UW Health SwedishAmerican challenges claim of Rockford homicide suspect

UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital CEO Travis Andersen is challenging the claim of a homicide suspect that he was released from the hospital without getting mental health treatment.

Timothy Carter, 28, of Cabery, Illinois, is accused in the March 24 slaying of Jason Jenkins, an 18-year-old Auburn High School student who was working at the Northridge Drive Walmart about 6 p.m. when he was stabbed in the back. Jenkins was taken to the hospital where he died later that night.

Carter told police that after threatening to kill himself, he was taken from Rosecrance Behavioral Health — which has said in statement there are times when a patient is referred to a higher level of care when they "are assessed to be an acute risk to self or others" — to SwedishAmerican Hospital.

According to a factual summary in court records, Carter told police that he was transported to the hospital but "he did not receive mental health treatment and was released."

Although Andersen during recent comments said he could not address specifics of Carter's case because of privacy laws, he talked about what steps the hospital takes when patients in mental health crisis enter the emergency room.

Andersen said that under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act the hospital is required "to see any patient that comes into our institution seeking care."

"It's a law," Andersen said.

Screened, stabilized

SwedishAmerican operates a 42-bed inpatient psychiatric ward. On average, 21 beds are occupied.

Andersen offered his condolences to the Jenkins family and said his thoughts and prayers are with them. He said that it is the mission of the hospital, what he considers an "anchor institution," to create a healthy community.

The law requires hospitals to provide appropriate screening and stabilizing treatment. But what treatment consists of and for how long is not specified. Andersen said patients must meet certain criteria to be admitted into the psychiatric ward.

"There is a process and algorithm to go through that is based on nationally accepted evidence and monitored by our accrediting bodies to make sure we are following evidence-based protocols," Andersen said.

UW Health officials said SwedishAmercian has designated safe rooms for patients in a mental health crisis, as well as dedicated social workers and mental health professionals trained to offer "timely and appropriate care for mental health needs in the emergency department."

What does Andersen mean by "seeing" a patient?

"When I think about seeing a patient, we deliver evidence-based protocols and evidence-based medicine based on our national accrediting bodies," Andersen said. "There is a process that we follow to ensure that the patient, the person presented, regardless of their illness, is taken care of and has a plan."

Failure to detect threat

Police say that after leaving SwedishAmerican, Carter went to the Walmart on Northridge Drive and attacked Jenkins. Records do not indicate how much time went by between his release from the hospital and the attack at the Walmart. They also do not indicate how Carter reached the Walmart.

Winnebago County Public Defender Nick Zimmerman, whose office is defending Carter, declined to comment.

Former Rockford School Board Member Mike Williams said it is obvious that assessment processes and procedures "failed to adequately determine this individual was a threat to himself and others."

"We don't know at this juncture if our mental health agencies even communicate with each other about potential threats to personal or public safety," Williams said in an email to the Register Star. "What we know is that this individual contacted a number of mental health entities and none of them responded to his calls for help during a personal mental health crisis."

Not enough information

Former superintendent of the shuttered Singer Mental Health Center and vice president of the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board, Dick Kunnert said SwedishAmerican personnel need evidence to keep a person against their will and admit them into the hospital involuntarily.

Did the person say something that would give hospital personnel evidence he is a danger to himself or others?

Not enough is known about the specifics of this case, Kunnert said during a phone interview.

"Under the Mental Health Act that I worked under, the issue would have been making the decision about whether or not the person is a threat to himself or to someone else," Kunnert said. "That really becomes the only reason why you can take someone's freedom away and put them into a locked area.  I just simply don't have enough information about the specifics of this case."

'Much more work to do'

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said Rockford and Winnebago County have made strides when it comes to health care, pointing to the creation of a crisis co-response team and new mental health care programs funded by a voter-approved half-cent mental health sales tax.

McNamara said that this incident is a reminder "that while we’ve come a long way, we all still have much more work to do."

"My heart hurts for Jason, the entire Jenkins family and all who knew and loved this young man," McNamara said in an email. "To have someone come into our town and commit such a random act of violence shakes us to our core."

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hospital: 'Evidence-based' system used to evaluate mental health