ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Michigan lawmaker is requesting an audit of the only state-run psychiatric hospital for children after a series of patient escapes and concerns over treatment and living conditions.
In a letter dated today, Sen. Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills) asked Auditor General Doug Ringler to investigative the root causes of safety and treatment issues inside the facility, including 17 patient escapes since 2020.
Auditor General - Hawthorn Request Audit Letter by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
The request followed an hour-long listening session held in Rochester Hills Friday, where former Hawthorn patients and their families shared concerns about the facility.
RELATED: Psychiatric hospital for Michigan's sickest children struggles to stop patient escapes
“We need more help,” said Amie Carter, whose son Jayden has been admitted three times to the facility. “Because our only option is Hawthorn, or giving your rights up.”
RELATED: Hawthorn Center loses 13-year-old psychiatric patient overnight in Detroit
Jayden, who also addressed lawmakers, said his first stay at the Northville Twp. psychiatric facility was positive, and but that conditions gradually worsened.
“I know three people that escaped while I was there," Jayden said. "I’ve seen two of them jump the fence.
He also said the facility is chronically understaffed.
“The staff members struggle just as much as the patients do,” he said. “There were 16 kids on an 11 kid unit... and they only have three or four staff members dealing with 16 kids."
Jayden’s mother told lawmakers that, for a time, patients like her son were forced to sleep in untenable conditions.
“They were woken up to moldy rainwater on their heads and on their bodies,” she said. “Jayden was sleeping on a mat on the floor, and they were there for over a week.”
The conditions are confirmed by video shared with 7 Action News by Hawthorn staff, which shows water dripping onto a bed.
Also addressing lawmakers Friday was Natalie Anwar, whose two sons were admitted to Hawthorn earlier this year. Both suffer with autism.
One of her son’s, she said, has lost a considerable amount of weight in the two-and-a-half months since he was first admitted.
“Up until two days ago, I was told the only thing he was eating is pop tarts. My son has lost 30 lbs since April the 27th,” she said. “He looks like he’s wasting away.”
Other parents complained that their children were discharged without an effective safety plan.
Mollie Bonter’s 14-year-old daughter spent nearly a year at Hawthorn for suicidal ideation. She was discharged in January, her mom said, against her parents’ wishes.
“She was home for 11 days before my husband caught her attempting to hang herself from her ceiling fan in her bedroom,” she said. “Had Hawthorn taken our concerns seriously, my husband would not have been traumatized by finding his daughter blue in the face, nearly unconscious, hanging from the ceiling.”
Last month, the state moved Hawthorn patients and staff to the Walter Reuther hospital in Westland, an adult psychiatric hospital that will serve as a temporary home while Hawthorn is demolished and a new facility is constructed.
Patients won't move in until 2026.
Sen. Webber said he invited officials from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to attend Friday’s listening session, but no representative was in attendance.
In response to concerns shard by parents and former patients, MDHHS spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin released the following statement to 7 Action News:
“The health and safety of our staff and patients is our top concern. As part of the state’s continued commitment to providing behavioral health services to Michigan families, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced in April 2023, the upcoming construction of a new inpatient psychiatric hospital that would care for patients currently served at both Hawthorn Center and Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland. The new hospital is being made possible by a $325 million FY23 budget allocation by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the legislature. Michigan's state hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission and are committed to providing evidence-supported, person-centered inpatient care to individuals in an environment that values compassion, collaboration and community reintegration. MDHHS cannot speak to specific patient issues due to HIPAA and the Mental Health Code."
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.