Patient Safety

The Florida Department of Health issued guidance July 24 recommending that healthcare providers avoid prescribing psychotropic medications to children ages 5-17 for mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and attention-deficit related disorders. The guidance comes as HHS outlined an action plan…

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration imposed an immediate moratorium on admissions at Peace River Center for Personal Development’s crisis stabilization unit in Bartow, Fla., after determining conditions at the facility presented a threat to patients, according to a…

The family of Kenneth Hass filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Oregon through the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon State Hospital and several hospital staff members, alleging negligence, physical and mental abuse, constitutional violations and wrongful death after Mr.…

Capitol Park Mental Health Hospital, a for-profit standalone psychiatric hospital in St. Paul, Minn., is facing reports of chronic understaffing and safety lapses less than a year after opening, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported June 30.  The 144-bed psychiatric hospital,…

Michigan’s four state psychiatric hospitals reduced patient injuries by 58% since the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services implemented the Dynamic Appraisal of Situational Aggression in March 2024. DASA is a daily risk assessment tool that measures the likelihood…