Death in Minnesota hospital raises issues & comments
Original article: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/2890361.html
"State Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, said that people who are committed
as a danger to themselves or others do not have the same rights as other
citizens."
FYI: Once again the fact that Representative Greiling is a member of NAMI-MN
Board of Directors has been omitted from the story. WHY SHOULD THIS REMAIN A
SECRET? (See NAMI-MN BOD roster at http://mn.nami.org/board.html)
Representative Greiling has exploited just about every tragedy that has happened
in Minnesota where there is a link to the mental health system in order to
promote NAMI's forced drugging agenda.
Her comment that committed people do not have the same rights as other citizens
in Minnesota is true. As an agent for NAMI, she has destroyed the Bill of Rights
and endangered every Minnesotan labeled mentally ill via the legislation she has
authored and managed to get passed with lobbying help from their financial
backers and benefactors, the pharmaceutical/biopsychiatric industry.
My soul cries out in sympathy to the Jarboe family as they struggle with the
circumstances surrounding Brandon's death. MN NoForce advocates will attempt to
reach the Jarboe family to see if there is anything we can do to help them
understand the tragedy that they have been forced to endure.
Why should anyone who seeks out treatment for chemical dependency be duped,
coerced, or forced into entering the mental health system where the only
treatment that is provided is prescribing of addictive pharmaceuticals and
incarceration that endangers their physical/emotional well-being and prevents
true sobriety?
Jerri Lynn
MN NoForce Advocate
(612) 558-7041
The online version headline says "heroin" overdose. The paper version (page
B3) reads "Mental hospital death ruled overdose." The articles states the
finding of the Anoka County corners office is it was "an accidental overdose of
morphine" and "that Jarboe died after taking an unknown amount of an opiate."
6/20/02 Psychopharm Alert e-news of Manisses Communications, Inc. includes J
CLIN PSYCHY article that reports "Hollander et al. report that once-weekly oral
morphine is well tolerated and might benefit some patients with refractory OCD."
Hmmm...can these dots be connected?
Jerri Lynn
Survivor/MN NoForce Activist/Advocate
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/2919658.html
06/21/2002
The Anoka County coroner's office has ruled that Brandon Jarboe, 23, died of an
accidental overdose of morphine May 13 while a patient at the Anoka-Metro
Regional Treatment Center.
His death set off an investigation by the state Human Services Department, which
operates the psychiatric hospital. Jarboe had been committed to the center after
two reported suicide attempts and a heroin overdose.
The coroner's office ruled that Jarboe, of Eagan, died after taking an unknown
amount of an opiate. It is apparently the first drug-overdose death since 1997
in any of the five state psychiatric treatment centers.
-- Maura Lerner
© Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
[See copy of June 9, 2002 article below for further information about Mr.
Jarboe's death.]
Subject: J CLIN PSYCHY: Limbic Leucotomy (psychosurgery) vs. refractory OCD
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:12:22 -0400
Excerpt from the Psychopharm Alert e-news of Manisses Communications, Inc.,for
6-20-2002: Psychosurgery making a come-back:
Hollander et al. report that once-weekly oral morphine is well tolerated and
might benefit some patients with refractory OCD.
Dear Ms. Marcotty,
Your June 9, 2002 article was interesting to note, especially in the light of
MN's 'I.O.C' legislation (Involuntary Outpatient Commitment).
I am a California resident. I am a parent of a court committed MH Client. I am
'well-aware' of the 'drug trafficking' within California's state hospitals (and
prisons). In fact, since more and more youths have gotten legally SUCTIONED into
court ordered commitment in California the 'conditions' in state hospitals have
become more intolerable for young people to exist in!
At the same time, more and more youths have been 'criminalized' while being
treated under civil commitment! These youths are then 'prosecuted' and remanded
to 'forensic' state mental hospitals and there to be 'treated' and 'educated'
about how to perform in their upcoming 'trial' in Superior Court.
One has to 'wonder' how it is that a youth could be 'criminalized' while a
patient in a state hospital under civil commitment. Well, it is being done more
frequently than the tax paying public realizes.
What is the OUTCOME for persons whose family members are bent on having them
court committed? Well, unfortunately it is just what we have read in your June 9
article re the death of this young man!
It should behoove the authorities to investigate 'what' psychiatric drugs, if
any, were found in the deceased blood stream? Why? It is a 'fact' that ALL
psychiatric drugs tend to be 'addictive!' Thus, if a person has an 'addiction'
to street drugs, it is for SURE that prescribing 'psychiatric drugs' (even under
medical scrutiny) is going to INCREASE (NOT decrease) the physical craving for
street drugs!
Secondly, when it comes to keeping street drugs OUT of state hospitals, the
authorities really OUGHT to be looking at the real issues of 'some' (not all)!
Employees bringing in street drugs and 'other' forbidden merchandise (known as
contraband). I personally wrote up a report on one such employee here in CA
(which was later confirmed) ... this former state employee was a 'drug
trafficker' who got 'caught!'
