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By Beacon Journal staff
POSTED: 07:36 p.m. EDT, May 07, 2009
Ohio officials are recommending a ban on a form of restraint blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Akron girl at a Cleveland treatment center last year.
The seven state agencies that oversee homes and treatment centers for troubled or disabled youths and adults want to prohibit the position in which patients are forced to lie face down.
A copy of the recommendations obtained by the Associated Press cites overwhelming evidence that the position carries a high risk of serious injury or death.
The Cuyahoga County coroner ruled Faith Finley's Dec. 13 death a homicide, saying she choked on vomit and suffocated at Parmadale, a church-run treatment center.
Jill Flagg, an Akron-area attorney representing the child's mother, Antoinette Finley, said family members remain distraught over the death, but are encouraged that the state is taking some action to protect other children.
''We're pleased with the development. It's clear that the type of restraint causes serious physical injury and death,'' Flagg said. ''Faith's mother, who is obviously heartbroken, takes some comfort in the notion her daughter's death is resulting in the state making residential facilities safer.''
Flagg said a lawsuit is being prepared against Catholic Charities, which operates Parmadale, and three employees involved in the death.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office is still reviewing the death for possible charges, spokesman Ryan Miday said.
Summit County Children Services Director John Saros said he moved for a ban on the restraint almost immediately after Faith Finley's death.
But without a backup restraint available, and certification and training mandated by the state on any new technique, Children Service's vendors could not move as quickly as Saros would have liked.
As it is, 19 of the agency's 20 contracted caregivers will have eliminated use of the restraint by mid-July. One vendor already has stopped, he said.
Saros said he also urged the state to take action against the move, which he found had been ''very, very frequently'' used as a matter of routine without any deaths.
''I'm really very pleased about it, absolutely,'' he said of the ban. ''We were stunned at what happened up at Parmadale and wanted to really see some significant changes in this area.
''It had been used successfully a lot, but that's no reason to continue using it, of course. There's a higher probability of injury to the youth involved in the situation.''
Michael Rench, community services deputy director for the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, said Thursday there is no ''evidence that we can find anywhere that these restraints are safe.''
''When you're pushing somebody down on the floor face first and you're putting any weight on the back of them, you're beginning to cause problems with the lungs and other parts of the body,'' said Rench, who headed the task force.
Rench said other techniques, including other types of holds, are not as risky.
The recommendation will go to Gov. Ted Strickland for his review.
Mental disability agencies in Ohio and other states already have banned the restraint or looked at ways to limit physical restraints, according to a survey by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services.
Ohio officials are recommending a ban on a form of restraint blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Akron girl at a Cleveland treatment center last year.
The seven state agencies that oversee homes and treatment centers for troubled or disabled youths and adults want to prohibit the position in which patients are forced to lie face down.
A copy of the recommendations obtained by the Associated Press cites overwhelming evidence that the position carries a high risk of serious injury or death.
The Cuyahoga County coroner ruled Faith Finley's Dec. 13 death a homicide, saying she choked on vomit and suffocated at Parmadale, a church-run treatment center.
Jill Flagg, an Akron-area attorney representing the child's mother, Antoinette Finley, said family members remain distraught over the death, but are encouraged that the state is taking some action to protect other children.
''We're pleased with the development. It's clear that the type of restraint causes serious physical injury and death,'' Flagg said. ''Faith's mother, who is obviously heartbroken, takes some comfort in the notion her daughter's death is resulting in the state making residential facilities safer.''
Flagg said a lawsuit is being prepared against Catholic Charities, which operates Parmadale, and three employees involved in the death.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office is still reviewing the death for possible charges, spokesman Ryan Miday said.
Summit County Children Services Director John Saros said he moved for a ban on the restraint almost immediately after Faith Finley's death.
But without a backup restraint available, and certification and training mandated by the state on any new technique, Children Service's vendors could not move as quickly as Saros would have liked.
As it is, 19 of the agency's 20 contracted caregivers will have eliminated use of the restraint by mid-July. One vendor already has stopped, he said.
Saros said he also urged the state to take action against the move, which he found had been ''very, very frequently'' used as a matter of routine without any deaths.
''I'm really very pleased about it, absolutely,'' he said of the ban. ''We were stunned at what happened up at Parmadale and wanted to really see some significant changes in this area.
''It had been used successfully a lot, but that's no reason to continue using it, of course. There's a higher probability of injury to the youth involved in the situation.''
Michael Rench, community services deputy director for the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, said Thursday there is no ''evidence that we can find anywhere that these restraints are safe.''
''When you're pushing somebody down on the floor face first and you're putting any weight on the back of them, you're beginning to cause problems with the lungs and other parts of the body,'' said Rench, who headed the task force.
Rench said other techniques, including other types of holds, are not as risky.
The recommendation will go to Gov. Ted Strickland for his review.
Mental disability agencies in Ohio and other states already have banned the restraint or looked at ways to limit physical restraints, according to a survey by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 09:19 PM, 05/07/2009
Better they run amok until they wear themselves out......uh-huh!
Akron, OH
Posted 06:05 AM, 05/08/2009
Couldn't have said it better myself Hujo.
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:43 PM, 05/08/2009
Hmmm... Youth is violent enough to be removed from society & incarcerated. Lets just let them have their way with no accountability & turn them out on society as adults- more thugs!
Truly a tragedy the child died, but where were the parents to raise her & keep her in line before she ended up at Parmadale?
