Detroit City Wire

Senator Michael Webber has criticized the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) following an audit from the Office of the Auditor General. The audit revealed shortcomings in protecting the rights of psychiatric patients under state care.

“The more we learn about Michigan’s inpatient psychiatric care, the worse it gets,” said Webber, R-Rochester Hills. “Today, the state auditor confirms what patients and parents have been telling me repeatedly since I requested this audit in July 2023. It is very clear that the Office of Recipient Rights, under MDHHS leadership, is failing to protect our most vulnerable seeking mental health care.”

Webber initiated the request for this audit after hearing accounts from former patients and families who had loved ones at the former Hawthorn Center. He has introduced legislation aimed at improving patient rights and increasing oversight at state psychiatric hospitals, as well as advocated for legislative hearings on these issues.

In October 2024, MDHHS settled for $13 million with a group of patients and employees affected by a problematic active shooter drill at Hawthorn Center in December 2022. In another incident, a mother filed a $100 million lawsuit in February 2024 after her 10-year-old child was beaten while staying at Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital.

“The audit sheds light on why recipient rights complaints were going unanswered and that the department failed to properly investigate claims of abuse, neglect or even death in a timely manner,” Webber said. “In nearly half of the cases reviewed, video cameras that could have provided the truth weren’t functioning. There is an immediate need for stronger oversight and accountability by this Legislature for those at MDHHS who are charged with protecting our most vulnerable patients seeking psychiatric care.”