Re: Deaths, rape lead to scrutiny of psychiatric hospital associated with Dr. Dr

[Guest guest]

A few years ago I was consulted to do peer review on Las Encinas'

psychiatric units. I ended up resigning from the peer review as the

care was so poor that I felt a conflict of ethics in not reporting

what I observed. I don't know anything about the addiction treatment

at the hospital, but other aspects of the hospital that I assessed

were seriously deficient. Of course, almost by definition the

coercive treatment environment that characterizes most inpatient

mental health right now is seriously deficient.

Dr. Pinsky is mostly a media doctor. His Loveline show is very

popular and entertaining. His celebrity rehab program strikes me as

inconsistent with good treatment. For example, on a recent show, he

had a celeb rehab patient confront his mother (flown in to see him)

during a fairly acute phase of the chemical dependency treatment. I

would never do that sort of thing to a fragile and newly sober person.

Such emotional intensity can only lead to using more drugs. The

premise of the show involves showing people who are at their worst

while detoxing. With these sorts of ethics, what else must be going on?

>

>

> If anyone listens to alternative rock there is a show called Lovline

that is hosted by this Dr. Drew Pinsky, it comes on late and kids call

in and discuss their sexual behaviors. I think the discussions are

uncalled for in general and Dr. Drew and his other host are degrading

and invalidative to say the least. Jim

>

> http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/21/local/me-lasencinas21

> Archive for Thursday, August 21, 2008

> Deaths, rape lead to scrutiny of psychiatric hospital associated

with Dr. Drew Pinsky

> By Blankstein and Rong-Gong Lin II

> August 21, 2008

>

> Three adult patients died unexpectedly and a teenage patient was

raped after entering a Pasadena psychiatric hospital known for its

association with celebrity physician Drew Pinsky, records show.

>

> The incidents occurred in the last five months at Aurora Las Encinas

Hospital, which advertises itself as a " world-renowned " haven where

patients with acute mental illness and substance abuse problems can

recover in safety and comfort. It is a favored destination for rock

musicians and actors, among others.

>

> Pinsky, who co-hosts the syndicated radio show " Loveline " and

anchors the VH1 reality TV series " Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, " is

co-medical director of the chemical dependency department and is

prominently featured on the hospital's website. He has said he played

no direct role in any of the patients' care.

>

> Experts say it is rare to see so many patients at a psychiatric

hospital die or be harmed in such a short period. State health

inspectors have investigated and faulted the hospital's care in the

first two deaths, which occurred within two days in April.

>

> The patients, who were being treated for drug abuse in the chemical

dependency unit, both died of apparent drug overdoses, according to

coroner's records and the report by inspectors for the state

Department of Public Health.

>

> This month, a patient in the NASH House, which treats substance

abusers on the hospital grounds, hanged himself from a wooden beam,

the Los Angeles County coroner found.

>

> One day after his body was found , a 14-year-old girl was raped by a

16-year-old patient as hospital staffers and the suspect's probation

officer slept nearby, according to two sources familiar with the

matter. " Not a very good track record, especially at an expensive

hospital like that, " said Taras Otus, the brother of Timur Otus, the

43-year-old bipolar patient who hanged himself. " I don't understand

what's going on there exactly. "

>

> The hospital declined to comment on the incidents, citing patient

confidentiality.

>

> Pinsky issued a written statement: " I had no direct knowledge and no

direct participation in the recent care of the patients in question.

Patient confidentiality laws prevent me from discussing these or any

other patients who may have been admitted to the facility. "

>

> Run by Aurora Behavioral Health Care, the hospital advertises on its

website such amenities as a tennis court, swimming pool and manicured

garden. Shared rooms cost $840 a night, while private rooms are $1,400

a night. It recently created a deluxe treatment center, offering

concierge service, a " personal healthcare attendant " and access to a

flat-screen high-definition TV.

>

> In January, the cable network VH1 began airing the first season of a

reality show featuring Pinsky and two other Las Encinas employees,

which is filmed at Pasadena Recovery Center not far from the hospital.

>

> According to the VH1 website, the show " chronicles the dramatic,

unscripted real life experiences of a group of celebrities as they

make the life-changing decision to enter a treatment program. "

>

> Las Encinas' recent troubles began when Hearn, 28, who was

admitted for drug addiction in March, was found unresponsive after 7

a.m. April 11, records show. He was transferred to Huntington Hospital

in Pasadena, where he died a day later, according to the coroner's office.

>

> The state investigation, quoting police and hospital staff, found

that another patient had " somehow supplied or facilitated contraband

prescription medications, Soma and Norco … resulting in a medication

overdose. "

>

> The alleged supplier of the painkillers was a former pharmaceutical

representative who knew how to obtain medications, according to the

state report.

