@Regrann from @worldie_com – https://t.co/qtHGE1Xgq2 Attn #Lovelies: #Twitter is being Twitter. No one was intentionally #Unfollowed. I was locked out & sent down a #RabbitHole to jump through a bunch of #Verification steps, and it takes a few hours for Twitter to restore the follow list. If you need a #FollowBack, just let me know! 👍
Credit to from @meangirls (@get_regrann) – You’ll always be our good friend. Happy birthday @thereallacey! #MeanGirls – #regrann – https://www.instagram.com/p/B3kv-b0AZu8/?igshid=120xj8kfvxldp
Reminds me of my youth, when I would try to reach out to people about things I was going thru, but was misunderstood. I don’t think these symptoms should be discredited, no matter how bizarre.
Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 Type: Human rights violation Original: English Consent: The nature of the allegation is such that consent cannot be obtained, e.g. the victim(s) is/are dead or has/have been subject to an enforced disappearance
Related mandates
arbitrary Detention
freedom of opinion and expression
health
disability
women and girls
Victims
Name: Britney Spears Type: Individual Sex: Female Date of birth: 02/12/1981 Victim is a child (under 18 years of age)? No Nationality: United States of America Address:
Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles, USA Ethnic, religious, social or other background: Entertainment Industry Occupation: American singer-songwriter Other status: Person with disability, Other, Bisexual (Woman and Under Conservatorship/Guardianship)
Submitted by
Name: Everyday Psych Victims Project, MCLP, AASGAA and Supporters of Britney Spears Type: Group
Describe the activities of the group/community, civil society or other entity:
Everyday Psych Victims Project represents victims of the mental health field for their empowerment, civil and human rights, equality, and fighting against their discrimination and harms. They give victims a voice.
Medical Civil Liberties Project is organizing to protect the civil rights of people labeled with or accused of mental illness.
The Australian Association to Stop Guardianship & Administration Abuse (AASGAA) is a formal association representing victims of the Australian Guardianship System.
Supporters have demonstrated and held protests outside of Britney Spears hearings on her conservatorship, and her forced mental health arbitrary detention, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, California, USA and in West Hollywood, California, USA.
Supporters have campaigned for Britney Spears’ freedom, rights, autonomy, and equality by digital campaigns, distributing flyers, online advertisements, reporting fiduciary licenses, petitions, and doing interviews with the press. Supporters have successfully made it a mainstream issue in the media, such as Los Angeles Magazine, Daily Mail, and LA Times. Supporters gather public court documents and inform people of the case.
Supporters gained awareness with entertainment professionals and even lawyers, such as the group called “Lawyers for Britney.”
However, we have been unable to get the ACLU or mainstream civil or human rights organizations to view it as a civil rights issue.
Contact persons of the group/community, civil society or other entity:
—– (deleted) —–
Disclosure
Does the alleged victim(s) or group/community agree to have their name(s) disclosed in a letter that may be sent to the Government, or others, such as intergovernmental organisations including United Nations entities, businesses, military or security companies?
Yes – The organizations and supporters (the group/community) for Britney Spears’ release from arbitrary detention, human rights violation, and her conservatorship may be named.
Does the alleged victim(s) agree to have their name(s) appear in a public report to the Human Rights Council?
No – No consent from the victim has been provided or able to be obtained for a public report to the council. Supporters are unable to directly speak to or represent Britney Spears, and she is unable to freely associate herself or sign petitions.
Please confirm that the victim, or the victim’s family, or the victim’s legal representative is in agreement that the case can be dealt with through the regular procedure of the Working Group
No
The identity and the details of the victim’s case can be communicated to the Government concerned
Yes
The identity of the victim can be published in the communications report to the UN Human Rights Council
Yes
Case details
Country where the incident allegedly occured/is occuring/might occur: United States of America District: California, Louisiana, Florida, and Hawaii
Please provide a short chronological summary of the incident: what happened; when (date/time); who was involved?
Britney Jean Spears of Los Angeles County, CA has been under a conservatorship (or legal guardianship) from February, 2008 to present.
Britney Spears was not informed of a conservatorship hearing when she was held in 2008 in a Los Angeles hospital. This goes against Article 14 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on being informed of charges, to attend the trial, and to choose her own lawyers.
Public scrutiny started when an online podcast, Britney’s Gram, received a voicemail from a paralegal insider that Britney Spears was held in a mental health facility against her will by her father, James, when she decided to no longer take medications, which goes against Article 12 of a coercive contract and arbitrary detention of Article 9. She has no self-determination (Article 1).
