It’s Official: Kings County Hospital Is a “Hellhole.”
Sometimes I wonder if all the good done by deinstitutionalization isn’t vanishing in a cloud of mistreatment once again. Remember the woman who died on the floor of the ER at a Brooklyn psych hospital? Now a New York Daily News article reveals that’s just one incident of many that make that hospital a “snake pit.”
Despite several probes after the negligent death of a woman in its emergency room, Kings County Hospital’s psychiatric ward remains a hellhole for its vulnerable patients. The psych ward – known as G Building – has been the scene of a half-dozen violent attacks since August, including the rape of a female patient by another patient in a day room, the Daily News has learned.
The most recent incident occurred Thanksgiving weekend when a patient tried to strangle another patient, a source said.
“There’s been a real spike in violence over a sustained period,” the source said.
A lawyer for the city revealed the attacks in a letter to Brooklyn Federal Magistrate Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, who is presiding over a suit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the state Mental Hygiene Legal Service against the hospital.
Lawyer Emily Sweet wanted to fax the letter to the judge under seal, but Matsumoto ordered the shocking disclosures be made public.
“We regret to inform the court that there have been several reported recent instances of alleged patient-on-patient violence as well as inappropriate sexual contact among patients,” Sweet’s letter begins.
The letter refers only to the Thanksgiving incident as being confirmed, but the source said a suspect in the rape has been arrested.
In a tragic twist, the rape victim was being treated at the hospital for depression related to having been raped earlier.
Can you imagine anything worse? As a rape survivor, I simply cannot imagine being the victim of such a violation in the wake of the first violation and coming through that mentally intact. That woman’s life could be ruined. There were times, even many years after I was raped, when I was in situations where I felt vulnerable to violation. Just having that feeling was enough to trigger flashbacks and depression, if not outright breaks from reality.
Daily News writer John Marzulli writes, “The feds are expected to release soon a ‘findings letter,’ a precursor to government legal action. The letter will outline violations at the hospital.” That’s going to be one hell of a letter.
Brooklyn psych ward a snake pit
Thanks to Joe for the tip.
liz | 10:48 AM | Uncategorized
If I Get Fired and Need a New Job …
Drug Maker Said to Pay Ghostwriters for Journal Articles
Or as we used to say in high school: not.
liz | 3:30 PM | Uncategorized
Gawker Flirts With Relevancy
I hardly ever read Gawker anymore, especially now with the headache-inducing new design. But this headline is too delicious to ignore (thanks to A.I. for sending me the link):
The Economy Just an Excuse for Your Pill Habits
The comments on Gawker are, of course, much more tolerable than those on Boston.com. Funny, too.
liz | 2:16 PM | Uncategorized
Worried About Rosie
My sweet little sugar glider is sick and she’s at the vet receiving IV fluids and antibiotics. Normally she won’t let you touch her; unlike the boys, she’s not interested in human contact. But for the past 24 hours, she’s been so clingy. I was petting the top of her head and she seemed to actually take comfort in it.
When a pet is sick, you feel it yourself a little. When my cat Augie was sick, for months before I put him down, I was sad every day. Hopefully little Rosie will feel better soon.
[This photo is of Rosie's brother and litter mate, but this is just how she looked as a little baby. Now she's a little bigger, but still very cute.]
liz | 1:57 PM | Uncategorized
Duh Headline of the Day—If You’re on Meds
Thanks to Joe for sending this article from Boston.com, excerpted below:
Such sexual symptoms have long been known side effects of the popular Prozac class of antidepressants, but a growing body of research suggests that they are far more common than previously thought, perhaps affecting half or more of patients.
And a handful of recent medical and psychological journal articles document a small number of cases in which sexual problems remain even after a patient goes off the drugs.
“This is such an upsetting issue,” said Aline Zoldbrod, a Lexington psychologist and sex therapist. “There are people for whom SSRIs are really life-saving, I think, but the idea that someone would have to choose between getting out of the darkness of depression and having a good sex life is horrible.”
Dr. Zoldbrod is right — it’s a horrible choice to have to make. The article also quotes Dr. Richard Balon, a psychiatry professor at Wayne State University, who’s my new favorite person for saying, of research on loss of libido: “The [pharmaceutical] industry, understandably, has no interest in funding this.” No surprise there.
Also not surprisingly, the comments for this article devolved into pro-meds/anti-meds. Why does it have to be that way? Why can’t we all just get along?
liz | 11:42 AM | Uncategorized
Depression Confession: Joe Pantoliano
I guess he’s going to start being an activist now. Or shilling. One or the other.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Joe Pantoliano’s first reaction to being told he was clinically depressed was … euphoria.
Finally, he said, he had an answer to why he’d been so miserable despite having the success and family he always wanted.
The 57-year-old actor, perhaps best known for playing Ralph Cifaretto on HBO’s “The Sopranos,” was in Buffalo Thursday to talk about the organization he founded two years ago to help remove the stigma attached to mental illness. It’s called: No Kidding, Me Too!
“Mental disease is the only thing you can be diagnosed with and get yelled at for having,” he said. “Why is that?”
Appearing with representatives from pharmaceutical and biomedical research companies, Pantoliano said medication has helped him manage his depression.
“From the moment I was diagnosed there was a certain sense of euphoria and `Thank God’ we figured this out,” he said, “because I thought that I’d become such a curmudgeon.”
liz | 1:51 PM | Uncategorized
Cute Fix: Reluctant
Generally speaking, I don’t like photographs of dogs and cats in clothing. It’s only funny to humans and it doesn’t speak to the inherent personality of the animal, which is what constitutes cute in the first place. One exception is Sugar Bush Squirrel, which blew me away.
But if I was going to think a dog in a hat was cute, I admit it would be this dog. I think it’s the little ears peeking out.
liz | 10:50 AM | Uncategorized
Becca’s Betrayal/Marriage
When I’m out of juice, as it were, Becca Trabin, TTWS intern, should really step up to the plate, you know? But instead she contributed a blog entry to our style blog, which the very cool cat-lover Erica Palan edits. Now style is fun and all, but are the stakes really that high? Vegan boots vs. crazy? No contest.
Thus, in my infirmity, I’m forced to post myself. Sigh. Kids these days.
Today I read about an illness I never heard of: Post-Nuptial Depression:
Stephanie Savill spent much of her honeymoon in tears. Her wedding in West Sussex had been a fabulous affair. Every detail, from the ribbons and decorative butterflies adorning the marquee to the hand-made invitations, had been meticulously planned with no expense spared. Even the weather on the day was perfect.
After such a triumph, it was perhaps inevitable that the 33-year-old PA from Winchester would find the first week of life as a newlywed something of an anticlimax, even if she was staying in a romantic Cornish cottage. But her mood did not improve on her return home. On the contrary, within a month, her marriage was under huge strain and she was questioning everything in her life, from her relationship to her career.
Stephanie is one of a growing number of brides who suffer what has been termed Post-Nuptial Depression (PND) – a syndrome where brides who have been building up to their big day find the day-to-day grind of married life, well, rather mundane.
liz | 3:26 PM | Uncategorized
Out of Juice
Just can’t do it today. Not depressed, just overwhelmed at work. Sorry.
liz | 1:39 PM | Uncategorized