How many 'other' state employees have been 'caught' running drugs right past the
inspection centers within forensic state mental hospitals?
Very FEW, (if any!) because employees are not 'searched' or 'monitered' when
they enter and leave the facilities. State mental hospitals DRAW individuals who
will 'risk' breaking the law in order to make money at street drug trafficking
right within these facilities!
Visitors are put through rigid searching of all items brought into presence of
the inmate/mh clients. All visitors go through metal detectors, also. I have 'no
problem' with this, if it helps to keep the facility free of illicit drugs. I DO
have a problem with the 'fact' that three separate shifts of employees go
through 'inspection' without any inspection whatsoever of their carry-in bags,
purses, etc. And, this is for the reason cited above!
Thirdly, many years of mental health advocacy has revealed to me that turning
our mental health facilities into 'warehouses' and 'holding tanks' for youths
whose parents PUSH such prison-like incarceration has not in any sense of the
word helped to cut down on 'crime' or has it in any way actually 'helped' youths
to deal with their emotional problems! In fact, placing youths in these
deplorable 'prison like' settings has only caused their emotional problems
(problems in living) to be driven even deeper into their misguided psyches!
As the NAMI organization (and it's lucrative, vested interest bed-partners) PUSH
for more and more 'court ordered' hospitalizations and 'house arrests' under the
'I.O.C.' (involuntary outpatient commitment) we will 'see' more and more
incidents of suicide amongst young people! Why? Because these public funded
hospitals are medical CESS POOLS of corrupt administrations, inept personnel and
living conditions not unlike the 'gulags' of communist Russia!
What NAMI proponents have failed to 'realize' is that when they relegate their
loved ones into these horror chambers they are essentially setting themselves up
for being hated and despised and resented by their incarcerated loved one.
Interesting to note the many 'professionals' on NAMI-MN Board of Directors.
While 'teachers' have been relegating students to the RITALIN scam we note that
teachers, lobbyists, a psychiatrist, and TWO legislators are on this board. What
vested interest entities do these persons represent?
If Rep. Greiling is concerned about the death of this young man due to
(allegedly) street drugs, perhaps she and other NAMI members ought to 'take
stock' of all the persons who have DIED from adverse effects of psychiatric
drugs in the United States and Abroad! Many DIED while under psychiatric 'care
and treatment.'
Where are the statistics on this? Wouldn't it be a good idea to search out the
'connection' between 'legal' psychiatric drugs and street drugs and the fact
that 'all' of these 'drugs' are addictive and dangerous to self and others! When
will the 'bed partner routines' between 'drug companies' and NAMI and the big
bucks in this kind of 'drug trafficking' come to the light
... especially where the 'media' is concerned, so that the public can get the
real 'skinny' on what psychiatric drugs and money and power and social control
is ALL ABOUT?
Those many parents across the United States and Abroad who 'know about' the
cruel, life-threatening effects of psychiatric drugs believe the 'press' ought
to be doing more 'homework' on 'these' issues ... instead of buying into the
lucrative 'bed-partnering routines' of the well-heeled NAMI organization
(receives millions of dollars from drug companies)!
Politicians really OUGHT TO LOOK AT THE OTHER SIDE OF these political 'issues'
and PAY ATTENTION to all of the mental health clients who have died at the hands
of psychiatrists and the 'wares' they PUSH ...addictive, mind control drugs
within public funded mental health clinics and hospitals! Ask them if they'd be
'willing' to take the same drugs, same dosages that they so 'casually' prescribe
for others? Ask them about all the KNOWN 'diseases' these drugs have caused. And
then ask them 'why' suicide is on the rise?
Maybe they will 'get honest' and 'tell the truth' for a change!
Felicia McCarty
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/2890361.html
Death at Anoka hospital raises patient safety issue
Josephine Marcotty
Star Tribune
06/09/2002
Authorities are investigating whether a patient who died May 13 at the
Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center had overdosed on drugs that had been
smuggled into the secure psychiatric hospital.
The death of Brandon Jarboe, 23, who had been committed March 20 after two
reported suicide attempts and a heroin overdose, lays bare long-held concerns
about the presence of illicit drugs in the facility.
The Department of Human Services, which operates the Anoka Treatment Center,
said it is investigating a death there, but declined to comment further.
An investigator in the Anoka County medical examiner's office said the cause of
Jarboe's death has not yet been determined. Police said there were signs of drug
use around his body, and the victim's father said he has been told by an Anoka
staff member that drugs were involved.
It apparently is the first overdose death since 1997 in any of the five state
psychiatric hospitals. It has shocked some in the mental health community, and
has left Jarboe's parents stunned.
His father, Mark Jarboe, said they had urged their son to accept the commitment
"because we wanted him to be safe." Brandon Jarboe was awaiting a spot in a
drug-treatment program at the time of his death.