Supporters state she is unable to have control over her money, travel, assets, personhood, and estate. She is required to have people accompany her at all times, cannot vote, asks permission to use a car, monitored cell phone use, and gets a weekly allowance despite getting millions from her work. This goes against Article 1, Article 12, Article 17, Article 19, and Article 25 of the CCPR.
She canceled her show Domination due to her arbitrary detention, which goes against Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 1 and Article 6 of the right to work. Article 22, she is unable to associate with others without permission. Article 23, she is unable to marry without permission.
She lacks control of money with prevents her access as a woman to financial credit, which is against Article 13 of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. She could not have access to her children without James as a monitor (Article 16).
Britney Spears has repeatedly tried to overturn her conservatorship. Between 2008 and 2018, several “order to show cause” hearings were scheduled and then inexplicably cancelled.
Are there witnesses to the incident? Don’t know
Is there evidence or substantiating information concerning the incident? Don’t know
Does the alleged victim believe she/he was targeted due to her/his Belonging to a specific group, LGBTI, Other status, affiliation or background, Property status, Sex, Social origin
Britney Spears is unable to control her financial or personal decisions. In an interview, she stated that “since her breakdown, her life has been worse than jail… it’s just like Groundhog Day.”
Many male entertainment professionals have acted out or even been accused of crimes, however, they still have access to control over their finances and are not under a conservatorship, which leads to the suspicion that this is a double standard based off of sex. Her father, James, was put in charge as conservator, and her mother Lynne Spears has so far been unable to become the conservator despite using lawyers.
She is in the entertainment industry, which leads to further scrutiny. Tabloids and paparazzi prefer self-destruction, rather than investigative reporting or hard news. This affiliation with this industry makes her unable to obtain serious representation or equal standards, by the public, organizations, legal system, and the media.
Her property status is a net worth of $59 million, but she only can spend a weekly allowance. $400,000 per year is spent on her expenses, while $1.1 million goes to conservatorship fees. One third of her annual income goes to the conservatorship.
In 2008, was given a $1500-per-week debit-card allowance by a Los Angeles judge. She was named the highest paid celebrity in 2002 and 2012 by Forbes. Numerous business entities have been formed under her name, without her control over them or her financial benefit. If she did not have a high income or assets, it’s possible that she would not be under a conservatorship/guardianship.
Britney Spears is often supported by LGBTI groups and has bisexual music videos, which makes her a part of this specific group. When supporters first started the “Free Britney” movement, there were derogatory comments made about these activists as being a part of this group.
Has the incident been reported to the relevant authorities? Yes
Please include details of any complaints filed or any other action taken by the alleged victim(s) or anyone else on their behalf?
Britney Spears told Judge Brenda Penny in May 2019 that she was put into a facility against her will and wanted to remove the conservatorship. An “expert evaluation” of the conservatorship was requested and a 730 evaluation, however, the dates of the evaluation are extended. Lynne Spears has attorneys who are trying to relinquish control of the conservatorship from ex-husband James Spears.
Previous court appointed lawyers and Britney Spears herself were unable to free her from her conservatorship status.
A paralegal in April whistleblowed to a podcast, Britney’s Gram, stating that she was held against her will despite outside reports for no longer taking medications. However, it is unknown if he was able to file any complaints or if there would be any procedure to file exploitation complaints. Lawyers for Britney seem unable to legally help Britney Spears. Britney Spears is unable to hire her own lawyers.
Supporters recently filed fiduciary license complaints about temporary conservator Jodi Montgomery, who is listed on a few other abuse cases – including for profitable gain over her clients, such as Ms. Jankowski – and insurance fraud cases, to the state of California online.
Coworkers and entertainment professionals have voiced support of Britney Spears becoming free, but it is unknown if they have taken civil or official action to free her besides public awareness.
Has the Government taken action to prevent or investigate the incident, punish the perpetrators, or ensure compensation to the alleged victim(s)? No
Is this case under consideration by any other international or regional body? Don’t know
arbitrary Detention
Date of arrest
01/01/2019
Approximate date?
Yes
Place of arrest
Los Angeles, California
Not known
No
What reasons were given for the arrest?
Not Known.
Not known?
Yes
What was the legal basis for the arrest?
Yes.
