Neighbors Call Hospital Fence a Good Start : Safety: Residents near the county mental facility praise building of the five-foot barrier but say more must be done to keep patients off the streets.

Seven weeks after a 90-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death by a patient who wandered away from Ventura County Medical Center, workers have finished building a five-foot wooden fence around the adjacent mental hospital.

Although residents of the surrounding neighborhood say they are relieved mental health workers have taken steps to keep patients from walking away from the facility, they say more needs to be done to ensure safety in the area.

One resident has suggested forcing patients to wear color-coded pajamas to alert neighbors to their condition. Another has requested authority to lead any hospital walkaways back to the facility.

County mental health officials say they will take a few more safety measures. Within the next few weeks they will place surveillance cameras and motion detecting lights on the fence. They also plan to hire a security guard to keep watch over the mental hospital, located next to the medical center.

But officials say there is only so much they can do to keep people from leaving the hospital. The fence and surveillance equipment are only deterrents.

“It will not keep in someone who is determined to get away,” said Penny Matthews, chief of acute care services for the county mental health department. “But it will keep in people who are confused and disoriented.”

After Velasta Johnson was killed at her home on Agnus Drive on Jan. 17, neighbors complained that numerous patients from the mental facility have turned up in the neighborhood over the years.

And although the suspect, Kevin Kolodziej, 25, walked away from the medical center and not the county mental hospital, nearby residents and police urged hospital officials to increase security.

Mental health administrators said they expect to spend nearly $30,000 to keep patients from leaving the hospital.

Even though security methods won’t be failure-proof, they will stop some of the problems.

“I think things will improve for the neighborhood,” Matthews said. “I know it’s been a little scary and I can understand their fear. But we want them to know we’re there for them.”

Last week, mental health officials and advocates for the mentally ill met with residents to discuss the improvements. Unlike other meetings that drew more than 100 citizens, only about half a dozen residents showed up for the gathering Tuesday evening.

Several of the residents said they are pleased with the new security measures, but they still want officials to do more.

Jim Fordyce, a San Marino Avenue resident, suggested dressing mental patients in a color that would distinguish them from other patients. But Matthews said that making patients’ illnesses public by forcing them to wear color-coded pajamas is prohibited by confidentiality laws.

“I know patients have rights, but I have rights too,” Fordyce said. “I’d like to be able to stand in my house and see a band or a colored uniform or something (on a walkaway patient). I’d just feel more comfortable.”

And Wayne Bartel, a neighbor, told mental health officials at the meeting that he wanted to be able to escort wayward patients back to the hospital. But mental health worker Joni Mosas urged him to leave patients alone.

She advised him to call the mental health crisis emergency team for assistance. “We’ll do the evaluation,” she said.

Since the Johnson killing, calls to the crisis team have increased, but officials are unsure by how many, Matthews said. She said mental health workers do not know how many patients have walked away from the facility in the past month since the fence was constructed, but that officials should know the numbers within a few weeks.

Before the fence was put up, about 10 patients a month walked away from the mental hospital, she said. Matthews said she suspects the number has dropped.

One member of the Ventura County chapter of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill has sharply criticized the mental health department’s decision to put up the fence.

“It really bugs me,” Carol Luppino said. “They’re not putting fences around post offices after laid-off workers go in and shoot up everything. There are some things that can’t be prevented.

“I think we should spend our money in other areas.”

But Randy Feltman, county mental health director, said he is glad the county decided to upgrade the facility.

“The barrier the fence has created is very good,” Feltman said.

It will not only keep people from leaving the hospital, but it will also keep unwanted visitors out, he said.

“It’s safe, but it doesn’t look like a jail,” he added.

Matthews said at first she was worried that the wall would make patients feel like they were in prison. But she said the redwood fence has worked out well.

“It’s actually quite attractive,” she said.