Dec 1, 2007 6:43 pm US/Eastern
Man Nearly Dies From Wrong Medication At Rosewood
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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A profoundly disabled man is given the wrong medication at a state facility and ends up at the hospital on a breathing machine.
A profoundly disabled man is given the wrong medication at a state facility and ends up at the hospital on a breathing machine.
Suzanne Collins reports that mistake comes after repeated warnings from a state inspector that people at Rosewood are at risk.
In the first week of November, a health inspector visited Rosewood and found for the fourth time, the state facility for the developmentally disabled had problems so severe people living there are in immediate jeopardy. Advocates for the disabled say shut Rosewood down now.
"There have been, in recent years, two deaths already at Rosewood. We certainly hope action will be take before there's a third. People are in immediate danger of harm," said Virginia Knowlton from the Disability Law Center.
The state inspection report finds developmentally disabled people were poisoned by the wrong medication, restrained illegally and left alone in seclusion.
A recent medical error put a profoundly disabled man in the hospital, and he was on a ventilator for three days.
He was never prescribed the psychotropic drug he consumed, and Rosewood had been warned of a similar problem in the spring.
"He was seriously injured, and if you're put on a ventilator, that means you're having trouble breathing by yourself. He could have died from this. This is a really egregious error," said Nancy Pineles from the Disability Law Center.
The secretary of health and mental hygiene who oversees Rosewood has responded.
"As we know throughout the healthcare system errors occur. This was an unfortunate one. These are things that should not happen and we need to take steps necessary to prevent that," said Secretary Of Health and Mental Hygiene John Colmers.
The report also tells of a disabled man who can walk, buckled in a wheelchair, left in a room with a blocked door, a puddle of urine on the floor.
Two clients were restrained face down even though it's banned because they can die of positional asphyxia.
One of the patients placed face down was straddled by staff and his legs held for six minutes.
Colmers says the inspection report also shows improvements under the new director, and he wishes they were further along.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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