>

> The day after Hearn died, 23-year-old Clyburn, was admitted to

Las Encinas for drug addiction. Clyburn, who was a student at Cal

State Northridge, had taken a large dose of OxyContin, a painkiller,

and Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, just before his family brought

him in, according to the state and coroner's reports.

>

> The hospital gave him several medications, including those intended

to relax muscles, relieve pain, decrease heart rate and lower anxiety,

the coroner's office wrote.

>

> Clyburn's mother, Arline, a nurse, was concerned about the mix of

prescriptions because of the possibility it would cause respiratory

distress, said Burke, a lawyer for Clyburn's parents.

>

> A hospital nurse assured his mother that " they would check on

through the course of the night, " Burke said. A mental health worker

was ordered to check on him every 15 minutes, the state report said.

>

> According to the coroner's report, Clyburn appeared " heavily

intoxicated " to other patients and they observed him " staggering to

his room. "

>

> The next morning, April 14, Clyburn was found dead.. According to

the coroner's report, his body was lying face up on a hardwood floor,

with vomit trailing from his mouth.

>

> The coroner's report said his death was caused by an overdose of

multiple drugs.

>

> According to a state report, a mental health worker did not conduct

the 15-minute checks and falsified the patient's record to suggest

otherwise. Although the worker wrote that Clyburn was sleeping at 7:15

a.m., a nurse reported at 7:20 a.m. that Clyburn was " unarousable,

cold & stiff to touch with a blue face, " suggesting that he had been

dead for some time.

>

> In a plan submitted to the state on the April deaths, Las Encinas

said it fired the mental health worker involved.

>

> The hospital also issued new rules to enhance monitoring of patients

and visitors. For example, it mandated frequent checks of routine

vital signs and searches of visitors' bags. Las Encinas has had

similar problems in the past, state records show. In October 2004, an

18-year-old patient died after being placed in leg restraints for two

days, instead of 3 1/2 hours as ordered. Two weeks later, a patient

was found dead after drowning himself in a bathtub. The incidents

caused the federal government to threaten to pull funding, but the

issues were deemed resolved.

>

> The most recent events have already affected the hospital's

relationship with an insurer. The mental health subsidiary of

UnitedHealth Group, the nation's second largest health insurer, has

suspended referrals there until it completes its own probe, said

spokesman Brad Lotterman.

>

> Some family members remain distraught and outraged.

>

> Taras Otus said the hospital has not followed up with his family

since they were informed of his brother's death. He described Otus as

a gregarious struggling actor who worked as an extra and on the set of

the television show " Ripley's Believe It or Not. " Among his

possessions was a note from host Dean Cain, thanking him for ensuring

Cain was well-lighted during filming.

>

> Otus, a UCLA graduate, had his first manic episode about seven or

eight years ago, his brother said. He was stable for a while, but last

summer he started to use Ecstasy and crack, then became suicidal.

>

> At the hospital he had been in a unit where he was on suicide watch,

then was transferred into a unit that treats substance abuse, the

brother said.

>

> On July 31, the hospital called the family, saying Otus was missing,

the brother said. The next morning, hospital employees found his body

hanging from the beam of a dilapidated shed on the hospital campus,

the brother said.

>

> Otus hanged himself using a white plastic bag, a coroner's report said.

>

> The shed " really should've been torn down 50 years ago, " Taras Otus

said.

>

> " You'd think there is some kind of moral responsibility to call the

family, reach out and say, `I'm sorry.' But apparently they don't do

that at this hospital, " the brother said. " They gave us two garbage

bags of his stuff, which I guess is what happens. "

>

> The parents of Clyburn say they are pursuing legal action.

>

> As a teenager, Clyburn was an Eagle Scout and two-time pitcher of

the year at Thousand Oaks High School.

>

> He was recruited to play baseball at Chapman University in Orange

County and later transferred to Cal State Northridge, where he studied

communications.

>

> In 2006, after Clyburn suffered painful injuries in an auto

accident, he became addicted to the painkiller OxyContin, said Burke,

the Clyburns' lawyer.

>

> " He was already in rigor mortis when he was found, " Burke said. " He

had gone for several hours without being checked … so it looks like

they certainly weren't doing what they said they were going to do. "

>

> Contacted last week, Greg Hearn, the father of Hearn, said

he had seen no reason to fault the hospital's care.He knew Dr. Pinsky,

and had given the hospital a donation " because they took care of my son. "

>

> Then he learned from a reporter about the inspection report stating

that another patient apparently gave his son the drugs on which he

overdosed.

>

> " Wow. I didn't know. It's stuff I didn't know… .

>

> " It's so sad … I lost my only son. "

>

> ron.lin@...

>

> andrew.blankstein

>

> @latimes.com

>

> Times researcher Vicki Gallay contributed to this report.

>