Employees decry plans for $100M in cuts and plead for basic safety measures
Employees, patient advocates, lawmakers and concerned citizens gathered at seven state facilities today to remember Napa State Hospital Psychiatric Technician Donna Gross on the first anniversary of her death.
Gross was murdered on NSH grounds October 23, 2010, by patient Jess Willard Massey. Massey was sentenced this August to 25 years to life in a state prison.
In her memory, attendees across the state laid hundreds of white carnations before photo memorials of Gross as they sang "Amazing Grace." The events also featured music and prayers led by spiritual leaders.
At Napa, coworkers read adoring statements written by patients inside the locked units where Gross worked for 14 years. Napa State Hospital participants were joined by Gross' family members; the pastor of the Salvation Army Church in Concord where she worshipped opened and closed the tearful event with prayers.
A year after Gross' death, workers say that basic measures they have recommended to prevent further tragedies inside DMH's state hospitals have not been implemented. They also report that DMH is now holding discussions focused on slashing $100 million from the hospitals' budgets. Such cuts, they say, can only be achieved by further reducing staffing levels that are already dangerously thin. Employees maintain that full staffing is the key to turning around the violence-ridden state hospitals.
Employees and advocates shared memories of Gross and personal stories of their own assaults and injuries. The state lawmakers in attendance -- Senator Sam Blakeslee and Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian at Atascadero; Assemblymember Tony Mendoza at Metropolitan; and Senator Mark DeSaulnier and Assemblymembers Michael Allen and Mariko Yamada at Napa – noted that violence inside the hospitals affects not only staff and patients, but also California taxpayers, who must pay for related workers' compensation, disability and overtime costs. Concerns over the lack of safety within DMH led Allen to convene the Select Committee on State Hospital Safety in August. The Napa Assemblymember also authored Assembly Bill 366 (streamlining involuntary medication procedures for certain patients) and coauthored Senate Bill 796 with Blakeslee (targeting dangerous contraband in state hospitals). Both bills recently were signed into law by Governor Brown.
Workers at all five DMH hospitals (Atascadero, Coalinga, Metropolitan, Napa and Patton) participated in today's events. Employees of Fairview and Porterville Developmental Centers held their own events to commemorate Gross.
Contacts:
for the Safety Now Coalition
Brady Oppenheim, 916/952-9961
Sue
Wilson, 510/926-0480