美国国家公共电台 NPR--Montana state mental hospital loses federal money as well as oversight

Montana state mental hospital loses federal money as well as oversight¹

Transcript²

Conditions got so bad at Montana's state mental hospital in 2022 that federal officials withdrew support. The state says things are getting better; patient's families say there's no evidence of that.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Four patients at the state mental hospital in Montana died in a single week last year. Federal regulators concluded all the deaths were preventable. That led to the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding and the end of federal oversight of the hospital. Patient advocates say the result is a lot less transparency into a troubled institution. Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton reports.

JENNIFER MITCHELL: Hello.

AARON BOLTON, BYLINE³: Hey.

MITCHELL: This is my husband's family's home.

BOLTON: Jennifer Mitchell is restoring her late husband's childhood home in the mountain town of Butte. It's helping⁴ her fill the time since he died a year and a half ago.

MITCHELL: Here's a picture of my husband. We did some cruises. We went to the Centennial Ball, Montana Centennial Ball, 1989.

BOLTON: When the pandemic hit, Bill who was 69, started to become paranoid and forgetful. He eventually crashed his car, winding⁵ up in the ER.

MITCHELL: And they thought he had the hallmarks of dementia.

BOLTON: Doctors legally committed bill to the Montana State Hospital as a danger to himself or others. After 60 days, he was discharged with meds for severe depression, but not his drugs for congestive heart failure. The hospital had taken him off those. A month later, he went into cardiac arrest. Jennifer blames the medication change.

MITCHELL: He turned 70 on July 29 and still lingered and lingered. And finally, his brother came to visit him. And he died the next morning. He was just waiting to see his brother.

BOLTON: The following winter, four patients died in one week at the state mental hospital. There was a serious assault shortly after that. And that's when the federal government pulled millions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid funding. Losing that money is bad, Danny Tenenbaum says. But losing federal oversight is worse. Tenenbaum is a former state lawmaker and public defender⁶ who's represented state hospital patients.

DANNY TENENBAUM: Federal investigators⁷ are not able to go in there and report to the public as to what's going on there.

BOLTON: That means serious incidents could fall through the cracks, as state law allows administrators⁸ to keep details from the public.

TENENBAUM: It's a black hole.

BOLTON: A patient watchdog group says state law prevents releasing information that federal investigations⁹ used to make public. Mary Caferro, a Democratic lawmaker from Helena, wants to require the state to publicly disclose information about patient safety incidents at the state mental hospital.

MARY CAFERRO: The legislature, when we have good information, thorough information, we make better policy that's in the best interest of the people we represent.

BOLTON: Right now, lawmakers rely on people running the hospital to flag any problems. Charlie Brereton, head of the state health department, recently told them things are getting better.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLIE BRERETON: We've stabilized¹⁰ MSH since that decertification with a change in leadership and with no significant increases in deaths, serious injuries or substantiated¹¹ abuse or neglect allegations.

BOLTON: But Brereton, who declined an interview, didn't give any details about those incidents. A records request found 13 substantiated reports of abuse, neglect and severe patient injuries since the hospital lost federal funding. There were also six deaths. And the details are important, says David Hutt with the national patient advocacy group Disability Rights Network.

DAVID HUTT: Raw numbers aren't going to tell you that someone was forced into an illegal four-point restraint, was knocked down, that residents were allowed to fight each other because of lack of staffing.

BOLTON: Montana's Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, wants to spend 320 million of the state's $2.6 billion surplus reforming the state's mental health system. That includes bringing back federal oversight. Gianforte says previous Democratic administrations neglected the state hospital. And federal funding was at risk for violations¹² on the watch of Montana's previous Democratic governor in 2017. But the state resolved the complaints. Democrats¹³ say more funding is sorely needed and patient advocates agree, so the state hospital can remain a fixture¹⁴. But they also want more transparency about safety problems.

MITCHELL: This is my cat, Jamison (ph). Hey, Jamie (ph).

BOLTON: It's about a hundred miles from Montana's capitol, over the mountains, back to Butte, where Jennifer Mitchell is mourning her husband. She doesn't think the state hospital can be saved.

MITCHELL: This whole hospital needs to be completely just disbanded. And they need to start from scratch.

BOLTON: She fears only more patients will get severely¹⁵ injured or die at the state hospital so long as its doors remain open.

For NPR News, I'm Aaron Bolton in Butte, Mont.

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 substantiated   

v.用事实支持（某主张、说法等），证明，证实( substantiate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The results of the tests substantiated his claims. 这些检验的结果证实了他的说法。
• The statement has never been substantiated. 这一陈述从未得到证实。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。