Violent restraints, mold infestation: Bridgewater State Hospital dehumanizes patients, watchdog says
Bridgewater State Hospital continues to use “unlawful and violent” restraint practices with patients and provides “inadequate access to appropriate medical care,” all while failing to address “significant mold contamination” that has plagued the facility for years, a new report from a watchdog organization found.
The Disability Law Center released a public report this week on its latest monitoring efforts at the Massachusetts Department of Correction facility in Bridgewater after sharing its findings concerning recurring practices with “select” government officials in late February, marking 10 years of advocacy to protect the rights of and improve care for individuals involuntarily held at the hospital, according to the organization.
The report called on Massachusetts to transfer oversight of the hospital population to the Department of Mental Health and to construct a new psychiatric hospital, accusing Wellpath, a private organization contracted for medical care at the facility, of dehumanizing and traumatizing patients through violent restraint practices.
“Under DOC’s control, involuntary medication and prison practices merge to produce violent, often dehumanizing, experiences for PS (persons served) of a team of Wellpath security staff, known as Therapeutic Safety Technicians, entering their cells dressed in riot gear, forcing them to the bed with a plexiglass shield, and holding them face-down to expose their buttocks for a nurse to administer intramuscular injections,” DLC wrote in its report.
One hospital patient who was exposed to the alleged violent restraint practices described the experience as being like a “fight with 4 to 5 people.” Another patient who DLC said was forcibly medicated stated, “I still think about it even now.” A patient who was recently discharged said hospital staff would often “hit you with the shield” and “use mad force on you.”
Long-term basement water problems, corroded pipes, “deplorable” HVAC systems, and “widespread” mold growth at the hospital have gone largely ignored, and the facility shouldn’t be occupied by patients or staff, according to the report.
“This inspection suggests that inappropriate and harmful actions pertaining to the control and remediation of mold growth in the buildings of Bridgewater State Hospital continue and many of the 2019, 2021, and 2022 recommendations were largely ignored,” DLC wrote. “These inactions have caused the mold problems to become worse in certain areas observed and potentially more harmful to those who work and live in the facility.”
A New England-based mold testing and inspection company that’s been in business for 27 years reported to DLC that the hospital should not be occupied until these problems have been fully resolved.
Tatum A. Pritchard, Director of Litigation of DLC, concluded that the DOC and Wellpath have and continued to fail to meet patient needs at the hospital, adding that the transfer of oversight is “long overdue.”
“It is clear that neither the care that DOC and Wellpath offer, nor the deteriorating prison facility meet the needs of the BSH population. DLC’s monitoring efforts reveal persistent legal violations, abuse, inadequate medical and mental health treatment, and mold contamination at BSH. Transfer of oversight to DMH is long overdue,” Pritchard said in a statement. “Failure to prioritize appropriate, stabilizing care and protect individuals with mental health disabilities at BSH from compounding trauma has real consequences for those individuals, their loved ones, and the Commonwealth’s larger mental health and criminal justice systems.”
In a statement, the Department of Correction spokesperson told Boston 25 News that it “remains deeply committed to ensuring that patients with complex needs who require strict security hospitalization receive the highest quality of person-centered and trauma-informed care” and that it has taken “significant measures” to “ensure the well-being and safety of those living and working at Bridgewater State Hospital.”
Among the measures taken include daily video reviews to ensure uses of restraint defined in Massachusetts laws are accurately tracked and appropriately utilized, the spokesperson said.
Bridgewater State Hospital is a medium-security facility housing male patients in two categories: civil commitments without criminal sentences, and on occasion, pre-trial detainees sent for competency and criminal responsibility evaluations by the court.
Boston 25 News has reached out to Wellpath for comment.
Read the full DLC report below:
DLC BSH Public Report 3.13.2024 by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd
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