Human Services officials acknowledge that illicit drug use occurs at Anoka, a
230-bed facility for mentally ill or chemically dependent patients. But it's a
hospital -- not a prison -- even though patients are committed by court order
because they are considered a danger to themselves or others, officials said.
Tougher security measures would interfere with therapy and treatment, so
patients are searched only if there is a reason, they said.
"Any time there is an indication there is a drug issue, we investigate it," said
Rod Kornrumpf, a regional Human Services administrator who is in charge of
Anoka.
Brandon Jarboe had told his parents before he died that some patients were
dealing marijuana in the hospital courtyard, and someone had offered to buy
heroin for him and smuggle it in, according to his father.
"Anyone could bring it in," Mark Jarboe said.
Security issues
Mental health advocates said that 40 to 50 percent of people with serious mental
illnesses also abuse drugs or alcohol. "The presence of illegal drugs threatens
their ability to recover," said Sue Abderholden, director of the Minnesota
chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Sgt. Philip Johanson of the Anoka police said officers are called to the Anoka
hospital on drug complaints 35 to 40 times a year. Those calls most often
involve marijuana, but also methamphetamine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.
Kornrumpf said Anoka, which is the largest state hospital, recorded 30 confirmed
cases of possession or use among patients in the past year. Nine of the cases
occurred inside the facility. The rest involved patients who were returning from
visits outside, or who admitted using drugs to hospital staff members, he said.
State officials declined to say whether they know how Brandon Jarboe obtained
drugs. Kornrumpf said he is prohibited by law from discussing details of any
death in a state-owned hospital.
The medical examiner's office said it could not disclose information about the
cause of death until its investigation is complete.
Troubled life
Mark Jarboe said his son's depression was diagnosed four years ago, and court
records say he'd been abusing drugs since he was a teenager. He had struggled
through high school, his father said, but seemed to be doing better since he
began attending the Art Institutes International of Minnesota in Minneapolis,
where he was learning Web page design.
But in early March he overdosed on heroin, his father said. Court documents show
that he was chemically dependent, and heroin was "his drug of choice." He had
attempted suicide twice, documents said. He was treated at Fairview-University
Medical Center in Minneapolis, then at a drug rehabilitation program, and was
admitted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, which petitioned for his commitment.
Mark Jarboe said he last saw his son on Mother's Day, May 12. He and his wife
picked up their son, who had permission to leave the hospital for six hours.
They went to his apartment in Eagan, where he showered and changed, and they
ordered a pizza. They went to the Minnesota Zoo, and then his parents took him
back to the hospital. Mark Jarboe said that they were with him the entire time,
and that he did not think it likely that his son could have obtained drugs that
day.
The next day at 6 a.m. he was found dead in his room, and there were signs of
drug use in the immediate area, Johanson said.
Dakota County District Judge Michael Sovis, who had committed Brandon Jarboe,
referred questions about his death to Judge Richard Spicer, the district's chief
judge. Spicer said that because patients sent to Anoka are a danger to
themselves, "it seems to me safety would be a primary concern."
Intensive security measures should not be out of the question, he said. "We do
it on airplanes," he said.
If the medical examiner's investigation concludes that Jarboe died of an
overdose in the hospital, "that would be a violation of [Anoka's]
responsibilities," Spicer said. "It is our expectation that they will have a
safe existence."
Patients come and go
Anoka is a locked facility. Patients cannot leave without permission, and they
receive passes only if hospital staff members believe that they are
psychologically stable enough for trips outside, Kornrumpf said.
The decision to search returning patients is left to staff members who assess
them, he said. That procedure is used at other state psychiatric hospitals and
at psychiatric units in other hospitals, officials said.
Many hospital officials said they struggle to find the balance between patient
safety and dignity in psychiatric units. They are required by state and federal
law to provide a safe environment.
"A facility has an obligation to provide a therapeutic environment and an
environment in which people are safe," said Roberta Opheim, Minnesota ombudsman
for mental health and mental retardation. "If that system fails, then I think
that we certainly need to take a look at it."
State Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, said that people who are committed as
a danger to themselves or others do not have the same rights as other citizens.
"If we can go to all the trouble we go to at prisons to make them safe, it seems
to me we can do the same here," said Greiling, who is active in mental health
issues. Her son was a patient at Anoka in 1999, and he complained to her about
patients smoking marijuana in the bathrooms, she said. When she asked hospital
staff members about it, they acknowledged that illicit drugs were sometimes a
problem in the facility, she said.
Others disagree that the hospital should adopt a tougher stance. Anoka is a
therapeutic environment, and increasing security measures would hurt more people
than it helps, said Sandra Meicher, executive director of the Mental Health
Association.
"They are not criminals," she said of the patients. "And while there is some
availability [of drugs], it's not wildly out of control."
-- Josephine Marcotty is at marcotty@startribune.com .
© Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
