in involving a mentally ill American and a gun. But when I contacted Gifford's office, I was currently in my sixth month of hospitalization in the confines of The Arizona State Hospital, and my communication was specifically grounded in very serious concerns that I had at that time about the administrative corruption at ASH, and the potential impacts that this malfeascent misconduct posed to the citizens of Arizona as a whole. I clarified at that time that while I had originally sought no conflict with the administrators at ASH, the staff of ASH themselves had created the conflict underlying my ongoing advocacy there, and that I had very well grounded data relating to issues of "national importance". 

     At the time, I was basically emphasizing that ASH, as a public entity under federal law, was subject to various doctrines of said law and public policy, including but not limited to The Americans With Disabilities Act, and that the matters I was most concerned with at the time deserved/required federal intervention. But today, following a variety of events that I experienced while still at ASH (such as the violation of public trust wherein the administrators and senior clinicians at ASH whose actions directly contributed to the brutal death of a Phoenix citizen with no connection at all to ASH- beyond the impropriety of these so identified staff), as well in proximity to my citizenship as an American (such as any one of the horrific mass killings that have occurred in our nation over the last year, including the Tucson tragedy), I realize that my words were as much prophetic, as they were on point with my concerns at the time. 

     That said, following the invitation to contribute whatever I can to the aforementioned super pac, Americans For Responsible Solutions (an invitation I immediately accepted), I drafted the following essay for Gabby and Marks' direct consideration. 

ATT: G. GIFFORDS, M. KELLY

Dear Congresswoman Giffords:  

    Hi! Thanks for allowing me this opportunity to help. I also want to provide the following information, and sincerely hope that it can lend to the mission that we are now sharing. I am a 51 year old mentally disabled man, and a resident of Tucson, Arizona (although I am at this time spending time in Louisiana). I was formally hospitalized at UA Medical Center's south campus (formerly Kino/UPH hospital) in May, 2010, where I was diagnosed for the first time with major depressive disorder and assoc. traits (inc. suicidal ideation); following that, I spent four months at St. Mary hospital's extended care unit (now closed). In January, 2011, less than one week following the Tucson tragedy, I was formally admitted to the Arizona State Hospital (ASH) in Phoenix. I discharged from ASH on Feb. 21, 2012.

      At some point in my period of hospitalization at ASH, I directed a formal communication to your congressional office, requesting assistance in terms of my attempt to address a matter relating to what I can only characterize today as the substandard conditions at ASH, assistance specific to the brutal killing in late Aug., 2011, of a young Phoenix woman (April Mott) that occurred in direct relation to an administrative cover up of a violent patient escape in late May, 2011 (Jesus R. Murietta). My concerns when I contacted your office had to with the fact despite my best efforts to see that this markedly patient was properly identified as being at large in the Phx. metro district, including communications I made with the ADHS/BHS Office of Grievances and Appeals, the ADHS/BHS Office of Human Rights, the AZ Disability Law Center, and various other like resources, nobody was willing to pay attention to the cover up itself, nor to the fact that this man had in fact escaped ASH in the manner that he did, at the time that he did. Let me make myself clear on a related matter. I am a very well educated person, with an MA, and two full years of law school in good standing (UA 2001-2003). I have never been diagnosed as psychotic, schizophrenic, or in any way delusional; I have next to no criminal history (misdemeanor DUI 1999), and I have never been involved in a law suit. I am mentioning these facts in order to diminish any concerns you may have about the veracity of these claims. 

     I was hospitalized with Murietta in Tucson, summer 2010, prior to the both of us being transferred to ASH. I knew him, as such,  and I consider him a friend. When properly medicated, he is a very decent and intelligent young man (22 yrs. old today), but can still at times be violent.  Following his escape from ASH in late May, 2011, I had three immediate concerns:

             1) Jesus' safety. On the basis of the fact that at the time of his escape he was wearing shorts and a tee shirt, and had no i.d. or money, etc., and the fact that ASH is located in a very dangerous part of PHX, I was very worried about his well being. Jesus has a history of suicidal attempts, too. 

              2) The publics' safety. On the basis of my knowing that Jesus can in fact be a very violent young man, particularly when unmedicated, I was very worried about the possible threat that he posed to the public at large. 

