The Oregon Business Model: Keep Everyone Mentally Ill As Long As Possible!

Oregon is known for keeping their mentally ill patients for as long as it is conceivable, possibly indefinitely!

The mentally ill clients represent ‘revenue’ for the State as well as ‘heads’ to be counted in order to receive federal funding … all for the Oregon facilities’ programs, as well as keeping many people employed including their vacations, pensions and health insurance costs.

Jacob’s having a TBI can be counted as a bonus, in that he is definitely worth more to Oregon, more funding can be applied for.

Noteworthy is the fact, even though Jacob’s medical records contain many entries in regard to his TBI, and are filled with notations that speak of treating his traumatic brain injury, nothing of the kind is afforded to him, because none of the staff, wherever Jacob was kept, had either the training or education or even a basic understanding of Jacob’s medical disability, namely TBI. (Traumatic Brain Injury)

Overmedicating was the call of the day, it is the kind of treatment that Oregon knows best and earns the highest profit in the shortest amount of time.

In order to stay true to Oregon’s business model of ‘getting a lot’ and ‘giving as little as possible’ Jacob’s TBI treatment has been denied him.

Oregon State Hospital has been in the crosshairs of federal civil-rights investigators since mid-2006, and there appears to be no end in sight to the long-running inquiry.

In fact, federal lawyers at the forefront of the investigation made two recent trips to Salem to gather more information about Oregon's main mental hospital and other aspects of the state's mental-health system, email correspondence obtained by the Statesman Journal shows.

The first visit occurred in February when lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice met at the state hospital with a number of patients to hear their concerns and complaints.

Patients vented frustration about long stints of hospitalization and restrictive release practices that keep patients cooped up on psychiatric wards after therapists have found them fit to be released.

During the second trip to Salem, visitors from the U.S. Department Of Justice spent three days, April 6-8, conducting interviews with at least 10 state mental health administrators.

The talks took place in a conference room at the Commerce Building.

Heading up the federal team was Robert Koch, a trial attorney for the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. DOJ.

Much of the correspondence focused on scheduling matters and other arrangements for the two recent visits.

This June will mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the federal investigation of the state hospital and other mental health facilities.

In 2008, the feds threatened legal action if Oregon did not fix numerous defects in patient care and hospital conditions.

Despite reform-minded efforts, the federal Justice Department put the state on notice in November that it was widening the investigation, digging into concerns beyond patient care and hospital conditions.

The expanded investigation has been scrutinizing how long patients stay at Oregon State Hospital, the availability of mental health services for people coming out of the hospital and those at risk of being institutionalized, and whether the state is complying with federal law, which requires that government dollars support the most appropriate care for people with disabilities in the least restrictive settings.

Mental health advocates maintain that Oregon spends too much on hospitalization for people with mental illnesses and not enough on community programs.

A New Definition of: "Guardian"

Nancy Doty’s actions, as long as she has been Jacob’s Guardian,  can only be defined as an almost patent and institutionalized denial of Jacob's human and civil rights by a process, an entire system stacked against the individual, a person that their very charter is defined to serve.

It has been written, that in many instances, if anything goes by the wayside or goes wrong, the psychiatrist, psychologist, conservator or social worker likes to blame the patient or the mother for the cause of all the problems, sui generis for this industry, first written about by psychiatrist Frieda Fromm-Reichmann in 1948.

The above mentioned paragraph applies in Jacob’s case as it has unfolded since he and his mother entered the State of Oregon.

Private facilities as well as hospitals that are run by the State of Oregon are morally bankrupt enterprises, bereft of ethics….and noticeably deceptive!!

The total denial of Jacob’s brain injury is remarkable; it is in fact the argument most overlooked by Jacob’s caretakers. Jacob suffers from a medical disability, namely his traumatic brain injury, as well as schizophrenia. His schizophrenia has always been well controlled by his medication.

One Day, Marin Community Mental Health will make you an offer you can't refuse...

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Towards the end of the year 2011, Marin Community Mental Health made Catherine the offer that if she ever wanted her son released from Napa State Hospital, she would have to move from California. That is what the three persons stated, they had the letter already prepared for Catherine’s signature.

