Oct 12, 2006 11:55 pm US/Eastern
Mother Accuses Western Psych Of Abusing Her Son
by Stephanie Watson
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
A woman says her son was in Western Psych to get the care he needed.
Instead, she said he was abused, dragged across the floor and badly injured.
Now, as KDKA's Stephanie Watson reports the Department of Health is backing up her claims of abuse at Western Psych.
"I just want my baby well. I just want him back home," said Diane Willie.
Willie is trying to get the best care for her son, 17 year-old Andre, who has Downs Syndrome and is mentally challenged.
However, in June of this year, Andre was admitted into the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic by his school when a tantrum got out-of-control.
When she went to visit her son, Willie made a startling discovery.
"It was awful, scabs from his buttocks was on the bed... blood on the sheets," said Willie.
But this wasn't the first time she noticed a large, raw abrasion on her son's backside which she dismissed the first time as possibly an accident.
But when she found a brush burn on her son on Sept. 7, that's when she feared the worst.
"They're abusing my baby," she said. "I see you don't know what you're doing because my son was drugged. You drug my son that's how you got those brush burns. They don't know."
After feeling like she was getting no where with her concerns, Willie contacted the health department and filed a police report.
A month later, Willie finally got the help she was looking for in a letter from the state Department of Health.
The letter stated: "A review further revealed that your son sustained an abrasion to his buttock area as he was being escorted to the seclusion room... and that the security staff didn't not follow facility policy."
As a result of the investigation, the hospital has been cited with violations and the hospital has submitted a corrective plan of action.
But that's not enough for Willie and she has now hired Attorney George Kontos.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to make a difference not only for Andre but for the other people who are going to be in that institution," said Kontos.
A statement from UPMC's Western Psych facilities said: "WPIC is totally and 100-percent committed to providing excellent care to all of our patients. The safety of our patients is always of utmost priority and at the core of our service delivery."
Willie has since moved her son out of Western Psych.
He is now being cared for in the Laurel Highlands at the Carnegie Roadhouse.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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