DETROIT – Michigan lawmakers have introduced new legislation that aims to hold state officials accountable and protect patients' rights.
The Senate bills stem from an unannounced active shooter drill inside a child’s psychiatric hospital.
The Hawthorn Center was a state-run psychiatric hospital for children that has since closed. On Dec. 21, 2022, the center conducted an active shooter drill. Patients and most of the staff were not informed ahead of time. Four law enforcement agencies who responded to panicked 911 calls from inside the hospital weren’t notified of the drill, either and responded as if the threat was real.
When patients and employees saw dozens of heavily armed police outside the psych hospital, they were convinced armed intruders were roaming their halls. Even those who believed it was a drill initially thought it was real when they saw the first responders who also believed it was real.
The event led to a $13 million settlement against the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Senate Bills 1048 and 1049 were introduced Wednesday, Oct. 23.
“We have to do better for these kids and for these patients and their parents,” said State Sen. Michael Webber.
Webber is pushing for change in an effort to improve oversight of state psychiatric care.
The legislation asks for outside experts from three advocacy groups to be a part of the board to oversee state decision-making when it comes to patients at state psychiatric facilities. Additionally, Senate Bill 1048 would prohibit any Health Department executive from being appointed to or serving on the Recipient Rights Advisory Committee.
“To be honest, the deeper we’ve looked, the kind of the worse it gets,” Webber said. “Everything from the nutrition for the patients, obviously, you’ve covered the false active shooter drill from 2022 that popped up again recently with $13 million settlement.”
There was also a lawsuit filed related to the attack of a child patient attacking another. Staff was slow to respond and one staff member was accused of encouraging the fight.
“We have to do better for these kids and for these patients and their parents and they are in our care and some of the mishaps that obviously we have had, it makes me very frustrated as a lawmaker,” Webber said.
Also introduced was Senate Bill 1049, which mandates that hospitals provide written notice of rights to voluntarily hospitalized psychiatric patients. This requirement aligns with the existing obligation for hospitals to inform involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric patients of their rights, addressing the current gap for those who voluntarily admit themselves.
The next step is the legislation going to a committee and then a hearing. Lawmakers are still waiting on the audit being done on healthcare facilities. It’s expected to be finished in 2025.