Not known
No
Date of detention arrest
01/01/2019
Approximate date
Yes
Duration of the detention
3 months
Not known / approximate
No
Place(s) of detention (indicate any transfer and the current place of detention)
Bridges to Recovery, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
Not known
No
Reasons given for the detention
Possibly conservatorship, not taking medications, involuntary hold
Not known
No
Legal basis for the detention
Conservatorship, 51/50 laws, involuntary holds
Not known
No
What are the reasons why you believe the deprivation of liberty is arbitrary?
For 11 years, Britney Spears has been unable to leave or repeal her conservatorship. She lacks control over her money, travel, assets, and decisions. Her father and conservator, James Spears, has confined her involuntarily into mental health facilities and forced medications against her will, such as for 3 months from January to April. Since she is under legal guardianship, she cannot sign her own paperwork or contracts without her conservator. She told a judge that she was put into this facility involuntarily and did not want to be under a conservatorship. The public was unable to know where Britney Spears was for months, or what facility she was in, and the media incorrectly publicized that it was voluntary. Unable to know what is happening, the public could not help, nor is there any judicial or legal process for exploitation in this system. She is unable to legally sign contracts under guardianship, meaning she could not have checked herself into the facility on her own. There further is no process in mainstream civil or human rights procedures aside from disability law.
Are the reasons for the deprivation of liberty authorized by the law?
Yes
If yes, please elaborate
She can be held on involuntary 5152s in mental health facilities and hospitals according to California law, and her conservatorship was legally spread to several states in the USA, including Louisiana, Florida, and Hawaii. Her conservator or fiduciary can legally have control over her finances and estate, her personhood, travel, phone, and car. Her food, communication, and travel can be dictated and her assets removed from her control, including by facilities and her conservators. A newly passed law in California, called SB40, was signed by Governor Newsom in October 2019. This law allows people to be put into conservatorships for addictions. However, there was no law passed for this in 2008, when Britney Spears was first put into a conservatorship temporarily, then permanently. “Lawyers for Britney” is a group which provided food to protestors on September 18. They are unable to legally help Britney Spears, and in the system, it could be indefinite to legally hold someone or her under a conservatorship. In California, these are the laws which can be enacted, other than conservatorship power, such as by James Spears or Jodi Montgomery, over the personhood and estate, and involuntary decisions by the mental health department. CACI 4002 (“Gravely Disabled”) and CACI 4011 (History of Disorder Relevant to the Determination of Grave Disability). An additional 30 days of hospitalization following the 14-day period if the person remains gravely disabled and requires further intensive treatment (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5270.15, 5270.35). Britney Spears has been called “gravely disabled” which claims she cannot provide herself food, clothing, shelter, or control her life, despite earning millions of dollars, releasing 4 albums, and world tours.
Are the reasons for the deprivation of liberty linked to the exercise by the victim of her/his human rights or fundamental freedoms?
Yes
If yes, please elaborate
Speech, actions, expressions, financial control, voting, travel, and interests, also, for wanting to not take medications. She was unable to vote freely or to freely associate without first obtaining permission. According to Britney Spears, she “loves freedom, independence, autonomy, and to travel, yet is insecure.” She has previously referred to her life as “Groundhog Day” and a “Prisoner-like life,” which could refer to waking up in mental health facilities with a controlled lifestyle. She has had addictions, but when she wanted to stop taking medications and to have her Las Vegas show at the Planet Hollywood, she was unable to do so without coercion and detention.
If applicable, do you know if the right to a fair trial has been respected? (for example : the right to defend yourself and the right to legal assistance; the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law; the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law; the right when charged with a criminal offence to be informed of the nature and cause of criminal charges brought against them; etc.)
Yes
If yes please elaborate
A right to a fair trial, right to defend herself, right to legal assistance, the right to be presumed innocent before guilty, and the right to be informed of the nature and cause to be brought before her was not respected. Britney Spears is unable to hire her own attorneys due to being deemed incapable, denied having a jury trial on the conservatorship, and is often denied or discouraged to speak or be present at her own hearings. On January 31, 2008, her father James Spears petitioned the court to not inform Britney of the initial conservatorship hearing while she was involuntarily held in UCLA Medical Center, a Los Angeles hospital. Without being informed, she could not refute her conservatorship. Her conservators recently tried to petition closing public hearing dates, although the public is unable to watch the hearings, and Judge Brenda Penny denied the request. In the mental health system, she is unable to have her mental health records expunged, and her father has the legal right as conservator to check her into facilities or coerce medications without her consent. She cannot sign contracts or hire her own employees without permission. Although her alleged incidents were 11 years ago, she is unable to have a clean slate. She is effectively with a worse sentence under a conservatorship than she would have with fines or probation in criminal law, if she had been charged with any crimes. The conservatorship was supposed to only be temporary. She is unable to get civil or human rights groups to provide legal assistance.
