Records, As they Stand.

I began directing correspondence to variously elected Arizona representatives about my knowledge about the grossly substandard conditions and care practices at The Arizona State Hospital in early 2012, not long after my February 21, 2012, discharge from there. As such, my records extend well beyond the documentation that I conducted while I was still hospitalized at ASH, knowing as I did that I was in thick of one of the biggest scandals in contemporary America, in the context of human rights and out of control medical malpractice. These materials represent only one aspect of my broader writing project today, and as my manuscript continues to expand, I will be adding such data as this process develops. All employees at ASH are publicly employed, and as such, they do for the most part have no privacy protection if what I am publishing is specific to their activities as ASH staff. I knew this, as well, while I was an ASH patient, and at least one senior ranking staff nurse, Peggy Jorgensen, ignorantly warned me to not use her name if I did in fact go about putting out information about my experiences at ASH. It was amusing, at the time, and highlighted just one more element of the ineptitude of such senior staff, not to mention the paranoia that attends to individuals who are in the habit of flaunting the law, in any capacity.

I sent the following letter to state representative Chad Campbell about 3 weeks ago. 

Dear Congressman Campbell: I originally contacted you in August, I believe, in relation to the grossly substandard medical-mental health care conditions at The Arizona State Hospital. As I pointed out then, I spent 13 full months at ASH in 2011-12 for treatment of major depressive disorder, and assoc. traits (primarily acute suicidal ideation, which is today in reemission- no thanks to ASH however, and I mean that). I feel safe in assuming that you have been updated in recent days about the most recent developments in this context, and the related possibility that federal funding to ASH may well be cut due to evidence that has indicated... Well, as indicated in this development,  my long standing contentions about ASH are on point across the board, as I have long tried to clarify. I am contacting you again today so as to share the following document, which is only my latest blog entry (see attachment). As indicated in that entry, I took reasonable effort to voice my lawful request that the US DHHS Office for Civil Rights to direct attention to just one aspect of the rampant violations of my rights (as detailed in the entry), and although the initial response of that agency/office confirmed the legitimacy of my actual complaint to them, the case file created on my behalf evaporated following major structural changes throughout the entire DHHS network. And as the most recent reports emerging in local PHX media have proven, drastic understaffing at ASH- which I experienced firsthand, suffered the consequences of, and did in fact report to DHHS in my complaint- underlies the basis upon which current federal intervention has been implemented. 

In closing, I ask that you consider the implications for this matter as it stands. I am a citizen consumer (AZ, USA) who's voice was effectively ignored when I submitted good faith reports of the substandard conditions at ASH to literally every state agency directly associated with the function of ASH. I did this repeatedly and at great effort, while at ASH/to ASH admin., and beyond (all the way to my contacting DHHS, the DOJ, the Joint Commission, etc.) as the months passed, while I was an ASH patient being subjected to highly unlawful abuses of my rights, as all ASH patients are on any given day. I always did so in accordance with all applicable protocol (inc. all standard paperwork), in civil and concise language, etc., and my expectations were more than reasonable as per the letter of law.  However, from the get go, I was blatantly ignored or otherwise denied my most fundamental rights in terms of state and federal law, initially by ASH staff (inc. administrators, and I can prove it), and then ADHS/BHS staff (all the way up to the top- WIll Humble- and I can prove that too), etc.; and as my latest entry shows, even when I voiced these concerns as per all protocol to DHHS, etc., my dedicated efforts were suppressed in all senses, at all levels of the proverbial food chain.  The fact is, had  any degree of these efforts been acknowledged and managed in accordance with ASH policy/rules, ADHS policy/rules, and indeed federal policy/rules/LAW, many of the current issues affecting ASH patients may well have been avoided, including the death of at least one patient in recent months, graphic escalations in violence- and now we are looking at possible funding cuts. It is that simple- or is it? For I contend with full sincerity that the only reason these patterns of denial (of my voice) occurred stems directly from the fact that I- and virtually all ASH patients as a matter of plain fact- are affected and disabled by serious mental illness (I have a background that includes work in EMS, and formal academic edu. in health care ethics, and I know that if a "sane" patient in a traditional hospital raised such issues, there would be immediate response from all applicable parties). My varied experiences since becoming an AZ citizen identified in 2010 as SMI  amount to patent discrimination which is occurring on the basis of said disability (far most critically in relation to my time in AZ's sole long term public mental hospital), and as such, ASH as a public entity under federal law is operating in utter defiance of the provisions of The Americans With Disabilities Act, etc. If current developments do not meaningfully address this fact, I know that those most responsible for the crisis itself will not be deterred, and this is unacceptable to me; ergo, if I have to, I will continue to include all aspects of my experiences in the record as it stands and continues to evolve. 

I know you and your staff are very busy. I am not seeking much beyond simple response and related moral support. But I am willing to implore you to take immediate action on behalf of the patients there at ASH today. The frozen syrup pace of bureaucratic handling of these issues is furthering the day to day abuses and related staff misconduct at ASH, all of which contribute to the overall substandard conditions there. I can and do attest to this. Please do not share in the gross patterns of disregard that my data includes at this time. This is a deeply critical human rights/public welfare issue in all senses, and the persons suffering the most harm are all members of your constituency, in effect, as citizens of Arizona and the United States.    

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you. 

Sincerely, P-, aka PJ Reed, author "The Arizona State Hospital and Patient Abuse" (blogspot.com)

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I again wish to thank Congressman Campbell and his staff for taking action on behalf of Arizona citizens across the board, in specific relation to the state's sole long term public mental health care facility. I am relatively confident that his support as it stands will subsequently lead to direct accountability in the context of a barn full of persons who I know are most directly responsible for creating the crisis at The Arizona State Hospital, as it stands today. You know who are:

Lynn Lydon, Pervaiz Akhter, Laxman Patel, Stephen Morris, Ruby Ramos-Roxas, Steven Dingle, Sylvia Dy, Joel Rudd, Cory Nelson, Kara Burke, Thelma Bedoni, Will Humble... etc.

This rodeo is still in its infancy.

paoloreed@gmail.com