Inspectors fault practices at Alaska Psychiatric Institute
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Federal investigators found more than 80 substantial deficiencies at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute from July to December.
The Anchorage Daily News reports each deficiency chronicled by investigators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was deemed an “immediate jeopardy” to patient safety.
Federal inspectors visited API last summer and put the institution under a plan of correction.
Albert Wall, a deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, says a plan to correct problems is already underway and he’s seeing a turnaround.
Findings from 2018 included incidents such as an adult with an intellectual disability and “intermittent explosive disorder” being strapped onto a restraint table and briefly left alone, crying, in a dark room.