DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997             TAG: 9710040361

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  228 lines

STATE OFFICIALS HAVE ISSUED A SCATHING REPORT

State officials have issued a scathing report on a program for aggressive and violent youths at The Pines Residential Treatment Center, citing repeated assaults as evidence that the center cannot keep residents safe and under control.

The Pines, which treats extremely troubled youths from across the country, has been plagued by problems with youths running away from the center's two locked facilities. In some cases, the runaways committed crimes in Hampton Roads.

``Evidence indicates that there is a recurring problem with the ability to provide a structured program of care that ensures protection, guidance and supervision,'' a state licensing worker wrote in a Sept. 30 letter.

That finding followed an investigation by the Virginia Department of Mental Health, which licenses The Pines, into assaults on two residents by their peers on Sept. 1 and Sept. 14.

The state investigation found that staff members did not follow procedures, did not properly monitor the residents, and were not consistent in managing the behavior of youths in the Phoenix A and B programs, where the most aggressive youths are housed. Phoenix A is for 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds, and B is for those 18 and older, Pines officials said.

The recent censure by the state marks the second time in five months the treatment center has been written up for having a pattern of unacceptable behavior that shows a defect in overall operation. They are the only times that the center has been cited for defects in its overall operation since it opened nearly 11 years ago.

In response to questions from The Virginian-Pilot regarding the state's findings, Pines officials issued a one-paragraph statement.

In it, Pines officials pointed out that the center was recently awarded ``full accreditation with commendation'' by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Washington. According to the commission, that is the highest level of accreditation.

``We continue to accept and successfully treat youth who are difficult to place in other treatment facilities,'' the statement said. ``Our referral sources and certifying agencies continually monitor our programs and their clients' progress. When disruptive incidents occur, we immediately report these occurrences and implement appropriate measures.''

State officials said Friday that the two findings in such a short time are unusual. Greg Stolcis, a regional manager for the office of licensure in Richmond, said he was not aware of another provider that received two such letters pointing out such significant deficiencies within a similar time span this year.

``Given that relatively short time frame and the general seriousness, it's uncommon for a provider to have that many in that length of time,'' Stolcis said. ``There are some ongoing concerns about the Phoenix program. We're on top of it.''

The first step as a result of the state findings is for state officials and The Pines to negotiate corrective action. In the past, The Pines has been cooperative in making changes to meet state requirements.

The state also could revoke The Pines' license, or a part of the license that deals with specific programs, or issue a provisional license for up to six months when The Pines' current license expires in October 1998.

As a result of the state's criticism, Pines officials say they will accept no new admissions to the A and B sections of the Phoenix program - located on Crawford Parkway in Portsmouth - until supervisory issues are resolved, according to a Sept. 24 letter sent by The Pines to the state.

Among the other actions Pines officials took in September to improve safety was the stationing of registered nurses within the Phoenix A and B sections of the program.

It also is planning to add to the Phoenix program's staff. The program, which once had a clinical director and a clinical coordinator, will soon have two clinical directors and a complex manager.

The Pines has until Oct. 6 to submit a corrective action plan, according to state officials. A meeting of state and Pines officials is planned for Oct. 10, Stolcis said.

Phoenix A and B currently house between 30 and 40 residents, a Pines employee estimated. State officials could not confirm that number, and Pines officials did not provide that information.

Earlier this summer, The Pines, which is owned by First Hospital Corp., launched physical changes to transform the 24-bed complex of Phoenix Boys A complex into two, 12-bed units. The changes were done to make guidance and supervision easier.

In April, when state officials cited The Pines for having an operational defect , the problem was a recurring failure to document the transfer of residents across state lines.

The incident that triggered that finding was the transfer of several residents to The Pines last summer from an affiliated treatment center in Arizona. An interstate compact requires that the state grant prior approval of such transfers.

In answer to that state finding, The Pines submitted a corrective action plan, which the state accepted. There have been no further violations.

Since it opened a decade ago, The Pines has developed a national reputation for treating seriously disturbed youths, and, in some cases, providing an alternative to prison. The facility's two Portsmouth campuses house adolescents and young adults from across the nation - among them murderers and sexual molesters - who are treated in hopes of ``graduating'' them into society.

When things go well, the results are dramatic tales of triumph. The Pines is doing work that few other places in the country are willing to tackle. For some of the nation's children, The Pines is their last hope.

However, that work is not without its risks and, sometimes, problems.

In 1995, residents ran away from The Pines at the rate of nearly one every five days, according to The Virginian-Pilot's investigation earlier this year. In 1996, that number dropped to about one every eight days, according to statistics provided by the Portsmouth Police Department.

An official in at least one other state is reluctant to send violent offenders to The Pines for treatment, based on her understanding of the level of security at the center.

Naomi Post, chairman of juvenile probation for the Philadelphia County Juvenile Court, said earlier this year that she had referred about 100 adolescents to The Pines. She described them as ``some of our more challenging children.''

But Post said she would never refer ``a violent rapist or someone who presents a clear danger to the community. The campuses are not secure enough for that,'' she said. The runaway statistics are ``shocking. . . . To me, that is a very high number,'' she said.

