Jaisa Stanley . That could well shrink the hospitals Vernon campus population. Saved. Justin had a history of injuries she said she didnt know about. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on an official government site. Company size. Wichita Falls campus; Vernon campus; Vernon Campus South; Accreditation; Notable patients There has not been any help on the way for years. Officials there said they could not discuss specifics of the hospital's dealings with the family. It's a treatment that will lead them right back to jail -- and in some cases, facing death row -- if it works. Keith Clayton's parents, daughter and stepsister said they wrote letters and made dozens of phone calls to state hospital administrators and other officials in the year after his death. It was very hard for us to monitor because Justin didnt articulate very well on the phone, his needs or his concerns or anything, Mandy said. That afternoon officers were summonded to the hospital to investigate an assault. State Hospital North. , TX. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Rusk State Hospital for the mentally ill was opened in 1919 by the conversion of the Rusk Prison building into a hospital. When pressed, department spokeswoman Christine Mann wrote in an email that there was "no additional releasable information" on Keith Clayton's death "No police report or video footage.". History. 2023 North Texas State Hospital, All Rights Reserved. Law enforcement is on the hunt for a patient that escaped from a state mental health facility in North Texas. Amplify your impact and donate now. Defendants who can't help their attorneys or understand the criminal proceedings against them cannot be tried under the U.S. Constitution. Torrey says that in Harris County Jail alone, "more than 2,000 of the nearly 9,000 inmates are receiving psychiatric medication." By contrast, "the largest state psychiatric hospital in Texas, North Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls, has less than 700 beds." A spokeswoman for the city of Wichita Falls provided Love's interview transcripts to the Tribune but said she could not locate the other documents. When the Tribune obtained a list of employees who witnessed the restraint and presented it to the state health department, officials said it would cost more than $400 to provide information about those employees. The Department of State Health Services . Justin, whose father, Eric, described him as his little buddy and shadow always by his side. At the North Texas State Hospital, another patient, a 46-year-old black woman, died in March 2014 one month before Clayton after collapsing in the dining area, state records show. He was charged with murder and was jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. They had agonized for days over what to do about 55-year-old Keith Clayton, who was hallucinating, talking about suicide and showing symptoms of schizophrenia. Anyone with information is asked to call the Vernon Police Department at (940) 553-3311. "Him just dropping down and dying, it just doesn't make sense," she said. Love, citing the autopsy, wrote in his final update to the police report that cirrhosis of the liver, a complication from alcoholism, had enlarged Clayton's spleen, which ruptured when hospital staff restrained him. "We knew he needed help," Anna Clayton would later tell a police detective. He left this Earth, probably feeling very abandoned, Mandy said. MySA has reached out to the Vernon Police Department for more information. They wouldn't tell us anything.". Recalling his son being taken, in handcuffs, to a hospital where he was meant to be healed, Daywood Clayton said, "That was the last we ever seen him.". Both Smith and Bearden told abc13 few do, despite knowing that once they leave Vernon they will be on trial. Wichita Falls North Texas State Hospital North Texas State Hospital - South Campus. 55 were here. The state hospital system has been notoriously understaffed for years. "Believe me the security staff knows exactly where we are, everywhere we've been and where we will be all day," he said. It was an unseasonably cold day when the officers arrived; a light snow sprinkled the high plains of Texas Panhandle country. Ervin's brother Maxwell reportedly told jurors that the man thought his father was "an imposter" and that Alexander "was a trained member of the CIA on a mission to kill him.". Lack of workers forcing North Texas State Hospital to turn patients away. Who is graffitiingI was raped, I am OK in ATX? We offer outstanding benefits and career advancement opportunities. Crucial information about the circumstances of Clayton's death, she wrote, "was requested and not received.". Alexander Ervin, 29, has been missing from the Vernon Campus of the North Texas State . The Wichita Falls campus provides adult psychiatric services and child/ adolescent psychiatric services. She said another assistant, Oscar Tinoco, had subdued Keith Clayton on the floor of a hallway near the elevator. The hospital has a long history of famous patients, including country music singer Willie Nelson, who was treated for depression in the early 1970s, and actor Rip Torn, who was a patient in the late 1980s. Website. Throughout Justins life there were times when he would experience a cycle, or period where his medications werent balanced or effective. The records shed some light on a fatal incident within Texas understaffed state hospital system where little information is made public about patients, even when they die. From there, hospital staff strapped Clayton into a restraint chair and wheeled him to a "quiet room.". The hospital is located in 6621 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas. According to Vernon Police Department Captain Wayne Hodges: Shortly before 7 p.m., Sunday, Alexander Ervin, 29, was taken into custody in Austin by city police. "I really don't feel comfortable just talking to you over the phone about something that happened two years ago," he said. What first inspired you to pursue your career? Most of the staff lived on campus. "Roughly 85 percent (of our patients) are referred back to court and we're doing that in 95 days," he said at the time. Alexander Scott Ervin, 29, of Austin, escaped