Maryland lawmakers are planning to hold a hearing to find out more information about the abuses at the state’s maximum-security psychiatric hospital, WYPR has learned.
The legislature plans to call forward officials from the Maryland Department of Health to answer questions about the dangerous and toxic environment in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, according to Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee Chairman Sen. Clarence Lam.
“When you have instances of a rape and a patient death and a riot happen at a state hospital without further review or awareness, even by the secretary, something just isn't right,” Lam said. “It is important for us as a legislature to have accountability and oversight over things that happen in our state facilities that include state hospitals like this.”
In October, MDH hired the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors to conduct an independent evaluation of the facility.
“The goal of this evaluation is to foster continuous quality improvement to ensure the hospital culture supports both patients and employees,” Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, Maryland’s health secretary, wrote in a letter to the facility’s staff. “By the end of calendar 2024, evaluators have been tasked with presenting findings, conclusions, and recommendations for improving the safety, security, and efficiency of CTPHC.”
A recent investigation from the Washington Post, found that the hospital failed to investigate violent staff assaults and sexual assaults against patients, as well as concerns about understaffing and dangerous conditions.
“The allegations raised by The Washington Post investigation are of serious concern to Secretary Laura Herrera Scott and the Moore-Miller Administration,” Chase Cook, a spokesman for MDH, told WYPR. “The Maryland Department of Health is fully committed to the safety and security of both employees and the patients that we serve at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. Allegations of neglect and abuse are taken seriously and are investigated to the fullest extent possible, including the involvement of independent oversight authorities and law enforcement when appropriate.”
MDH says it conducted a review in June and has been working to improve issues at Perkins Hospital.
“The department is recruiting a clinical director that will work at MDH headquarters and report directly to the health secretary,” Cook said. “This role will provide clinical oversight for Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, the four other state psychiatric hospitals in the state, and the two Regional Institutes for Children and Adolescents.”
The hospital is also conducting a nationwide search for a new CEO and will continue working with outside organizations to modernize the hospital’s practices.
Earlier this year, the hospital’s former CEO, Scott Moran, left his position after employees alleged that he bullied and threatened them.
A temporary restraining order was filed against Moran that kept him away from the facility for six months and prohibited him from possessing weapons.
Complaints about the hospital reach back to 2011 when workers said some patients were not receiving proper medications and that treatment teams were making dangerous clinical decisions.
An audit this summer also found that the hospital failed to verify if staff properly disposed of highly controlled drugs.
