Even one caretaker abusing a patient in the state’s maximum security psychiatric hospital is cause for alarm.
But the revelation that dozens of workers took part in the unspeakable treatment of a 62-year-old man over the course of many weeks is enough to justify a thorough housecleaning of any lax leadership, and a top-to-bottom review of the entire culture, at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and specifically within the walls of the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital.
The scope of the abuse the man endured is horrifying, and the descriptions of the videos that captured the abuse suggest something akin to torture: They kicked him over and over. They poured water on him. They hit him with rolled-up paper. They put a diaper over his head. And nobody said anything. Over and over, during multiple shifts.
Fortunately, a whistleblower eventually came forward, and the state police and Department of Public Health soon began investigating. Thirty-one mental health workers, including two managers, have been suspended. On Tuesday, nine workers were arrested and more arrests are said to be pending.
The fact that dozens of workers were able to behave this way — even while knowingly under video surveillance — raises the question of whether this kind of behavior is condoned at Whiting. How many other patients experienced this kind of abuse? How many other caretakers were involved but not caught on video? How many other videos remain unviewed?
Why did it take a whistleblower to put an end to it?
After learning of the abuse, DMHAS expanded video surveillance and watched the tapes more frequently, among other measures, according to an agency spokeswoman — all good steps. Officials also wisely called in the state police to investigate when they learned of the allegations. But it’s not enough.
Clearly, those who are charged with directly abusing the man — including Mark Cusson of Southington, a forensic nurse who faces eight counts of cruelty to persons — must be held accountable. But if the abuse was so widespread, committed brazenly under the watch of video cameras within the patient’s room, why didn’t their supervisors know about it? And if they did, why did they condone it?
Anyone who chose to turn a blind eye in this case is complicit.
The staggering moral failure of those who committed the abuse points to another problem among DMHAS workers that could contribute to the agency’s malaise: the practice of working excessively long hours to rack up overtime. In the case of head nurse Mark Cusson, who earned $181,349 last year, nearly $70,000 was overtime.
Caring for the mentally disabled and criminally insane is, no doubt, a demanding job. Many patients, including the 62-year-old man who suffered the abuse, have behavioral issues that can make them even more difficult to deal with. Those who care for them must be in control of their faculties, and working hours and hours of overtime every week can lead to exhaustion and serious lapses in judgment.
The issue isn’t limited to DMHAS workers. In the Department of Developmental Services, some state employees who serve the intellectually disabled could earn up to $250,000 this year, the vast majority of which is in overtime pay. State police troopers have done the same. There have been clear warnings for some time that overwork poses risks to health and safety. At Whiting, it’s clear why. It’s time to put firm limits on overtime for state workers in such positions.
But, ultimately, the long hours can’t be the only explanation. Somehow, dozens of trusted caretakers came to believe that such malicious treatment was acceptable and that they were above reproach. Officials must learn how that pernicious belief propagated and take whatever steps necessary to eliminate it.
