Oh Thank Goodness!

… Wait - Are You Kidding Me??

A June 9, 2016, article in the Patriot Ledger written by reporter Chris Burrell states:

Pembroke Hospital which is being monitored by the state department of Mental Health after a series of urgent safety violations, is looking for a new director of clinical services.

Phew, thank goodness!  I am sure now, once a new director of clinical services is found and hired, Pembroke Hospital will be fully able to properly care for its patients.

REALLY?? Are we to believe this one person has caused all these problems?


How can looking for a new clinical director solve any of the hospital’s safety, security and monitoring issues?

For those who are not familiar with the problems plaguing Pembroke Hospital, a 120-bed psychiatric facility, here is a short list:

• In August 2016, 20-year-old patient Amber Mace was found dead in her room. It was determined that staff failed to properly conduct 15-minute safety checks on her to see if she was breathing. Mace had been dead for several hours when she was found in “full rigor mortis.”
• State regulating agencies found the hospital to be short-staffed and that proper protocol was not being followed; patients were being restrained and placed in isolation; and security staff and emergency protocol were deficient.
• In March 2016, a nurse was attacked by a patient whereby her ear was nearly torn off and her eyes almost gouged. The patient had a history of assaulting others but had remained at Pembroke rather than being transferred to another facility that could have treated him more appropriately.
• Bathrooms were found to be inoperable. 
• Access to emergency medical equipment was blocked due to dirty and cluttered rooms. 
• “Incomplete treatment plans” were discovered that didn’t address significant needs of the patients.

How is it that someone requiring psychiatric treatment could be sent to a place like this?

Why are organizations still sending patients to Pembroke Hospital?

Knowing how hospitals are supposed to be run, Pembroke psychiatric hospital doesn't give the public a vote of confidence. We, the public, are all wondering the same thing:

Why and how does an this organization still receive taxpayer monies?

What else is going to happen?

 And the million-dollar question: what else has to happen to close this facility until it gets its act together?

Sheila Wilson, RN BSN MPH
President stophealthcareviolence
www.stophealthcareviolence.org