WASHINGTON (AP) — Three former employees of a privately operated psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital have been charged with criminal negligence in the death of a patient, the city’s top federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
The three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington failed to provide adequate medical care to the patient before he died nearly six years ago, their indictment alleges.
The indictment identifies the 58-year-old patient only by his initials, but a wrongful death lawsuit identifies him as Gary Wilson, a man with a heart condition who was admitted to the facility on April 13, 2020. He died 13 days later, on the afternoon of April 26.
Nelson Kuma, 37, Richard Hounnou, 45, and Norma Munoz-Bent, 68, all of Maryland, were indicted on criminal negligence charges. The indictment accuses them of failing to properly assess or treat the patient with any lifesaving measures for at least 21 minutes.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference that the defendants “violated the most basic standard of medical care.”
“This trio did nothing to help this patient,” Pirro told reporters. “This man didn’t have a chance there. He was left to die.”
Wilson’s death was cited in an advocacy group’s 2021 report on conditions at the facility where he died. The Disability Rights DC said it found “very disturbing specific and systemic failures” at the institute, The Washington Post reported.
The 50-year-old Psychiatric Institute of Washington is a 130-bed facility that provides behavioral health programs for children, adolescents and adults, according to its website. The hospital is operated by a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based company, Universal Health Services Inc.
Efforts to reach officials from the institute and its parent company weren’t immediately successful.
Kuma and Hounnou worked as psychiatric counselors at the facility. Munoz-Bent was a registered nurse.
Attorneys for Hounnou and Munoz-Bent didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Court filings didn’t include the name of an attorney for Kuma.
Pirro said all three defendants were released after they pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a charge punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. They’re due back in court on May 29.
Wilson was left unattended — a violation of doctor’s orders for constant supervision — before he began convulsing and appeared to stop breathing, according to the lawsuit filed by Wilson’s niece. Staff members entered Wilson’s room two minutes later but failed to provide any life-saving treatment, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also accuses the hospital of falsifying Wilson’s medical records. It says Wilson’s life-threatening emergency wasn’t noted in his hospital medical records and only came to light due to interviews conducted by the city’s health department.
Last month, a Superior Court judge agreed to suspend the civil case pending the outcome of the Justice Department’s criminal case. Universal Health Services has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
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