In Tucson, Ariz., a campus of The Pines was forced to close last summer after a riot that resulted in at least eight arrests. It was the transfer of those residents that led the state of Virginia to cite The Pines for repeatedly failing to document the transfer of its residents across state lines.

Recent letters to The Pines from state regulators document more problems:

An assault on April 3 in which a resident of the Phoenix A program was injured by five of his peers in an attack planned by ``a minimum of 18 residents.'' Before the attack, the youth had assaulted a staff member and had been placed in an observation room. Although additional staff members were placed in the room and in the hall outside to supervise, the plan did not ensure the youth's safety.

The state criticizes The Pines for failing to make the youths manage their aggressive impulses and behaviors.

Staff negligence contributed to incidents of sexual activity between residents on March 29 and 30, according to the letters.

On May 15, a youth attempted suicide and was found by a social worker, still conscious but hanging from an air vent by a shoestring. Staff members then quickly responded, and the youth was taken to Norfolk Psychiatric, also owned by First Hospital.

The attempted suicide came two days after a fellow resident in the Phoenix program tried to commit suicide. The first youth, a 16-year-old, tried to hang himself on May 13, then fell into a coma and remained on a life support system for several days before doctors removed it.

The state found that The Pines' policies and procedures were inadequate to assess suicidal intent or to adequately monitor residents' behavior.

Clinical records for the youth who attempted suicide showed a history of 15 suicide attempts in the year that ended in March. The youth had been admitted to The Pines from an acute-care facility for a ``serious suicide attempt.'' The state reported that it was unclear why that information did not exclude the youth for admission to The Pines.

Two youths were assaulted by other residents of the Phoenix program on Sept. 1 and Sept. 14. It was those assaults that led to the state's finding of a defect in overall operation. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Mark Mitchell/File Photo

The Pines Residential Treatment Center

Graphic

RESPONSE

The management of The Pines Residential Treatment Center in

Portsmouth issued a one-paragraph, unsigned statement Friday in

response to The Virginian-Pilot's questions about a state report

critical of the center:

We continue to accept and successfully treat youth who are

difficult to place in other treatment facilities. Our referral

sources and certifying agencies continually monitor our programs and

their clients' progress. When disruptive incidents occur, we

immediately report these occurrences and implement appropriate

measures. It is through the diligence, dedication and

professionalism of our staff that The Pines was recently awarded

full accreditation with commendation, an award granted to a very

select group of health-care organizations, by the Joint Commission

on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. We are obviously doing

a better job than the newspaper would lead its readers to believe.

Graphic

The Pines Residential Treatment Center, which operates two

campuses in Portsmouth, handles youths with severe behavioral

problems. Many residents have committed crimes, including murder and

rape. In recent years, The Pines has struggled with serious

problems, including repeated incidents in which violent youths

have run away. In some of those cases, the youths have committed

crimes:

September 1997: The Virginia Department of Mental Health cites

The Pines for repeatedly failing to protect, guide and supervise the

Phoenix Boys A and B programs for violent and aggressive youths. The

state's finding stems from an investigation of incidents on Sept. 1

and Sept. 14.

June 1997: Seven youths escape from Norfolk Psychiatric Center on

Kempsville Road after intentionally triggering a fire alarm that

automatically unlocks doors. The center is operated by First

Hospital Corp., which also owns The Pines.

May 1997: A 16-year-old youth in The Pines' program for violent

juveniles dies in the hospital, days after attempting to commit

suicide by hanging himself.

April 1997: State officials cite The Pines for repeatedly failing

to document the transfer of residents across state lines. The

Department of Mental Health threatens to impose stricter licensing

requirements if The Pines doesn't fix the problem.

March 1997: Two teen-agers run away from juvenile facilities

operated by First Hospital Corp. and are recaptured. An 18-year-old

male flees Tidewater Residential Institute and is charged with a

burglary committed while he is on the loose. In response, the state

removes all 24 remaining residents at Tidewater Residential

Institute.

A 19-year-old girl runs away from The Pines while being taken to

the hospital for treatment of a hand wound, and is recaptured in

Washington.

January 1997: A report by The Virginian-Pilot reveals that in

1995, residents ran away from The Pines at the rate of nearly one

every five days. In the past few years, at least five residents or

former residents of The Pines have been accused of violent crimes in

Hampton Roads.

Oct. 1996:

Timothy L. Gregory, a disgruntled former counselor at The Pines,

apparently kills a man in a dispute over money, then drives to the

center, where he holds two hostages at gunpoint before releasing

them and killing himself.

Three youths commit a carjacking, abduction and robbery hours

after escaping from The Pines. The youths confront a man in the

parking lot of his apartment building, take his car and push him

into the back seat. After releasing the man on Interstate 64, the

youths rob a Hampton convenience store and crash the car in a police

chase.

May 1996: An 18-year-old resident of the Pines is sentenced to

jail for an attack on his counselor. The resident, Anthony Edwards,

punched the counselor in the head and shoulder.

April 1996: Former Pines resident Daerrico Austin allegedly

shoots Frank Gibson to death in a parking lot on George Washington

Highway as Gibson walks home from a Norfolk Tides game. Austin left

The Pines in 1993, only to embark on a three-year crime spree. KEYWORDS: THE PINES RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER REVIEW REPORT

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