Advocacy Group Sues Michigan Officials for Failure To Establish ‘Treatment Plans’ for People with Disabilities
Michigan Protection and Advocacy Services, an advocacy group for people with disabilities, on Aug. 26 filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against state and Wayne County officials for allegedly transferring patients out of a state psychiatric hospital without a plan for future treatment, the Detroit Free-Press reports. The lawsuit, filed in Ingham County Circuit Court, accuses James Haveman, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health, and Patricia Kukula, interim executive director of Detroit-Wayne Community Mental Health Agency, of illegally transferring at least 19 patients out of Northville Psychiatric Hospital without developing a continuing treatment plan. Michigan state law requires a "discharge plan" for treatment after any patient is released to guarantee that patients' "medical and physical needs" continue to be met by the new provider. According to the lawsuit, at least one patient died because of improper continuing care plans, and between Aug. 13 and Aug. 21, providers told MPAS officials that another four patients who had been transferred could not be located. The lawsuit seeks to have the court appoint a person to oversee compliance with state law and ensure that treatment plans are in place before a patient is released. In addition, the lawsuit seeks to force the state to locate patients who have already been released and set up treatment plans for them. Approximately 100 patients have recently been transferred out of Northville, which is scheduled to close in two years. Kukula said the county is "concerned about protecting the health, safety and welfare of its patients" and that it currently has the staff in place to ensure that (Wendland-Bowyer, Detroit Free-Press, 8/27).
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