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Abuse and Neglect at Brain Injury Hospital Big Black Mark for Florida
Around the State
Who knows why it took an investigative reporter 1,200 miles away in Boston to discover and expose the drumbeat of abuse going on at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation.
Bloomberg's David Armstrong discovered one malevolent little secret at FINR, then another and another. And by the time last week rolled around, he had taken the lid off a series of atrocities at one of the most prestigious brain treatment facilities in the country.
Armstrong's report, "Abuse of brain-injured Americans scandalizes U.S.," details the abuse, neglect and confinement of FINR patients -- some of whom were sexually abused, some beaten, some tortured and more, say 20 current and former patients and their family members, criminal charges, civil complaints and advocates for the disabled.
Armstrong doesn't skimp on powerful examples of the alleged abuse and neglect. He includes instances where patients have died, or have reportedly swallowed fishhooks and batteries to escape the institution, as well as testimonials from former patients, including videotaped evidence of apparent beatings by caretakers.
Take all this testimony and add it to the more than 2,000 pages of court and medical records, police reports, state investigations and autopsies and you've got to wonder how on God's green earth the 20-year-old, for-profit Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation is allowed to remain open for business.
And don't be misled by FINR's hidey-hole location in Hardee County. In spite of the Podunk-just-east-of-Stumblebum address, this is one pricey joint for patients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, anything from bullet wounds to traffic accidents. It is perhaps the largest facility of its kind in the country, with 196 beds. And, says Anderson, its marketing is focused not on who among the 5.3 million brain-damaged Americans needs it most, but on the relative few who can pay bills that reach $1,850 a day.
The report also outlines that Florida’s Department of Children and Families received 477 allegations of abuse or neglect at FINR since 2005. That includes 36 that were “verified” by investigations. According to the state agency, the verified claims and others were referred to law enforcement.
That's a lot of time, a lot of abuse left unchecked, since authorities had those reports in their hands.
But thank the Lord, somebody is finally doing something -- though it's not the political leadership it should be.
Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, issued an emergency call on Friday for state and federal authorities to send a protective services team to FINR to make sure each resident is safe.
He also advocated for a state or multi-state and/or federal forensic audit of the place. What he wants investigated, too, is its possible misuse of any federal and state tax dollars, or any possible fraudulent activity that would “milk or bilk” patients’ premiums.
In a written statement, Dartland said of Bloomberg News, "One of the nation’s most trustworthy media organizations has documented what it asserts is a horrific, outrageous and heartbreaking series of heinous acts at a facility that is supposed to be providing care to some of the country's most vulnerable patients.
"The desperate cries for help from behind FINR's closed doors are an urgent alarm that should resonate at the highest levels of federal and state government and law enforcement. Families rightfully are deeply concerned and deserve to know their loved ones are in a safe and secure environment."
Dartland's outrage is so appropriate. Protecting public safety really is the top priority and responsibility of government. If authorities need to take over control of the facility to ensure the patients are safe, he says, "then that’s what needs to happen – now.”
"If state action now can prevent any further abuse of a single patient, then action is justified today," said Dartland.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
Comments (9)
Recently, there were news articles on the heels of a scathing report published by Bloomberg News about the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation. The allegations and insinuations in the Bloomberg story by David Armstrong are not only disingenuous, they are biased, prejudicial and intellectually dishonest.
Unfortunately, his report has seemingly influenced others, and his false allegations are being represented as facts to the unsuspecting public.
In advance of the story, Armstrong reached out to me in my capacity as the director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at FINR. I have served in that role for the past 10 years and have been involved with FINR in one way or another for the past 20. The role I have with FINR is strictly voluntary, and I have never accepted a dime in compensation, as I truly believe in what they are doing at FINR.
That said, I think this gives me the unique ability to speak to the high level of quality care that FINR delivers to their patients day-in and day-out.
Not surprisingly, none of my comments made it into Armstrong's story. Had they, readers would have learned that as a medical doctor I whole-heartedly believe that FINR is one of the best facilities of its kind in the country. That is no easy task, as they serve one of the most difficult populations of patients in the country, both in terms of the medical care they require as well as the underlying behavioral issues that often affect those with brain injuries.
Many facilities turn away patients at the door because the nature of their condition can prevent these facilities from being able to care for them, much less help them lead a more productive and fulfilling life.