              3) The cover up of the escape by ASH administrators. Based on my education, and my learned familiarity by the time of the escape with variously applicable law(s) and policy(s) (state, federal, etc., inc. in terms of hospital policy at ASH), in accompaniment with my increasingly grave concerns (at that time) about what I recognized to be rampant and grossly unlawful practices at ASH,  I was deeply concerned about the fact that ASH admin. was putting their own interests far ahead of those of the public and the patients, specifically in the case, Jesus. I can detail these issues later, but in sum I attest to the fact that graphic patient abuse does occur at ASH (inc. physical, psychological, emotional, etc., as well blatant abuses of practitioner authority and related admin. negligence) that is imparted on patients by ASH staff at all levels of employ does occur as a matter of standard practice.

     As stated, my attempts during early summer, 2011, to see that the escape was divulged were rejected at various levels of state authority. I also reported the escape to a reporter named JJ Hensley at the AZ Republic in early June. At the time, he and his editors found my report to be compelling, but when they inquired about the escape to Hospital officials, the escape was patently denied. Thus, based on my very limited means of proving the report (again, I was still at ASH), and the denial of an escape by ASH, Hensley could not confirm my report, so he had to put the story aside. 

    In late August, 2011, less than 12 weeks after escaping ASH, Jesus R. Murietta brutally murdered April Mott in her mid Phoenix apt. He was subsequently arrested and charged with the killing within hours, and the following day, there was a brief story about the incident in the Republic. I heard about it from an ASH security guard who knew that Jesus and I were casual friends (she too was on good terms with Jesus there at ASH, and shared my horror at the time). I then called JJ Hensley back and informed him that the same man whom I had reported as a violent escapee from ASH in late May, 2011, had just been arrested and charged with killing April Mott. I told him, "Your paper just reported it! Including Jesus' name!"  He came to meet with me within 2-3 days, and began a formal investigation into this matter. I provided him with the underlying details specific to this horrific scandal, and on Sept. 28, 2011, Hensley published a four page feature article detailing most of the factual data relating to this matter. Most, but not all. (see"Victims Family Questions Why Man Was Free", Sept. 28, 2011, AZ Republic newspaper) 

     Following this particular sequence of events, and as the admin at ASH finally become aware of my role in the story, they also increasingly began to take interest in my good faith and lawful attempts to address staff misconduct in general, and for this, I was systematically retaliated against. The retaliation was graphic, it was harmful, and extremely counter therapeutic. But it is nothing unusual at ASH. It is standard practice. I attest to this, and I can prove it. 

     I doubt that I need to go into detail about how this aspect of America's public mental health care system (public mental health facilities and related treatment and care) so critically effects the overall flow of wellness in terms of the public in general and mentally ill and disabled persons in particular; nor into the utter harm to this flow that endemically established staff wrongdoing in a facility such at ASH can and does cause. I have never sought to exploit the tragedies effecting America in this context. But of course, we all know that Loughner and all involved parties would have fared well had due attention paid to his decaying state of mind prior to the Jan. 2011, shooting. I was in Kino/UPH at the time of the shooting, and I remember that day well. I also encountered Loughner at one time, circa 2009, when he had his presentation thing going on at the 4th Ave. street fair. I am today a survivor of ASH, and a dedicated advocate for the rights and wellbeing of the patients at ASH, and the mental health community in general, in AZ and beyond. 

      At this point in my life, I have extensive experience specific to these matters (obviously), and I have the educational history and work experience to make a difference. But I am also- today- a known member of the mental health community, seriously mentally ill, in fact, for the first time in my life. As such I am now, in the public milieu, experiencing the equally endemic stigmatization(s) and related discriminations that all mentally disabled have experienced for countless years, and are still experiencing today. And as my experiences evolve in this context, I recognize that the presence of these sorts of conditions exist in places like ASH, at a more marked degree, in effect, than anywhere else (inc. the public milieu) The fact is, state facilities such as ASH, where the staff are far too often unqualified in terms of ethos and basic character for the tasks assigned them via the pubic trust, are arguably the most dangerous place for a mentally ill person to be. Not to mention, staff who are virtually illiterate in the context of patient rights, health care ethics

and directly related human rights. Via my very real experiences at ASH, I now realize that in these places- where I might have once believed that doctrines such as the Americans With Disabilities Act and related cultural compassion for mentally disabled adults would be most assuredly in effect- the atmosphere and conditions graphically occur in direct contradiction to such doctrines and sentiments. It is as atrociously unjust and sickeningly depraved a state of affairs I might ever imagine encountering. And I lived in for 13 long months, there at ASH.   

