Legitimate public outrage over a $2.2 million bill sent by the District of Columbia to a mental patient who gouged out his own eyes is diverting attention from the real issue: Decades after state-run insane asylums were shut down because of unspeakable abuse and neglect of the mentally ill, many patients here in D.C. still live in conditions unfit for a
dog.
Frank Harris Jr., a 55-year-old schizophrenic who blinded himself in 2003 after being improperly released from his restraints by an orderly at St. Elizabeths Hospital, is just one of many patients denied “a reasonably safe living environment,” according to a Justice Department settlement with the city earlier this year. The city was chastised for numerous health and safety violations that resulted in the fatal beatings of several other patients. Identified as “Robert Jones,” Harris’ case was cited in “Patients in Peril,” a 2004 report by University Legal Services that found vermin-infested, overcrowded wards, inadequate and overworked staff, and lack of medical resources at St. E’s. The report says Harris had been kept in restraints for a month at a time in violation of hospital policy — and it took nine months after the eye-gouging incident before his medication was adjusted, as his doctor had prescribed before his injury. The city now has some nerve billing him for “room and board” in such a hellhole.
Officials are simply trying to limit the city’s liability in the event Janice Motley, Harris’ legal guardian, wins the $10 million negligence lawsuit she has filed. City officials believe the amount they charge Harris will be deducted from any award he receives. This is not a new tactic by the city: The Examiner’s Scott McCabe and Bill Myers reported recently that the city also sent exorbitant bills to family members who threatened litigation after the questionable deaths of more than 100 mentally ill and retarded people under the District’s care.
Instead of wasting time and money fighting Motley’s suit in court, Fenty should direct city attorneys to accept responsibility for Harris’ condition and agree to a reasonable settlement as determined by a judge. Then Fenty and the council should do whatever is necessary to fix the hospital’s glaring deficiencies. In any case, the city should assure proper care for the remainder of Harris’ life. This story will only have a happy ending, however, if the other tormented souls at St. E’s benefit as a result of the Harris tragedy.