At FINR, however, patients are under the constant care and supervision of a dedicated team of staff members, and patients reap the benefits of an institution that is actively working to improve their lives through rehabilitation.
This one-sided representation by Armstrong doesn't paint an accurate picture of FINR and is clearly being driven by an outside force whose interest is not in the health or well-being of FINR's patients, but rather in hurting the reputation of FINR.
I am saddened that these malicious and unfounded attacks may negatively influence those who were considering putting a loved one who is in need of care into the capable hands of FINR, as it truly is the very best facility for many patients.
I hope that by assisting in setting the record straight, news organizations will cease from printing hearsay.
And if anyone has any question about the type of facility FINR is, I hope they visit for themselves — our doors are always open — so they can witness the unparalleled standard of care that FINR delivers.
Dr. Craig Lichtblau is the director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation.
On the Bloomberg website there are over 200 comments from folks, about FINR. They are also quite enlightening.
Early on when my son was admitted at FINR, I asked the Program Case Manager, whose job it was to work with me and my son, a question about a social program, and she alas did not have an answer. Having had access to various social workers over the years as I dealt with the consequences of my son's TBI, I suggested that perhaps a social worker could help me. She told me that there was a social worker at FINR located in the pediatric facility about a mile away, and she would ask her for an answer to my question. A few days later, she came back with an answer that turned out to be wrong, probably due to the nature of the complexity of the social programs I was asking about or how the question was posed or perceived by one or the other. What I discovered was that as its Program Case Managers, FINR employs recent law school graduates, who are naturally hoping to soon be employed at a law firm. While they are pleasant, eager, and certainly very bright, I think circumventing the social workers, who are actually educated to do this kind of work, is a poor policy. As sociology majors, they have made it their mission to study the behaviors and interactions of various groups within our multicultural society, and you find a great deal of diversity within the FINR community, among the people, who are the clients, their families and the staff. Social workers are educated to help people thrive within such a community.
I have had a family member at FINR for a number of years and am quite familiar with traumatic brain injuries. On a very basic level, a TBI results in any number of cognitive, behavioral,emotional, and physical symptoms. To name a few: ability to remember, process information, or just be aware of your surroundings, temporary amnesia, confusion, trouble with thinking, extreme confusion, slurred speech, amnesia, lack of initiative, reasoning problems, volatile temper, combativeness, lack of self control, impulsiveness...the list goes on. Unfortunately, the reality is that people with TBIs do not always think rationally or recall clearly day to day events.
Now while I do not doubt that there may have been isolated incidences where individual staff members may have not followed appropriate protocols, I know FINR as a whole works very hard to prevent this. For instance in the article that you referenced it states that it was FINR that reported the issue and submitted the video to the police. FINR also maintains video surveillance as much as they can while still maintaining patient privacy. Further I know (b/c I see it nearly every time I visit) that the clients have access to phones in their cabins and next to the phones are a number of numbers they may call anytime to report any abuse. This is just not how a company that is trying to hide something behaves. You use the term "culture of abuse" in your article a few times, but the company seems to do everything possible to prevent any abuse...and certainly there is no cultivating or fostering of abuse.
There are countless "miracle" stories that come out of FINR. Including my family member, who was not walking or talking upon admitting and they can do both just fine with complete thanks to the intense speech, occupational, and physical therapy they recieved daily. To find all of these therapies all under one roof that are all specialized in TBI is nearly unheard of. Then FINR goes a step further with a department of behavioral analysts and neuropsychologists to help with the countless cognitive, emotional, and behavioral issues resulting from TBIs.
The real problem is that there is a shortage of places to treat the long term consequences of TBIs because of the liability of these cognitive and behavioral problems. The costs are high for this level of therapeutic intervention, and I am sure it would be much cheaper this company to over medicate or manually restrain their patients, but the mantra you hear over and over there is "least restrictive environment while maintaining safety."
Basically I am just appalled that you wrote your entire article on one hugely biased article, an article that used as its primary witness a patient that purposely cut his belly open and deposited batteries in it...seriously? Then you repeat the information as reputable, including a client death that was ruled by a coroner as an unsual side effect of a medication but you claim it was strangulation? So the state attorney and coroner are conspiring...is that your insinuation??
I am sure you are well intentioned, but maybe in the future use actual sources.
There is a reason this facility is accredited with not one lapse in the accreditations and has been serving the brain injured population for 20 years. Please, open your eyes and get off the smear campaign.
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