3 Fired From Treatment Center In Teen’s Death
Published: February 8, 2009
CLEVELAND—A Catholic church-run treatment center where a disruptive teenage girl died while being restrained by staff members has fired three workers involved in the incident, the facility’s president said.
The employees were fired Friday following the release of an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services report that said the workers at Parmadale Family Services didn’t follow the center’s own policies, said Tom Mullen, the president of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Cleveland.
Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank P. Miller ruled Faith Finley’s Dec. 13 death a homicide last month, saying she choked on vomit and suffocated while being held in a face-down position.
Mullen has said that the staff at the suburban Cleveland facility is instructed to use a face-up restraint method. The center is licensed by several state agencies.
Ohio leaves it up to individual agencies to set their own regulations regarding how to perform restraints, which are blamed for at least 40 child deaths in the U.S. since 1993. Gov. Ted Strickland last month formed a committee that will develop one state policy for the use of restraints.
“I’m hopeful that there will be consistency across the state for all youngsters,“ Mullen said.
Agencies in at least 14 other states have severely curtailed or banned some restraints, most commonly the face-down variety, which is increasingly considered dangerous because it can reduce a person’s ability to breathe. The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities has already banned its use.
The Department of Job and Family Services report also said the center couldn’t provide documentation that Finley’s medication had been properly distributed and didn’t follow behavior management policies outlined by the department.
Staff members also violated her rights with the use of the restraint because the 17-year-old had the right to be free of “physical abuse and inhumane treatment,“ the report said.
Finley had been at the center for several months. After her death, Summit County removed from Parmadale the one dozen or so youngsters sent there by the county.
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Reader Reactions
Having a Child Who Lives in Ohio and Also Has been restrained, I do not like it at all, My Son also has asthma so it gets scarey, I believe this should be against the Law and that Cameras Should be Installed in ALL Public Schools in all Hallways and Classrooms Where Parents Can Have a Place to go online and Check on there children at any time they Choose to!!!!... Teachers and School Officials shouldnt have anything to hide so why not put Cameras in the Schools!!!
Darkfeary From Ohio!!!!
Very tragic. Senseless. Preventable. In setting up standards for all of Ohio, with the recommendation of the face up restraint - I would caution that at the first sign of the individual being restrained becoming nauseous, stating they are nauseated, or having any difficulty breathing, or beginning to vomit that the restraining be immediately modified!!! Turn individual on their side!! Keep airway open and free blockage. TRAIN AND RE-TRAIN EMPLOYEES DEALING WITH THESE SITUATIONS FOR HOW BEST TO FIRST OF ALL DE-ESCALATE AN INDIVIDUAL BEFORE REACHING THE POINT OF NEEDING RESTRAINT!! Have in place frequently practiced methods for reducing the chance of injury or death to clients or staff. It is hard work and I admire all those working in conditions that face these situations.
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