California mental hospitals plagued by peril
Another patient brutalized Janet and Sean Webbs son at Napa State Hospital. A federal plan to reduce heavy drugging and improper restraining failed to improve care and help patients control violent impulses (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Philip Zullo, shown with his father, Fred, spent eight years in state hospitals. He says the paperwork kept psychiatric technicians from doing their real jobs. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Garth Webb, with his parents during a recent visit, was tormented by a patient in the room next door who later strangled a psychiatric technician. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Arthur and Angelina Rodrigues watch their daughter Debbie Coughlin fights tears as she talks about the death of her sister, Diane Rodrigues, who broke her neck after flipping off her bed at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk and later died of related causes. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
In the reform effort’s group classes, high-functioning patients were thrown in with those ranting about “God and aliens,” making it impossible to “stay focused,” says former Napa State Hospital patient Duwayne Bartsch. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Dr. Richard Frishman, at a demonstration by Napa State Hospital employees seeking safer conditions, displays a photo of him soon after he was brutally beaten by a patient. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Duwayne Bartsch spent 15 years at Napa after being found not guilty of second-degree murder by reason of insanity. He is an advocate for patients’ rights. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Metropolitan State Hospital social worker Kwamina Neizer leads a group session aimed at helping patients deal with the rigors of sticking to their wellness and recovery action plans. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The reform plan’s core approach to treatment was group classes, like these at Metropolitan, on such topics as anger management. The classes largely replaced individual therapy, which clinicians say patients need in order to understand their illnesses and show progress. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Workers at Napa State Hospital observe a moment of silence in memory of Donna Gross, a psychiatric technician who was killed by a patient. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
