Disability advocates settle lawsuit with Patton State Hospital over COVID-19 outbreak

An advocacy group that represents people with disabilities has reached a settlement agreement with the administrators of the California Department of State Hospitals and Patton State Hospital in a suit alleging patients were not adequately protected during a COVID-19 outbreak in that facility last year.

Attorneys for Disability Rights California, a Sacramento-based advocacy group, sued the department that operates the state's five forensic psychiatric hospitals last August. California Department of State Hospitals Director Stephanie Clendenin and Patton Hospital Executive Director Janine Wallace were named as defendants in the suit. 

The parties reached a settlement in June. The deal establishes measures that protect patients, such as a vaccination plan and adequate virus sanitation practices. Many of those have already been implemented.

"The top priority of the Department of State Hospitals is the safety of its patients and employees," said Ken August, a spokesperson for the Department of State Hospitals. "In response to COVID-19, DSH took many actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

Disability Rights California Senior Attorney Kim Pederson said that the organization had first filed the case in hope of reducing the number of patients in congregate settings and lower the risk of virus spread, but when the vaccine was released they shifted focus.

Pederson said that while the case had been filed on behalf of patients at Patton, it resulted in a vaccination program for all patients in the state's five hospitals before similar programs were established at other institutional settings like prisons and county jails.

"We knew that was a role we had to take," Pederson said, "to protect the health and safety of people who are involuntarily confined in the state hospital system."

August said that the department started administering vaccines to patients and staff members in December.

The Department of State Hospitals has reported that 4,549 patients have received both doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as of Wednesday. The department's patient population changes, but patient count records over the last decade show there are typically between 5,000 and 6,000 patients committed among the five hospitals each year.

August said that the number of patients declined during the pandemic due to a temporary halt in the admission of new patients, which has since been lifted. Also, August said that the department used a facility in Norwalk to provide additional quarantine space for patients committed at Patton, which is located near the city of San Bernardino.

Additionally, the department said it would continue to provide mental health support for patients who are mourning due to COVID-19. The department observed a moment of silence in February and has plans to create a statewide healing quilt and provide a special meal for patients.

The department agreed to pay $75,000 for the plaintiff's attorney fees. It did not admit to any wrongdoing related to the claims made in the suit.

Patton State Hospital has more than 1,500 beds for patients most often committed because they have been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be particularly dangerous in environments such as prisons, jails and hospitals, where the ability to social distance is limited and facilities are shared by large numbers of people. For example, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which operates the state's prisons, has had nearly 50,000 incarcerated people test positive for the virus, 227 of whom have died as of this week. The department reported having about 100,000 inmates in custody in June.

The Department of State Hospitals reported that 1,906 patients have tested positive among the five hospitals since May 2020. At least 55 people have died. However, that count is not exact because the department does not publicly report exact numbers for deaths if the number of deaths is less than 11. Coalinga and Patton hospitals had the greatest numbers of deaths through the pandemic, at 21 and 19 respectively.

About 2,055 staff members of the hospitals have tested positive since March 2020, and the department has not reported any employee deaths.

The plaintiff's attorneys claimed that the design of the Patton facility increased the risk of the virus to patients because it was structured to promote social interaction as part of its treatment program. Also, the attorneys alleged that some patients at the facility were particularly vulnerable to the virus, due to their age and preexisting health conditions.

At the time the suit was filed, August said that substantial protective measures had been implemented. Hospital visits had been suspended, mask-wearing was required, and employees were medically screened each workday. 

Patients were tested if they showed symptoms or were believed to have been exposed.

"These actions and others by [the department] are part of an ongoing process that will be continuously improved and strengthened by guidance from the California Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other state and local partners," August wrote in response to The Desert Sun's questions last year.

Meanwhile, Disability Rights California contended that the number of patients contracting the virus would drastically increase if the hospitals did not reduce their patient population by seeking alternative locations for patient treatment. The advocacy group identified in court documents five patients who have conditions that made them vulnerable to the virus, such as lung and coronary artery diseases, diabetes and others.

The group did not have access to the hospital's records and believed that about half of its patient population shared similar risk factors. 

According to the settlement agreement, the department will post virus statistics, such as positive cases and vaccines administered, through the end of the year.

Desert Sun reporter Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.