Connecticut cites mental health group home for failures

December 27, 2011

A Waterbury group home for people with severe psychiatric disabilities has been cited by the state for failing to provide proper care for two residents with past suicide attempts who injured themselves while in the facility.

Glenlulan, a six-bed residential facility for adults with prolonged mental illness and addiction problems, was fined $2,500 in December by the Department of Public Health (DPH)  for violations found in inspections earlier in the year.  In a consent order, the home’s administrator agreed to improve resident-care oversight, train staff in new procedures and retain a consultant to monitor and improve practices.

The DPH inspections cited two cases in which the facility failed to take adequate steps to prevent residents from harming themselves. In one case, a resident with a history of alcohol abuse, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric problems was rushed to Waterbury Hospital in February with self-inflicted wounds caused by a razor. The resident had been hospitalized for years, beginning at age 12 because of “a suicide attempt or gesture,” the DPH report says. Yet facility staff had failed to check on the resident because of a policy that required staff to “make sure everything is quiet and safe (but) don’t go into resident rooms,” the report says.

A month after the resident returned to Glenlulan from the hospital, she was found bleeding from self-inflicted gashes to the legs that required 65 staples. In the weeks leading up to that incident, the resident had conveyed to staff “thoughts about drinking, cutting his/her legs, and chopping off (a) doll’s head,” but adequate measures to ensure her safety were not taken, according to the report.

In the second case, the facility was cited for failing to properly supervise and care for a resident with psychotic disorder and a history of suicide attempts who was reported to be “withdrawn.” The resident slashed his or her wrist with a knife taken from the kitchen, and also told staff that he or she had been “drinking bug spray.”  The resident’s care plan had “failed to include interventions addressing suicidal thoughts,” the DPH report says.

Glenlulan is run by Central Naugatuck Valley HELP, Inc. with operates several behavioral health and substance abuse programs.

Source: Lisa Chedekel, "Mental Health Facility Cited for Inadequate Care," New Haven Independent, December 27, 2011.