The following is an article produced today in the newobserver.com about a mental institution in North Carolina.

I note, from close observation of my own, as an impatient in short and long term hospitals for psychiatric reasons, that no hospital is 100% safe, but some are so much better than others that we need to make the deliniation between good, better and best. It sounds like the hospital system they are involved in is not on "the radar" as good, better or best.

No one, in a health care setting, or any other for that matter has the right to strike, abuse, asault or do any harm to a patient. The patient concordantly has NO RIGHT to harm others. Consider that levels of service decline when the patient to worker ratio is to high. Those in inpatient hospitals, like Geraldo Rivera's WIllobrook report are shocking, distressful and disgusting. Is it once again, that we as a nation are merely warehousing people who are a danger to themselves and others in any state in this great nation?

I personally, have had a therapeutic, compassionate and supportive stay at clinics, hospitals and institutions. Further, I am a pilot program patient for what are called: "evidenced based practices," in NYS and happily I am in a good place in my recovery. I will post on that next, but for now  and as applied to internment in a long term or short term hosptial I submit the following:

Let us not return to the state of corruption, de-moralizing supervision and decript delivery of services. I draw your attention to South Beach Psyhciatric Center on Staten Island, New york,It is a place where ive received treatment, returned to work and regained my sense of self after a ruinous decade of dismay, depression, psychosis, and disorder. Firmly I point out that the outpatient care which I received from Jamaica Clinic, a division of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center was superlative, outstanding and live changing. They gave me a forum to voice, identify and plan strategy for my road map to the future. In 2001 I moved to staten island, and by 2003 i was deemed unmanageable and very ill. The illness had progressed to the point that i needed long term care.

I was terrified, that SBPC would be a modern day "Willowbrook" that I would be harmed, not very well served and fall further into a cycle of emotional decay. The warnings were, similar to the complaints in the article below. All such hospitals have issues with "bad hires" people who are not meant to deal with the public, let alone people with disABILITIES. There are folks who say they have been abused, and when I heard this it made me scared.

Not only were the acusations unclear from their sources, people telling tales that theyve heard, but truisms reign, I explain that in a moment. I was scared Id be hurt, never recover and die in the institution like my father's brother, "Larry" who was hospitalized way before medications were available and never recovered. You will have in an institution of hundreds of people people who clash with staff, who are a danger to other patients and employees who dont belong there.

The best workers are the best communicators. I find this to be profoundly true. It is a microcosm, one where courtesy begets courtesy, and respect gets respect.You can argue with your room mate, you can be unpleasant, but hurting others or yourself is not allowed. THe rules seem self evident, but somewhere along the way, in our malaize and retort to recover roles get played out, things that a tech has understandably less knowledge that they may need. This is where ratios come into play: The more attention to each individual the more improved care, productivity toward discharge and the more peaceful your stay.

RATIO IS SO VERY CRITICAL TO THE PEACE, SERENITY AND INTEGRITY OF ANY HOSPITAL. PEOPLE NEED TO FEEL SAFE, AND IF SOMEONE IS CREATING HAZARDS, THEY NEED TO BE FURTHER DETAINED OR HAVE THEIR ACCESS TO OTHERS SUPERVISED AND LIMITED. A REWARD SYSTEM IS USED AND IT WORKS.

HOWEVER, LOOK AT NORTH CAROLINA? WHAT IS GOING ON IS THE WORST OF IT.

Its ok, it is really OK for a tech to watch tv and supervise the group watching what they collectively like. Its ok for a tech to have an argument with a patient, in may in fact be therapuetic. Its not ok for a tech or worker to hit a patient. The emergency button is to bring you down if your hurting anyone, or yourself.

Thats all I have to say about what is ok. Last of all: No one really wants a job like that unless they like people, what to help them and generally have an interest in building the base feeling of: Yes, I like myself, and just for today Im going to make it through. Its the start of recovery. Being tough doesnt make you sane, and being sane doesnt make you tough. It simply means that youve gone all the way down the road, thus far and you need help.

For the record:I think anyone who intentionally harms a patient in any respect should be disciplined fully and vice versa.

 Now read through the old story, abuse, neglect inadequate supervision and mayhem:

