RERUN. Will Humble, Director, Arizona  Department of Health Services. Wherein established codes of law and policy are systematically abused in order to preserve the substandard medical-mental health care and practices at Arizona's sole long term public mental hospital.  

(this article was originally published in September, 2013)

Update December 24, 2013: During the entirety of my time as a patient at The Arizona State Hospital, I did as a matter of documented fact follow the chain of authority in terms of reporting rampantly out of control issues specific to patient abuse and related administrative misconduct. Beyond simple reports in the context to my various primary care psychiatric physicians, of which there were four in only 13 months of treatment at ASH (L. Patel, P. Akhter, L. Lydon, S. Dy- so much for the standard of continuity of care in other words- the fact is, I was passed from one to another such doctor each and every time my concerns were established as reasonably valid and due immediate attention, as a matter of attempting to suppress such well grounded concerns with no meaningful response, on an average of once every few months), this included specific ASH/ADHS grievance forms that I completed and submitted in complete accordance with protocol, and related correspondence that I drafted and directed to numerous state employed entities in the Arizona public health care construct. Ultimately, none of these good faith efforts to bring about meaningful attention to issues that are today common knowledge in this context (as per prime time/major Phoenix area news reporting, etc.) had any effect, and were instead deferred via the above described alterations to my primary ASH caregiver staff, mishandled in terms of protocol specific to Arizona Administrative Code (state law) which the ADHS/BHS Office of Grievance is required to abide by (see below AAC Rule 921 Article 4; Rule 921 Article 403[b]), or outright ignored in spite of my documented records of all such submissions; all of these dynamics having the effect of dehumanization in terms of my sense of personal integrity and self esteem, purposefully designed (or at least condoned) in my honest opinion to further exasperate the worst aspects of my given diagnosis as a man affected by major depressive disorder, and associated traits (much of which manifested in my state of mind/emotion as the direct consequence of child abuse and associated neglect, common as such to many persons so affected). I further contend that these patterns of state sanctioned abject neglect just prove that much more solidly the endemic presence of graphic discrimination in the AZ's overall public health care network against persons affected by serious mental illness, as I am. This, of course, is also consistent with far wider forms of such discrimination , neglect, and outright abuse that has been common to the public behavioral/mental system as per the history of modern society. Today, as this process plays out, I am most definitely dedicated to ensuring that these sorts of deeply embedded patterns of discrimination in AZ's most trusted state offices are exposed in full dimension. To do anything less would be a dereliction of my duty as a human being and American. 

Recap from September, 2013: Wherein, my good faith attempt(s) to fully report clinical and administrative patient abuse at The Arizona State Hospital compelled me to directly communicate with the highest link in the state's health care systems' entire food chain. 

I originally drafted and sent the following letter to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble in early February, 2011, less than one month prior to my discharge from The Arizona State Hospital. I was still in there, in other words, witnessing and experiencing the rampant wrongdoing that effectively defines the ASH patient experience in general. At the time, I had nothing but full confidence and good faith willingness to turn to this man, the person with ultimate authority over the operation of any/all public health care resources in Arizona, for by that time, I had virtually exhausted all other like resources (in the sense of related offices in this specific state agency), with no meaningful result whatsoever. I offer this bit of data as a matter of illustrating how deeply unreasonable the management of Arizona's most seriously mentally ill and disabled citizens is today, for the fact of the matter is, Will Humble has patently failed to acknowledge the merits of my expressed concerns, which is indicative of yet one more clear breach of the public trust, and which is tantamount, as well,  to the unlawful conduct of ASH's senior clinicians and administrators.  

Patrick.... (PJ Reed)           

Arizona State Hospital

2500 E. Van Buren St.

Phoenix, AZ 85008   

Will Humble, Director                                                                             

February 08, 2012 

Arizona Dept. of Health Services

150 N. 18th Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Dr. Mr. Humble:

      I cannot apologize for feeling the need to again attempt a direct communication with your office. But I realize that you are a very busy man, and that your responsibilities extend far behind my simple needs. I am also thus compelled to at least express my sincere regret over the fact that the predicament I am working tooth and nail to address has again led me to your door. Any time/energy whatsoever that you can afford me is appreciated, ten-fold. With all the due respect that I can muster, I am going to share my avowed belief that there are critically serious problems in the state of affairs that I am working to address. These problems are endemic. They extend to all tangible forms of patient rights and related protections, as per established law and public policy. I have learned in no uncertain terms that anytime an individual (such as myself)) who may choose to call upon himself in terms of participating in his own treatment to the fullest capacity possible will only run into brick walls, particularly should he attempt to speak up for himself (or on behalf of other ASH patients) in the face of chronic wrongdoing and clear exhibitions of staff misconduct. I attest to this, my statements are truthful to the best of my knowledge, and I approach you purely from a standpoint of good faith intent.                                                            