      All of this said, I am now hoping I can rely on your organization to respond in kind. I love the idea of a super pac oriented towards responsible civility. The conversation, too, (following Newtown) is reportedly one willing to take into consideration the state of mental health care in America; but I am seeing that conversation turn more towards how to keep guns out of mentally ill person hands than it is to the topic of health care itself (and the related responsibility of state agencies directly responsible for keeping mentally ill individuals away from the means to cause harm to self or to others). Personally, I sensed the need for the conversation about mental health care following the Tucson tragedy, as I learned about the underlying facts, again, while I was hospitalized. 

       How I can help you? 

       How can you help me, today?         

       How can I help you help me?

    And so on. These efforts, to date, have included me representing myself on behalf of the patient community at ASH in general in a series of 5 formal hearings in the AZ Office of Admin. Hearings. The issues I have presented all stem from formal grievance reports that I submitted to the Hospital patient advocate while at ASH, but which further arose in relation to the gross failure of that office, as well in the offices of the state, etc., to meaningfully meet their obligations. In the hearings, I am in contest with the AZ attorney General. Specifically, I have had to face off against an attorney named Joel Rudd. Needless to say, the power dynamic is grossly disproportionate, and Rudd has exhibited a willingness to pull out all stakes in order to mischaracterize my concerns and demean my character, in fact, all in order to turn any/all meaningful attention away from the issues that I know are at stake.  It is yet again, another horrifying illustration of how corrupted and shortsighted the behavioral health care system in AZ is. 

     I attest to these matters from my heart. As mentioned already, five hearings in 8 months or so. Out of the 5, I believe I may have fared well in the last 2 (Dec. 17, 2012; Jan. 07, '13), and I have no other hearings scheduled at this time. By now, my dismay over the legal process in this context runs deep, and I do not see much reason to continue wasting the public resources that go into such hearings. But I have learned a lot, and I am dedicated to doing all that I can to address these issues. 

           

Again: How I can help you? 

          How can you help me, today?         

          How can I help you help me?

  

    And so on. 

In closing:  In response to my communication with your office in 2011, you graciously advised me in a personally drafted letter that you had redirected my concerns to the legislative/congressional officials responsible for the constituency based in and around Maricopa County. But at the time, I had contacted you because I was a Pima county resident being treated in the state's sole long terms public mental health facility; and I also recognized that the issues I had and still have about the misconduct and substandard conditions at ASH have directly federal implications, for ASH is a public entity responsible for treating- somewhat as a rule- disabled citizens, subject to and deserving of the full protections of various state and federal laws. In any case, the followup after you had redirected those communications fizzled, and I again found myself against a seeming brick wall. I have records of everything. Thank for your help, nonetheless. I mean that, and I know that it is was a very difficult time for your office.  

     I  look forward to hearing from you all soon. I am happy and more than willing to provide you guys with any/all information about myself, my personal and professional history, and anything relating to my treatment at ASH, etc. that you may desire. Again, I have records of most everything. I state "most" because ASH unlawfully (as per HIPPA) refused to provide for the full breadth of personal medical records that I requested of them at the time, an issue that the US Dept. of Health and Human Services OHR had agreed to formally investigate in 2012, but the file dissolved when that office was overhauled in summer, 2012, and I am out of luck yet again, despite such a denial being in gross violation of my rights under HIPPA. Business as usual at ASH. 

    I have no phone, email is all I can rely on, but I can arrange to use a phone if necessary at a prescheduled time. Thank you.

       Sincerely, Paolo Reed. Jan. 16, 2012. Shreveport, LA.

   www.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org

IN CLOSING: I highly encourage anybody of like mind to look into this same super pac, Americans For Responsible Solutions. I request, in fact, that you forward your concerns to them about The Arizona State Hospital and your interest(s) in seeing a heightened focus on the role that institutions like ASH play in the general flow of well being applicable to all American citizens, and especially with regard at this time for our mentally disabled friends and family in the state of Arizona. As mentioned in my introduction above, and as stated in my direct communication to former congresswoman Giffords, there is an ongoing national discourse right now that has created a great opportunity for people like us stand up in defense of the rights and care needs of America's most vulnerable citizens, and it is critical right now for us to ensure that the conversation includes the role that state behavioral health care systems and facilities such as ASH play in the very fabric of the American landscape.  

paoloreed@gmail.com