In essence, get the hell outta here, especially since we sued Marin County Community Mental Health, as well as the Marin County Sheriff, Robert Doyle.

So, in November of 2011 we set out in a rental car, followed by a rental truck that held Catherine & Jacob’s belongings to drive up to Oregon. At first Catherine wanted to move to Ashland, but settled for Medford, the rents were more affordable.

Rogue Valley Hospital in Medford  11.23.2011----- 02.18.2012

We arrived in Medford around the 16th of November 2011.  It was a long drive, about ten hours it took. After sleeping at a Motel, Jacob was overcome with anxiety, since Marin County refused to give Jacob any Ativan (Valium) before he would have to make this long trip, cooped up in the back of the car. It was very difficult for Jacob, who just left a hospital environment locked facility, institutionalized, to being a free person within society.

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We took Jacob to the crisis center, Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, in order to get some Ativan. When Rogue Valley Hospital Security ran Jacob’s name, they found out that Jacob spent 6 years in prison for attempted murder of his mother… they wanted to keep Jacob for observation.

In order for Oregon to keep Jacob …or others…Oregon does a court commitment in 3-4 days when mental persons  are brought to their hospital. That is done so Oregon receives a ‘sizable Medicare Part A’ reimbursement from the Federal Government.

In comparison to California, where it takes 6 weeks and a court hearing to commit any mental client.

While at Rogue Valley, the psychiatrist, Dr. O’Connell immediately lowered Jacob’s medications for the purpose of titration (Medical talk…. The serial dilution of a substance of interest).  Jacob did not do well under that kind of treatment.

Not only has Jacob’s TBI been completely ignored, but what Dr. O’Connell did is typical for psychiatrists, in that they like to treat their new patients like guinea pigs, in order to observe their new reactions / behavior! when given different medications or changing  their current meds.  Also, on many occasions doctors get “perks” from their pharmaceutical companies, quite sizable ones and gifts as well.

“How do you feel now?” …..the patient is asked?

Jacob was very angry for being pulled away from his family, he was acting out his emotions.
Consequentially, he was considered as being “violent” …and this was duly noted in his medical jacket….forthwith!

The employees at the mental health system do not look at an individual client as a sensitive human being, only as schizophrenics or manic depressives. Employees, doctors and nurses are desensitized so that they are only able to look at the mental illness and categorizes it as such, with every mental / emotional behavior.

One day Jacob rolled in his wheel chair and hit the fish tank by accident. It shook the fish up a bit.
As punishment for that, Jacob was sent to the seclusion room without his wheelchair.

In the seclusion room, a 20’x20’ area, there was but only one chair. Jacob found himself with two other clients in said space, a fight broke out as to who got to sit down in the only chair.  The staff would watch this brawl through the window, and began to shoot up the clients with psychotropic medication.

Catherine immediately contacted the Rogue Valley Administration and talked to them about their seclusion room policies. As she learned, there may only be one person in the seclusion room by himself, with one chair. If there are more than one person in said room, there have to be chairs for every person there, as well as a staff member to supervise them.

These rules were not being followed, and subsequent to Catherine filing an official complaint, Jacob received a letter “Mea Culpa” by administration officials that will not give their last name. See copy attached.

After that debacle, Dr. James Hammel fudged Jacob’s medical records, stating that Jacob committed a crime…….. and he needed to be transported to a forensic unit at Oregon State Hospital in Salem.

Jacob was transported in chains from Medford to Salem, holding in his hands a copy of his deceased Uncle, Robert Powers Death Certificate, see copy attached.  This document was given to Jacob on his way out by Dr. James Hammel, who wanted to really hurt Jacob because his mother had complained.

Jacob left on February 18th from Medford Rogue Valley Hospital to Oregon State Hospital in Salem.

In ending this paragraph, I must mention that the final Rogue Valley Medical Bill was $103,466.- for Jacob’s stay starting on 11.23.2011 up to 12.29.2011.. at total of about 36 days. In comparison, Napa State Hospital charged Jacob $ 29,000.- for 77 days of treatment. Medicare Fraud by Rogue Valley Hospital in Oregon is deeply suspected!

