NEWS, COMMENTARY, AND ARTS BY PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVORS, MENTAL HEALTH PEERS, AND OUR FAMILIES
VOL. XXXII NO. 2
FREE
COUNTERPO!NT •
FROM THE HILLS OF VERMONT
•
SINCE 1985
•
FALL 2017
VOSHA Sets Novel Standard: Hospital Staff in Padded Gear By ANNE DONAHUE Counterpoint MONTPELIER – In an unprecedented action, the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposed a $7,000 fine against the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital for failing to protect workers by not requiring them to wear “arm guards, shin guards, chest guards, mouth guards” when dealing with patients “engaging in assaultive behavior.” VOSHA said patients in mental distress “often display aggressive behavior” and defended the requirement based upon the number of times that staff was exposed to the risk of injury at VPCH. The requirement came in response to worker complaints about assaults at VPCH. The Department of Mental Health is appealing the citation. Commissioner Melissa Bailey said she could not comment because of the appeal. Psychiatric survivors across the state have reacted, objecting to the use of such equipment and the underlying assumptions in the language of the violations. “What does it say to and about people in mental distress when they are regarded and treated as dangerous animals?” asked Marty Roberts, a longtime advocate who has served in numerous advisory capacities in the state and is board chair at Vermont Psychiatric Survivors. The Vermont Department of Labor vigorously defended the finding of the violation. Stephen Monahan, the director of the Workers’ Compensation and Safety Division, termed it a “common” method for reducing the risk of workplace injury involving violence by patients in hospitals. He initially said trainings from federal OSHA supported it but later clarified that it was only “discussed in webinars and training” and there were no training materials that suggested those specific measures. After saying there were settlements he could cite from other states, Monahan sent copies of five. There was none in which the settlements included the use of “personal protective equipment,” or PPE, in a hospital. Counterpoint was unable to locate any national organizations that suggest that the equipment described is an appropriate way to (Continued on page 6)
MAD AS HELL—Vermont’s celebration of Mad Pride Day included a march down Main and State Streets in Montpelier followed by a rally on the steps of the capitol. Kate DeWolfe (left) and Jillian E. G. Grohmann hold their banner during the march. Story and more photos, pages 12-13 . (Counterpoint Photo: Wilda White)
SAMHSA Censors Alternatives By ANNE DONAHUE Counterpoint
RUTLAND – Amid a controversy about its censorship of presentations at the annual Alternatives conference, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced in June that it will no longer fund the four-day event which was established more than 30 years ago to “provide a forum for consumers from across the nation.” “SAMHSA has increasingly put their thumb on the scale in regard to what topics and workshops could be presented at the Alternatives conference, and in the wording of workshop titles and descriptions – and even presenters’ bios,” said Susan Rogers of the National Mental Health Clearinghouse, a past organizer of the conference. The censorship of programs for the conference came to light locally after two Vermont Psychiatric Survivor proposals for presentations were approved, but with titles
and descriptions significantly rewritten. Rogers and others said they believe the censorship was based on external pressure from criticism of SAMHSA for its support of the Alternatives conference and other consumer-based initiatives, both in Congress and in national media. SAMHSA did not respond to a request for comments from Counterpoint. The conference will continue next year under the leadership of two recovery-based private organizations, and it will seek other funding, according to Dan Fisher, a board member at the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, which will be one of the co-sponsors. It will team up with the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery. “We’d be much freer to do it the way we want” if it is able to continue under separate resources, Fisher said. An Alternatives conference that continued (Continued on page 5
Commentary The Arts 3 14 19
World Hearing Voices Congress