In 1887
journalist Nellie Bly, on an undercover assignment for Joseph Pulitzer’s New
York World, faked insanity to write an exposé on the inhumane conditions of the
Woman’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Her publication, Ten Days in a
Mad-House is full of horrors. This resulted in a grand jury investigation
of the asylum that urged that the changes she proposed be implemented.
In 2015 I entered the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) at the for-profit Centennial Peaks Hospital in Louisville, Colorado from July 17 through July 22. During this time, I witnessed the staff endanger the safety of the patients by repeatedly exposing them to a violent patient. I also observed numerous violations of the Hippocratic Oath and even possible malpractice and fraud. Food, medication and possibly even ECT were administered in suspect ways. And few were the staff members who fully respected patients, who made the extra effort to alleviate patient suffering and who took personal responsibility for their actions. A major exception was the nurse Toni who is worthy of public recognition for her conscientiousness, her skillfulness and her compassion. A gentleman named Chris and red-haired man who did art therapy are also commendable.
This exposé is compiled from accurate accounts by myself and other eyewitnesses. It is the contention of this report that the ITU facility be shut down and be thoroughly reformed to the satisfaction of an agreed upon third party before accepting patients again.
In 2015 I entered the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) at the for-profit Centennial Peaks Hospital in Louisville, Colorado from July 17 through July 22. During this time, I witnessed the staff endanger the safety of the patients by repeatedly exposing them to a violent patient. I also observed numerous violations of the Hippocratic Oath and even possible malpractice and fraud. Food, medication and possibly even ECT were administered in suspect ways. And few were the staff members who fully respected patients, who made the extra effort to alleviate patient suffering and who took personal responsibility for their actions. A major exception was the nurse Toni who is worthy of public recognition for her conscientiousness, her skillfulness and her compassion. A gentleman named Chris and red-haired man who did art therapy are also commendable.
This exposé is compiled from accurate accounts by myself and other eyewitnesses. It is the contention of this report that the ITU facility be shut down and be thoroughly reformed to the satisfaction of an agreed upon third party before accepting patients again.
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