Dorothea Dix

Media attention merits more pay

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:10:50 -0500

Politics + Media = extra $$.

The new state mental hospital needed more than a regular old director.

That's why the state Department of Health and Human Services had to hire J. Michael Hennike as a contractor to run Central Regional Hospital in Butner, it explained in its contract, Lynn Bonner reports.

DHHS hired him under a contract with the UNC-Chapel Hill medical school's psychiatry department for $185,012.

"CRH is in the middle of merging operations between John Umstead Hospital and Dorothea Dix Hospital and the process is highly political and involves the media," the contract's "problem statement" says. "A seasoned manager with vast experience is needed."

Hiring Hennike as a contractor allowed DHHS to pay him about $70,000 more than the going rate for hospital directors.

Although DHHS announced Hennike started Jan. 1, DHHS said he's actually been running the place since Nov. 1. That's when his contract started.

Mark Van Sciver, a DHHS spokesman said Mike Lancaster, the interim director who made way for Hennike, was the "titular head" for a while. Hennike is expected to run Central Regional for two years, according to the contract.

Hennike, who ran the Murdock Center in Butner for years, suspended his state pension payments Dec. 1, according to the state treasurer's office.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the salary.

DHHS nixes Dix scripts

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:49:53 -0400

Dorothea Dix is gone in name only.

A judge may have ruled the state can't move patients out of Raleigh's Dorothea Dix Hospital because of safety concerns with a new mental hospital in Butner, but that doesn't mean N.C. Department of Health and Human Services officials can't try to eliminate the name of the 19th century social reformer for which the historic facility was named.

Michael Lancaster, co-director of the state Division of Mental Health, issued a memo Monday ordering that Dorothea Dix no longer exists, at least on the telephone, Michael Biesecker reports.

All Dix employees are now to follow the following script when answering calls:

Good Morning or Good Afternoon
Central Regional Hospital Raleigh Campus
This is (your name)
How may I help you?

State agrees to hold off on Dix transfer

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:39:02 -0400

Patients at Dorothea Dix will stay put for now.

The state signed a legal agreement Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by Disability Rights North Carolina, which outlined numerous safety concerns and technical glitches with a new $138 million hospital in Butner.

Patients would have been transferred to the new facility on Wednesday.

The state's willingness to accept the deal is spurred by the results of a visit to the Butner facility last week by regulators from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Though the state has not yet released the full details of what inspectors found, it appears likely that the new facility will be found in violation of federal operating rules.

That would make it illegal for the state to transfer patients there. (N&O

Dix closure delayed

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:40:58 -0400

A state judge has stalled the plan to shut down Dorothea Dix hospital.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that bars the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services from moving the bulk of Dix's patients to the new Central Regional Hospital.

That had been sheduled to start on Oct. 1.

The judge acted in response to a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of patients by the advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina, which has been monitoring conditions at Central Regional.

"We are pleased with the decision, obviously," said Vicki Smith, the executive director of Disability Rights. "What the danger is when courts get involved is that the lawyers start arguing small points and we forget why we're there, which is to document that patients are safe."

It is not clear how long Baddour's order will last. (N&O)

Advocacy group sue to stop Dix closure

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:12:10 -0400

A legal advocacy group has asked a judge to stop the pending closure of Dorothea Dix.

In a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday, lawyers for Disability Rights North Carolina detail 15 safety issues at Central Regional Hospital, the new Butner facility where the bulk of Dix's patients will soon be transferred.

The nonprofit group has a federal mandate to investigate conditions independently in state hospitals, and it has been monitoring Central Regional for months. Its suit asks that a Wake County Superior Court judge issue a temporary restraining order to stop the transfer of Dix patients.

"The new hospital has significant issues regarding the safety and care of patients," said Vicki Smith, the advocacy group's executive director. "The [state] continues to provide assurances they will fix the problems, but to date, serious problems still exist."

Tom Lawrence, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said he could not comment on the lawsuit, citing a policy.