from the main campus of the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon on Monday morning . The hospital does not accept voluntary admissions. State hospital data shows a third of the systems available beds have been taken offline, and HHSC officials have said most of those werent available because of staffing issues. County officials said they could not locate an autopsy report matching the description of the patient, whose identity is unknown. North Texas State Hospital in Vernon, TX is a psychiatric facility. Provides forensic, competency training, psychological and rehabilitation services to patients with legal charges who are veterans. Hospital type: General medical and surgical - Bed count: 378 - Number of doctors: 406 - Nationally and Regionally ranked hospital. Shadowy figures have been reported here as well. "You really need somebody to file a lawsuit," he said. What happened during Keith Clayton's short stay at the psychiatric hospital hundreds of miles from home is still a mystery to his family members, who say the state has refused to give them an explanation. Wichita Falls Police have arrested a murder suspect in an incident that occurred at the North Texas State Hospital Nov. 20. The department later waived those fees but said it was unable to produce much of the material in time for this story's publication. it's also recognized as one of the finest in the nation. 14) University Health System (San Antonio) universityhealthsystem.com. Keith Clayton arrived at the North Texas State Hospital after a five-hour drive from Borger, according to those documents, many of which are based on interviews with hospital staff. Oversight of the hospital was transferred to the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in September 1965. Vernon, TX 76385 Texas Health and Human Services operates nine state hospitals and one residential youth center . U.S. News evaluated 590 hospitals in Texas. What resulted was a lengthy back-and-forth between investigators and the state hospital, spanning four rounds of reviews in which the hospital vigorously defended its staff. Best Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), Best Medicare Advantage Plan Companies 2023, Best Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan Companies 2023, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Temple, Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, Find Continuing Care Retirement Communites. Smith is confronted by the growing wait list every day telling abc13, "I feel a great responsibility not to let myself feel pressured or let my staff feel pressured into moving people out of this environment sooner than is appropriate.". Smith is optimistic about the effectiveness of treatment given patients. Founded in 1954, this hospital is dedicated to child care and treatment, research and education. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. He didnt have a case against him, Mandy said. Two months later, in June, the medical examiner's report found that Clayton's internal injuries were "inconsistent with resuscitative efforts. UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX is nationally ranked in 9 adult specialties. IDD Service Coordinator at Helen Farabee Centers. Still Practicing: Tracking Problem Doctors, Texas Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout Investigations, Sign up for More than the Score Sports newsletter, GoFundMe to help pay for Justin Reeders funeral expenses, State mental hospital backlog grows, new record exceeds 2,500 waiting in jail, State hospital staffing emergency looms as record 2,100 wait in jail for treatment, As Bowie archive finds new home at UK museum, start, 5 fun crafts for kids on St. Patricks Day, Inspired by the Iditarod race? By 1925, the name changed to Wichita Falls State Hospital, and the facility included a modern surgical operating room and equipment. North Texas State Hospital is located at 6515 Kemp Blvd, Wichita Falls, TX 76308 and can be contacted via phone number (940) 692-1220. In 1983, Vernon State Centers name was changed to Vernon State Hospital (VSH) to maintain continuity throughout the larger system. See also Best Children's Hospitals in Texas. Keith Clayton, pictured here in 2013, died after being restrained at the North Texas State Hospital in Wichita Falls. The meeting was interrupted when Chelsea Mote, a psychiatric nursing assistant, came running. Learn about the common causes and when to seek medical attention. And we couldnt do that., Mandy said she was disturbed by Justins downward spiral and that he was being put in mechanical restraints a chair with a four-point restraint, ankles and wrists.. Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment. "Within the last 10 years, we technically added eight maximum security beds (statewide)," he said. "It was really only in the early 1900s, moving into the '40s and '50s, when funding became so strapped that the state hospitals kind of became those pits," Schock says, like the ones in the movies. The hospital's population remained relatively steady between 1945 and the mid-1970s; its physical growth, however, continued. Two weeks later, and five months after it occurred, the medical examiner ruled Clayton's death an accident. State hospital facilities are Medicare-certified and Medicaid-approved, and has been accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC). Justin, whose brothers, Alex and Jonathan, remember his heart of gold and how proud he was of his first paycheck. Wichita Falls State Hospital was the name since 1922 and Vernon was added as an annex in the 1960s. Vernon, near the Texas-Oklahoma border, is home to a maximum-security facility for mentally incompetent people often charged with felonies and considered dangerous. Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler in Tyler, TX is not nationally ranked in any specialty. [citation needed]The facility used to be open until a few years ago before the merge with formally Vernon State Hospital. The state turned over records since 2006. A 400-bed, air-conditioned ward was added in 1963. NTSH has three campuses, one in Wichita Falls and two in Vernon. She grew up outside of Philadelphia, lived in Houston and Dallas before bringing her healthy love of craft beer and video games to San Antonio. When he began exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, Keith Clayton's family agonized over sending him to a state-run psychiatric hospital. It means that they could not appreciate the wrongfulness of the act.. The 1950s and 60s saw the addition of a volunteer coordinator and social workers to the staff. There are a few things everyone should know before visiting us: We hope you come visit us and your loved ones in our care soon! north texas state hospital famous patients. They eventually released documents describing a state investigation into two employees who restrained Keith Clayton, an investigation that appeared to be closed. $100,000 name change the hospital has become much more restricted and is no longer an open campus. Tina La Hue Belton, Texas Details. This is not a prison, hospital CEO James Smith says. As patients comply with treatment they are moved out and into other parts of the campus. heavier than Clayton, according to police records. North Texas State Hospital. If there is any suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation, reports are made to HHSC Provider Investigations, the HHS Office of Inspector General and local law enforcement, if criminal activity is suspected.. "There should not be a waiting list for state mental health services. The North Texas State Hospital (NTSH) is an inpatient mental health facility owned by the State of Texas and under the Texas Health and Human Service Commission's Health and Specialty Care System division. According to the report, Ervin's mother said he "hated the perception that he was mentally ill" and that "he often denied his symptoms, refused medications and had so much trouble in treatment programs." AUSTIN (KXAN) Mandy Reeder has been left devastated and baffled by the loss of her eldest son who died in North Texas State Hospital in September. An undated photograph of the Wichita Falls State Hospital, whose population peaked at 3,481 patients in 1955. When they did, Tinoco told them Clayton had come up behind him and punched him in the back of the head while he was supervising another patient. There are no handcuffs, no shackles, dormitory doors are locked only at shift changes; guards are out of sight. Wichita Falls Police have arrested a murder suspect in an incident that occurred at the North Texas State Hospital Nov. 20. Explore the safety and efficacy of Ozempic, a popular GLP-1 receptor agonist medication for weight loss. Limited tours are available by calling the Community Relations Office at 940-552-4185. The Wichita Falls campus is a 330-bed facility that exists to treat people with mental illnesses and mental retardation after being screened by a local mental health facility (generally, a hospital or community mental health/mental retardation facility). And Keith Clayton's own elderly father still grapples with the loss of his only surviving biological child. CPR continued for 10 minutes until EMS arrived, Justin was placed on a stretcher and routed to Wilbarger General Hospital in Vernon. Updated: Jul 11, 2022 / 11:32 AM CDT. Forensic patients are also waiting for competency restoration services to stand trial or those found not guilty by reason of insanity. 8407 FM 433W. What first inspired you to pursue your career? "Supper for 2000 Patients" Postcard of North TX State Hospital in Terrell, 1920 Submitted by Elaine Martin. Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Temple in Temple, TX is not nationally ranked in any specialty. In the quiet room, nurses said they noticed Clayton had lost consciousness and turned pale. "Since you were positioned securing the patient's feet in the restraint you were responsible for notifying the other employee involved in the restraint the patient was in a prone position and to reposition the patient into a side-lying position," Roy's supervisors wrote in his termination letter. Despite his mental impairments, he was thriving, Mandy said. A second employee, James Roy, joined in the restraint, later telling police he tried to help Tinoco by lying across the patient's legs to prevent him from kicking. He died Nov. 30. Over time the mission changed to helping the underlying mental health issues that often lead to addiction. Ted Oberg Investigates made the seven-hour trip to Vernon to see the hospital for ourselves. A 2008 Harris County study suggests that same patient is housed and treated in the Harris County Jail for just $21. The Terrell State Hospital, first known as the "North Texas Lunatic Asylum" opened on July 14, 1885. More. Instead judges send them for mental health treatment with the hope they can be restored to mental health competency. North Texas State Hospital (vernon Campus), also known as Health And Human Services Commission, is a Psychiatric Hospital in Vernon, Texas.The NPI Number for North Texas State Hospital (vernon Campus) is 1245344472. Woman's Hospital of Texas - The Woman . Please contact the patients assigned social worker in advance to make visitation arrangements, or contact each facility for the latest visitation information. The protein found in wheat, barley and rye is often blamed for similar but unrelated symptoms. . But amid the state's investigation, James Smith, the superintendent of the North Texas State Hospital, offered a spirited defense of Roy and his colleagues, saying he disagreed with the findings and had doubts about the "objectivity" of the Adult Protective Services review. Justin Reeder, 32, was on the autism spectrum, developmentally delayed and had a mental illness diagnoses that often lead people to live solitary lives removed from their community, but not Justin, his mother said. RELATED: APB issued for escaped North Texas State Hospital patient. Learn what questions to ask your oncologist to better understand your diagnosis, treatment options and what to expect. A different employee, Hershel Tubbs, added that Clayton had made "gurgling" noises. In one of his final job performance reviews, less than three months after Clayton's death, a supervisor at the state hospital wrote that Tinoco "has good verbal communication to help promote prevention of restraint and seclusion.". 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