Oregon State Hospital in Salem

Starting from 12.30.2011 until…. about 03.16.2012

Oregon State Hospital was a new $ 280 Million Hospital with a bad reputation of abuse.
It was in the old building, that the movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest was filmed”!

The State of Oregon has somewhat sensationalized this movie, to hide its own negative reputation and to hide its own present abuses.

Jacob’s grandfather, Alvah Powers, was very upset when the movie was first shown, because it took away from the biological diseases i.e. schizophrenia & bi-polar disease and made it a societal comedy schtick!

Back to Jacob:

Lighthouse II, at OSH Salem, was a forensic unit where the patients were educated for court competency, before they had to go on trial.

Dr. Farivar was Jacob’s psychiatrist and Michelle Dague was Jacob’s social worker. Michelle knew that Jacob was sent to OSH on a PSRB (Psychiatric Security Review Board) which is a criminal action. She absolutely had no understanding as to why Jacob was at a forensic unit.

Catherine asked Michelle to have Jacob changed to another non-forensic unit, but she refused. Both Dr. Farivar and Michelle felt that Jacob should be at home with his mother, who would take her son to an “outpatient TBI facility and  neurologist, because that is what Jacob really needed and deserved.”

Also, Dr. Farivar would not let Jacob used his wheelchair at the hospital, because he felt that Jacob would be beaten up by other peers.  It is well known, that Oregon State Hospital’s environment is very harsh and abusive with the medication the patients there receive.  Most of them have been separated from their family, they have nothing to do and nothing to look forward to, their civil rights are non-existent.

The above paragraph cements the reason that Dr. Farivar and Michelle Dague decided to leave their employment not to forget their opinion and suggestion that Jacob should go home to his mother.

At the end of March 2012,, both Dr. Farivar & Michelle Dague were no longer at OSH in Salem.

On March 16 Jacob was released to my new home in Salem, on Center street..!

Center street was an unfortunate choice apartment because of an abundance of drug dealers and drug activity, which I was not aware of at the time I moved in.

After about a week of Jacob living there, he was offered drugs as he was on his balcony. in addition to having had contact with these dealers, and the constant noise, almost 24 / 7….. Jacob got quite upset,  was unable to sleep, and called the police.

The Police ran his name, and brought him to the crisis center, at a place called Salem Health.

At that place, contrary what Jacob wanted, they stripped Jacob naked and demanded a blood sample because the police suspected he was high on drugs.  Of course, his blood sample turned out clean.

While there, Salem Police created a Police Report charging Jacob with assault against hospital staff while Jacob tried to defend himself against being stripped naked and blood being taken from him, without any reason or court order!

Even though Catherine was present and explained Jacob’s story in more detail, they shipped Jacob to the crisis center at Salem Behavioral Health.  Again, he was committed within 4 days and shipped to Oregon State Hospital in Portland.

Salem State Hospital to Cascadia Behavioral Health: Frying Pan to Fire

Oregon State Hospital: Salem

From Salem State Hospital, on or about March 7th 2013 Jacob was transferred to Gateway Behavioral Facility. It was another place that had nothing in respect to TBI, we were told that there may be another building added in the future for people with TBI.

The staff consisted of an East Indian Psychiatrist, Dr. Satyanary Chandragiri

He had a difficult time to express himself in clear English, neither Jacob nor Catherine understood what he was talking about, the majority of the time they met. To our recollection, this Dr. saw Jacob about once per month, and again, he had to training or understanding of TBI.

Nancy Doty, who by then was appointed by Oregon Judge, Thomas Hart, as Jacob’s guardian, had no treatment plan for Jacob, even though that was supposed to be done shortly after he arrived at said facility.

The next person that served as Jacob’s staff was the head nurse by name Shari Miller. Needless to say, she also had no clue about TBI, but felt that by overmedicating Jacob was the answer to all of the facility’s environmental problem.

To explain, the facility was basically a warehouse which kept persons with different behavioral problems.

One of Jacob’s problems came when he was given a bedroom right next to the laundry room, where the washing machine and the dryer kept running for most of the night. This deprived Jacob of his sleep.

Jacob’s lack of sufficient sleep, in turn, caused more behavioral problems, for which he got punished by not being able to call home.