In a separate development, investigators for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed up at Central Regional to look into multiple complaints. (N&O)

Mental hospitals face Catch-22

bkrueger — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:08:48 -0400

The state mental health division wants to start moving mentally ill patients from Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh to a new hospital in Butner, even though the division has not met conditions set out in state law for the transfer.

The law required assurances that the new hospital, Central Regional in Butner, would be accredited by two agencies before Dix patients move in, reports Lynn Bonner.

But one of the agencies, the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, has said it will not even visit Central because Dix patients and staff are not there.

That set up a Catch-22, said Dr. Michael Lancaster, co-director of the state Division of Mental Health. Central Regional cannot be accredited because Dix staff and patients are not there, but staff and patients aren't there because it is not accredited.

Lancaster said he would recommend to his boss, state Department of Health and Human Services secretary Dempsey Benton, that Dix patients start moving, and leave the decision up to Benton.
Tomorrow, Dix will stop accepting patients to its geriatric ward. Central Regional will take them instead.

More after the jump.

McCrory objects to faster Butner opening

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:42:04 -0400

Pat McCrory says the state should not certify its own hospital.

The Republican gubernatorial nominee said that he objects to the decision to strike a provision from the state budget that would have required a new Central Regional Hospital in Butner to be approved by outside inspectors before it opened.

The decision also means that Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh could be closed sooner.

"In another secret back room meeting, the political establishment in Raleigh has arrogantly dismissed the welfare of mental health patients and decreed through the budget that the state does not have to comply with the same regulations it places on everyone else," he said in a statement.

He noted that hospitals normally have to pass "rigorous reviews," but not mental hospitals run by the state.

"The Department of Health and Human Services, which is racked with scandal and over $400 million misspent in mental health, will now move forward with closing Dix Hospital and opening Central Regional without independent review," he said.

Earlier this morning, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beverly Perdue said she also objects to the decision.

Perdue disagrees with faster Butner opening

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:45:05 -0400

Beverly Perdue says the state should not certify its own hospital.

In a statement, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee said that she "strongly" disagrees with the decision to strike a budget provision that would have prevented the new Central Regional Hospital in Butner from opening until outside inspectors approved it.

She also said that N.C. Secretary of Health and Human Services Dempsey Benton should not allow patients into the Butner hospital until it meets those standards.

"Secretary Benton should not authorize transfer until Central Regional meets those standards – the long-term safety and care of both patients and staff must not be compromised," she said.

A faster opening at Butner would also mean that Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh would close sooner.

Budget speeds Dix closure

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:31:03 -0400

A last-minute change to the state budget will make it easier to close Dorothea Dix.

The final budget headed to Gov. Mike Easley was stripped of a provision that would have required the new Central Regional Hospital in Butner to be approved by outside inspectors before it can accept patients. It's unclear who wrote the provision.

Advocates for the mentally ill decried the change, which effectively lets Secretary of Health and Human Services Dempsey Benton certify that the new hospital is safe.

"They watered it down to where no certification by a third party will be required," said John Rittelmeyer, the director of legal services for the advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina. "We are disappointed because we are adamant about protecting the safety of patients, and we just don't believe that an internal assurance that standards are being met is sufficient."

The opening of the new hospital has been delayed at least four times in the past year amid concerns about projected staffing shortages and internsal safety reviews that found problems in the building. Most new hospitals are required to undergo rigorous testing, but hospitals run by the department are exempt. (N&O)

McCrory: Keep Dix open another year

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:15:45 -0400

Pat McCrory has called for Dorothea Dix to remain open for another year.

In a letter sent Monday to Gov. Mike Easley, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and other top Democratic leaders, the Republican gubernatorial nominee urged them to keep the Raleigh mental hospital staffed until the next governor could implement mental health reforms.

"I believe that the present problems are not a result of the legislatively passed reforms to provide local care for mental health patients," he wrote. "The scandal is a result of poor planning and implementation of the reforms. The next governor should be given the opportunity to bring new leadership to this area."

In the letter, McCrory says that the recent beating of a nurse at Dix shows there are continuing problems with the state's mental health care system.

During a June 2 news conference, McCrory called on the legislature to keep Dix open. He wrote that he was now asking top state leaders to intervene.