| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
LA mental health facility fined for violations
Thursday March 27, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) One of two mental-health facilities under investigation for a series of patient escapes and other violations was fined $3,000 because an employee allegedly had sex with a schizophrenic patient.
County officials are also looking into whether the facility, Sylmar Health and Rehabilitation Center, acted negligently in failing to stop a mentally ill patient from swallowing two pencils and a toothbrush earlier this month.
Inspectors from the state and county launched a surprise inspection of Sylmar and its adjacent sister facility, Foothill Health and Rehabilitation Center, earlier this month because of concerns about lax supervision.
The fine predates the inspection for an employee who allegedly had sex with a patient after she asked him for a kiss. The citation, which normally carries up to a $1,000 fine, was tripled because of previous patient-care violations.
In response to the citation, Sylmar's administrator, Cherlyn Hawkins, wrote that the employee involved had been fired and that staff training would be held each quarter to avoid such problems. In addition, patients will be encouraged to report any sexual advances by the staff, she said.
Los Angeles County has paid $41 million since 1998, including $8.9 million in the fiscal year ending in June, to house severely mentally ill patients at the two locked psychiatric facilities. Last year alone, at least 50 residents escaped or attempted to flee from Foothill and Sylmar, both owned by Golden State Health Centers Inc.
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