When Catherine phoned gateway and told them the problem of the washer & dryer, the guardian put a stop on all communication with Jacob’s family.

At one point, after asking repeatedly, Catherine was allowed to visit her son for the first time. The conditions of the facility were deplorable. See attached letter from Orrin Grover to the Guardians daughter Emily.

After Catherine complained to the facility about safety problems and more, she was then retaliated against by the guardian in that they moved Jacob into a new building with more security.

What it meant for Jacob was, that he no longer could go to any outings into the community.

A very big problem for Jacob was that he refused to take a shower.  The reason was, that the bathroom was very small and had absolutely no ventilation, so Jacob could not breathe properly which made him feel very uncomfortable.

Most persons that suffer from a TBI, especially Jacob who also had dysphagia, forget to breathe as they need to be reminded.

Because Gateway did not have one person that was familiar with TBI, or had studied Jacob’s medical records he suffered more than necessary, and again he was misunderstood in the way he behaved.

The last visit Catherine had with Jacob at said facility was on 13 October 2014.  The backyard was covered with half-smoked cigarette butts and Jacob wanted to smoke. He noticed that the staff were all smoking, Jacob asked them if he could smoke as well…and he was told “NO”!  That in turn became a trigger point that led to an argument between staff and Jacob, which got him thrown out of Gateway Facility on 16 October 2014.

To sum matters up, Jacob was in the wrong place again, and suffered tremendously at the hands of persons that had no clue as to how to handle or understand TBI, which includes his guardian and her daughter.

It needs to be mentioned, that in all of Jacob’s medical records or documents his TBI is mentioned repeatedly but only for the purpose so that the different facilities including the hospitals can collect extra money from the State & Federal Government, under which everyone is subsidized.

On or about 16 October 2014, Jacob was transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, where he spent almost three months in the ‘Johnson Psychiatric Unit’!

On 9 September Catherine gave up her apartment in Salem and moved to a homeless shelter in Eugene so that she could be closer to her son.


Sacred Heart Hospital … Psychiatric Johnson Unit

Once at Sacred Heart, all communication was cut off under the guise that the doctor felt it was not good for Jacob that he could contact any of his family members, see them or write to them.

A young psychiatrist by name of Dr. Veles was in charge, who clearly was under the gun of the guardian.

I did communicate with Jacob’s social worker, by name Kate Hill, below are some of our communiqués.

Hi Johann, I just wrote you a response to your other email, and at this time, I am being instructed to have all communications go through Nancy Doty.  This is per hospital policy. Given the complex dynamics in the case, the less ‘cross talk’ the better.

It only serves to further muddy the waters. I know that Catherine has been given this message but she continues to call and leave lengthy, angry messages. I will not be returning her calls and in the future will likely just delete them as they are not issues I can discuss with her. ‘

Take care,
Kate

Johann ~ I forwarded your message to Dr. Velez, his response is: “the only person I am talking with is the guardian, per the guardian’s request.  They should make their requests to the guardian, who will pass them on to me”.

It  is noted in his records both the allergy to penicillin and his history of Hep C. Catherine left a message on my voicemail 2 days ago  insisting that Jacob has a UTI. MD ordered a UA to screen for this, but he is refusing. When he was admitted he was tested for a UTI and the results were negative.

I know this is difficult for you both, but all decisions about his care will be made by his guardian and the doctor. The only way this will be changed is if Catherine is able to convince a judge that she should be appointed his guardian. It appears this has not been successful in the past.

She brought him to Oregon and is now unhappy with that decision. He cannot be transferred to the state hospital in California because he is now an Oregon resident. He may have to go back to the Oregon state hospital if another program is not willing to accept him.

We are aware of Jacob’s TBI, and we do take this into account in his treatment.  His condition is chronic and is unlikely to improve in terms of cognitive function. I believe that Catherine has been told this repeatedly, but she does not accept that answer. When he jumped off that building he did irreparable damage to his brain much of which cannot be reversed.  Jacob seems to understand this, although he does find it discouraging. Some facts must be faced and it will benefit him if he is not constantly reminded that he is not who he was.