______________________THE FOLLOWING FORM NEWSOBSERVER.COM 12/15/08:

Mental Disorder: The Failure of Reform Counties:Wake Durham Orange Johnston Chatham Topics:Crime & Safety Health & Science Education Growth Q Corrections Columnists:John Drescher Dennis Rogers Barry Saunders Ruth Sheehan Road Worrier Published: Dec 13, 2008 12:30 AM Modified: Dec 13, 2008 04:07 AM Cherry Hospital chief quitting The mental hospital's problems include assaults and the death of a patient Jack St. Clair is leaving Dec. 31 after three years. Story ToolsPrinter Friendly Email to a Friend Enlarge Font Decrease Font Buzz up! A GLANCE AT RECENT PROBLEMS AT CHERRY HOSPITAL* In November, two former employees were convicted of punching and kicking a patient. Another worker, accused of sexually assaulting a patient, resigned. * In September, the federal government said it would no longer pay the state about $800,000 a month to care for patients at Cherry because the hospital is dangerous. * In April, workers played cards and watched television while a 50-year-old man sat dying in a chair nearby. Staff members lied to investigators and falsified records in the case. * Employees spent nearly $140,000 on travel to more than 100 medical conferences and professional events. Staffers visited Africa and Europe using money from drug companies and foreign medical schools, raising ethical concerns. Administrators in Raleigh ended the trips, freezing checking accounts for the hospital's continuing education program and for a nonprofit charity controlled by Cherry staff that was used to accept questionable donations. Related ContentRead our series, "Mental Disorder: The failure of reform" More Mental Disorder: The Failure of ReformCherry Hospital chief quitting Wake, Orange risk losing funds Hospital worker charged in abuse Mental hospital deemed unsafe 2 health techs get jail time in Cherry assault Faulted mental workers fight back Most PopularStories E-mailed Last 24 Hours Incident resolved at Beltline and New Bern Avenue AT&T's TV service arrives Ahead, the phones will reign Sheriff's dog makes brief break for freedom Churchyard has hundreds of graves, but no names Last 7 Days Ultimate catch-and-release Northeast ice storm leaves 1.25M without power Move over fire ants -- here come needle ants UNC plays numbers game when recruiting Woman delivers baby on side of road in Cary Last 24 Hours In bacteria, vet sees key to human ills AT&T's TV service arrives I-440 Beltline closed at New Bern Avenue Obama to arrive in Washington by train Ultimate catch-and-release Last 7 Days In bacteria, vet sees key to human ills Ultimate catch-and-release Crash kills Durham student Move over fire ants -- here come needle ants Student distress signals sought Advertisements Lynn Bonner and Michael Biesecker, Staff Writers Comment on this story The director of the troubled state mental hospital in Goldsboro is stepping down at the end of the year. Advocates for patients said they hope the state will hire an experienced administrator who can change a culture at Cherry Hospital that many say has been more punitive than therapeutic. Jack St. Clair told the Cherry Hospital staff in a memo Friday that he is leaving his job on Dec. 31 after three years. "I will always remember the care and compassion you show to our consumers every day, and the commitment everyone makes day in and day out to support our mission," he said in the memo. Cherry has been under scrutiny for staff assaults on patients and substandard care. In September, the federal government said it would no longer pay the state about $800,000 a month to care for patients at Cherry because the hospital is dangerous. Investigators found that workers played cards and watched television while a 50-year-old man sat dying in a chair nearby. Workers lied to investigators and falsified records in the case in which the patient, Steven H. Sabock, went without food and adequate care for nearly a full day in April. Last month, two former Cherry workers were convicted of punching and kicking a patient. Another worker accused of sexually assaulting a patient resigned. As St. Clair's departure was announced Friday, the state Department of Health and Human Services made public documents confirming two more violent incidents at the hospital. On Tuesday night, a 65-year-old nurse working as a temporary employee was beaten and choked by a male patient sent to Cherry from Lenoir County, where he had been jailed on assault charges. The nurse was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and sent home. On Dec. 3, a health care technician was arrested and accused of assaulting a patient two weeks earlier. Records show Shelia Y. Lane, 37, was charged with assault and battery on a handicapped person, a misdemeanor. On Friday, Lane was still employed at Cherry, where she has worked since 1996, said a spokeswoman for the Office of State Personnel. Lane is at least the 10th Cherry employee charged with assaulting a patient in little more than a year. Back to Black Mountain Dempsey Benton, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that St. Clair has been offered a transfer to Black Mountain Neuro-Medical Treatment Center to fill a vacant position as business manager. An agency spokesman, Tom Lawrence, said he did not know whether St. Clair has accepted the job at Black Mountain, which serves people with developmental disabilities or Alzheimer's disease. St. Clair did not return a telephone call Friday afternoon. If he accepts the business manager job, he would be going back to a center where he was once director. The Black Mountain job pays $77, 277 a year. St. Clair is paid $117,000 a year as director of Cherry. The Goldsboro hospital has become a prominent example of a mental health system that is loaded with problems. The five state mental hospitals that have operated in the past 16 months have been threatened with the loss of federal insurance payments because investigators found dangerous conditions. Cherry was the state's second mental hospital in about a year to lose its federal payments. Directors of three hospitals have resigned or been demoted since last December. As Cherry was about to lose its federal payments, the state hired a management firm, the Compass Group, to run the hospital alongside St. Clair. The Compass Group will remain in charge after St. Clair leaves, according to DHHS. The agency has started to look for a new director. In August, Benton criticized Cherry administrators for lax discipline of workers who neglected Sabock, and said agency directors in Raleigh should have been told of the circumstances surrounding Sabock's death. Still, Benton said he trusted St. Clair to make improvements. Benton did not return calls Friday. As a way to improve care and regain its federal funding, the hospital closed a patient unit and reorganized in a way that agency officials said would provide better supervision of employees who provide direct care for patients. 'Boiled over' Representatives with Disability Rights North Carolina, who go to Cherry two or three times a month, have not noticed meaningful changes, said executive director Vicki Smith. The advocacy group is seeking information on several cases of abuse and neglect, she said, at least three of which occurred in the last 90 days. "I think the recent incidences of ongoing and continued abuse have boiled over, and it's clear that Jack could not turn around the culture of that organization," she said. "I think what the state needs at this point is an experienced hospital administrator -- someone who can provide leadership that Cherry Hospital so desperately needs." Todd Smith, a registered nurse at Cherry for about 13 years, said St. Clair inherited many problems, but the hospital has regressed under his leadership. "The morale is bad," Smith said. "If we're not progressing after three years, you have to change the captaincy and see if someone else can do a better job." (News researcher Denise Jones contributed to this report.) lynn.bonner@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4821