       In considering how I can best apply myself to something which I can only describe as an escalation of utter rejection in direct defiance of my expressed concerns (some of which I have been embroiled in expressing for 6-8 months), I have determined that what I am experiencing amounts to nothing less than a broken system. I am specifically talking about ADHS/BHS, in the sense of the term "system", as it further pertains to the operation of The Arizona State Hospital (ASH).                                                                                                                                        

      More specifically, I am deeply concerned in this context about the ADHS/BHS Office of Grievances and Appeals (OGA), as it functions in relation to ASH, and the needs and rights of ASH's seriously mentally ill and disabled patients. In keeping with the requirements of the law, as spelled out in the Arizona Administrative Code, Rule 921 Article 4, I began requesting that the ASH ombudsperson, as well as OGA, initiate formal investigation(s) into problems that arise under the language of Rule 921 Article 403[b] at least five months ago, when it become overwhelmingly clear to me that the entire process, as laid out in all applicable provisions of policy and procedure, is being ignored abused or not otherwise applied in accordance what the details afforded therein.                                    
     I am interested in remedial action rather than conflict. I am not dedicated to this as a matter of personal gain, but I do see it as being absolutely requisite in terms of the very real needs, rights, and protection of all persons so affected (as I am) by serious mental illness and related disability, who just so happen to be undergoing substandard care and treatment at ASH.  I do not intend or have any desire to file suit (although I know I can). I am solely dedicated to doing all that I can to see that these issues be resolved to the fullest degree possible, in accordance with specifically established health care standards, and as spelled out in all/any applicable treatises relating to the issues at hand, because it is the right thing to do.                                                                                                                                       

      In closing, I have no idea if you are in a position as such to read my correspondence. I am doing what I can. Writing you this letter is an expression of civic duty. If, in fact, you do receive and read this, please take a moment, as well, to review the attached documents. I will direct the original grievance to your attention, as well, in the next few days.                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                  

Thank you. Sincerely, Patrick....  (PJ Reed)         

                                                                                     

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FAST FORWARD September 26, 2013: One of the most troubling aspects of what I came to realize following my 2010 diagnosis of major depressive disorder and associated mental illness, is the simply fact that the "system" is unwilling to heed all/any expressions of concern that emerge from the community of persons so affected. At The Arizona State Hospital, few patients have the ability to articulate their experiences in open communication with the greater public, due in part to the very real and debilitating affects of serious mental illness, in tandem with the disregard that ASH clinicians and administrative staff have for the rights of their client-patients, including in relation to the First Amendment, equal protection, and due process. In communicating as I did in the above letter to ADHS Director Will Humble, I was definitely seeking to speak for the greater ASH patient community, given the fact I do have the requisite education and related skill base in terms of such articulations. It is not a claim of ego or over confidence, on my part, is rather a simple bare bones fact in relation to persons affected by serious mental illness, my affliction not having as debilitating impact of my cognitive strengths, etc., as that which many/most of my patient peers have to deal with. As stated above, I sent this document to Will Humble about 20 full months ago, at a point in time when I was still a residential patient at The Arizona State Hospital. It is far from the only communique' that I have, to date, forwarded to this man; but this is one my first, and at the time, I did believe I could rely upon him to take a good hard look at the issues that I specifically had sought to bring to light at that time. I did so in numerous formal grievance submissions, as per the protocol and in purely civil terms, to the ADHS/BHS Office of Grievances: and as stated already, these efforts had no significant impact whatsoever in relation to the highly unlawful experiences that I was going through at that time, while still there in the Hospital facility itself. Needless to say- today- I never heard anything back from Will Humble, and as this process of seeking meaningful response and related redress specific to the substandard conditions at The Arizona State Hospital continues, I feel it is high time for we, the citizens of Arizona and beyond, to subject this man to due oversight and related accountability. Even today- as I write- I know for a fact that the patients at ASH are being continually subjected to medical-mental health care treatment practices that fall far below commonly established standards, and herein is the need to bring clear light upon the realities that any person seeking treatment at ASH faces, in fact. Both staff and patients alike are suffering from the graphic ineptitude of Will Humble, Cory Nelson, Donna Noriega, Joel Rudd, and every one of the other individuals at ASH who possess little to no ethos and related character, in terms of the needs of ASH's seriously mentally ill and disabled patient community, as a whole.

paoloreed@gmail.com