We are doing our best to give him good treatment, and to some extent he will cooperate.  He receives injections because he refuses oral medications. I believe that what is happening in the communication between you and Catherine and Jacob is what we refer to as triangulation. Jacob is saying things to you that are not, in fact, true and this results in reactions that are out of context with the actual situation.

Please know that we are taking good care of Jacob and he we continue to work towards an appropriate placement for him, where he can perhaps find some happiness in his life.

We have also read through his website and have a better understanding of his history.

Sincerely,

Kate

The next time we heard from Jacob he was at Portland State Hospital.  According to Jacob, Sacred Heart Hospital discharged him without our knowledge back to Salem State hospital, where Jacob stayed for approximately one month, after which said hospital attempted to discharge him into a community homeless shelter.

The Guardian at that time interfered and insisted that Portland State Hospital must accept him, because Jacob has been institutionalized almost the whole time that he has lived in Oregon.

None of the above mentioned items were known by his family, we found out by April 2014.

Oregon State Hospital Portland….. second time…..

At this time Jacob is back at Portland State Hospital, being cared for by the same psychiatrist as before,
namely Dr. Solomon Wolf.

Dr. Wolf also has no training or background in TBI, instead, he has prescribed 2nd generation psychotropic medications, which he has done since the first time Jacob was there, about  May 2012.

The significance of the above statement is that the medication Risperdal & Invega, a derivative of Risperdal, have caused Jacob to gain a noteworthy amount of weight, about 80+ lbs. after he arrived in Oregon.

Invega: Weight gain (tends to produce a moderate degree of weight gain, possibly related to its potent blockade of the 5-HT2C receptor)

Risperdal: Adverse effects of Risperidone include significant weight gain and metabolic problems such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Risperidone and other antipsychotics also increase the risk of death in patients with dementia.

Now, after Catherine spoke with Dr. Wolf repeatedly, Jacob finally is being put on Haldol again, a first generation psychotropic medication.  The importance of mentioning this is, that Jacob’s guardian, who has absolutely no qualifications to decide over Jacob’s medical treatment …is in charge of Jacob’s well-being. That in itself, is a crime by Judge Hart and the Oregon Judicial System etc.

From the time that Jacob entered Oregon, in November of 2011, he has been to 9 different facilities, none of them are qualified or trained in dealing with his disabilities. Instead he has gained more than 80 lbs. weight, has been excluded from society.

Things That Jacob Used to do...

The following are things Jacob used to do perfectly fine for himself, but thanks to his current "quality care" is now no longer allowed to do:

Note: TBI means Traumatic Brain Injury.

• Jacob was able to go shopping on his own, exchange money and make choices at stores. Now he is no longer able to!
• Jacob was able to walk at least three miles per day….He pushed his own wheelchair and used it for safety so he would not fall.
• Jacob was able to go out by himself, use cross walks. He went to visit the nearby shopping center, while confined to his wheelchair. That was when he was in Bennett Valley, CA.
• Jacob made intelligent choices concerning his diet. He even has good style when he chooses his clothing!
• Jacob was able to phone his doctor, talk about his medications and pick them up from the pharmacy.
• Jacob took his meds diligently, was never denied them, or refused to take his medication.
• Jacob used to have and manage his own ATM bankcard and his own bank account.
• Jacob used to have money left to him from his deceased father, which has been "taken" by Oregon and or his guardian.
• Jacob used to have Medicaid. DHS in Oregon, Jacob’s social worker and his doctors at the time, denied him a type of Medicaid that would give him access to TBI providers. In addition Jacob's MEDICARE has also been compromised. Currently Jacob is again at Oregon State Hospital in Portland, which is a paid by Jacob’s MEDICARE 
• Part A.OSH keeps Jacob in their facility in order to receive his MEDICARE as well as Federal Assistance.
• The program he is subject to attend is the same program Jacob has been to during the last two years.
• Jacob used to be able to get treatment for his TBI. Oregon State Hospital is denying Jacob’s TBI, no evaluation has been performed since the State of Oregon, without sending jacob to a qualified TBI specialist, has conveniently determined that Jacob cannot ever be rehabilitated for his traumatic brain injury.

Amazing Huh!