In the case of an asylum seeker, migrant or refugee who has been subjected to prolonged administrative detention, was she/he was guaranteed the possibility of administrative or judicial review of the detention, or remedy?
No
Can you indicate if complaints were made to the administrative or judicial authorities, or remedies sought with respect to this particular case ?
Yes
Do you know what were their results?
Yes
If yes please elaborate
Lynne Spears has tried to take away the conservatorship from James Spears. She was denied in court. Britney Spears has repeatedly filed to overturn the conservatorship, to be denied in court for 11 years. The petition to seal further hearings from the public was denied by Judge Brenda Penny. A 730 evaluation was requested to show cause and to evaluate the conservatorship.
freedom of opinion and expression
Please indicate any views, affiliations, past or present participation in political, social, ethnic or labour group/activity.
In 2002 and 2012, she was named by Forbes as the most highly paid celebrity in the world. Britney Spears has done songwriting and singing about wanting freedom and autonomy, such as: Overprotected, My Prerogative, Piece of Me, Stronger, I Wanna Go. Showing symbolism in music videos such as in “Work B—.” She has had world tours and a Las Vegas show residency. However, this is vicarious living. She has been unable to freely or officially show support for political representatives, such as Hillary Clinton, according to supporters, due to her conservatorship.
Please indicate the nature of the medium affected (newspaper, independent radio, etc.), including circulation and frequency of publication or broadcasting, public performances, etc, as well as the political orientation of the medium, if relevant.
Her music creation has stopped, and she was prevented from having her Domination Las Vegas show residency when she was arbitrarily detained for 3 months in a mental health facility at the request of her conservator, James Spears. A recent article from Metro UK claimed she may be out of the singing career for 10 years according to sources to regain her autonomy.
If the incident involves restrictions on a medium (e.g. censorship, closure of a news organ, banning of a book, etc.); please indicate the identity of the authority involved (individual and/or ministry and/or department), the legal statute invoked, and steps taken to seek domestic remedy.
She is in the entertainment industry and Hollywood, and was prevented from speaking about her conservatorship in an interview in 2016 on the Jonathon Ross Show. There is no domestic remedy for censorship in interviews or shows. Recently, light on her conservatorship restricting her financial and personal decisions was reported about in the mainstream media through activists working for change. Although Britney Spears told the court that she was put into a facility against her will, she often appears to be unable to publicly announce without metaphors or symbolism that she wants out of her conservatorship. Coworkers or former employees for Britney Spears confirm that there must be symbolism in her art and music videos about her wish to be free from her restrictions.
If the incident involves arrest of an individual or individuals, the identity of the authority involved (individual and/or ministry and/or department), the legal statute invoked, location of detention if known, information on provision of access to legal counsel and family members, steps taken to seek domestic remedy or clarification of person’s situation and status.
In California, these are the laws which can be enacted, other than conservatorship power, such as by James Spears or Jodi Montgomery, over the personhood and estate, and involuntary decisions by the mental health department. CACI 4002 (“Gravely Disabled”) and CACI 4011 (History of Disorder Relevant to the Determination of Grave Disability) An additional 30 days of hospitalization following the 14-day period if the person remains gravely disabled and requires further intensive treatment (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5270.15, 5270.35). The LPS involuntary commitment statutes also set out who may detain a person (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5150, 5200), who may release a person (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5152, 5257, 5270.35), notice (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5208, 5253), hearings (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 5254, 5256, 5275, 5303), other rights of the detained person (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5255, 5302, 5325), liability for the person’s actions upon release (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5154), and outpatient status (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5305). 5152. The 5152 is the admission, observe, and treatment for starting a 72 hour psychiatric hold. This is the actual hold. It can be initiated by LPS staff. A 5152 can be released only by a psychiatrist or psychologist. A 730 evaluation or “expert evaluation” to show cause for the conservatorship was requested in 2019.
Perpetrators
Please specify the number of alleged perpetrators: 11
Is the identity/occupation of the alleged perpetrator(s) known? Yes
People involved in Britney Spears conservatorship:
Conservator person & estate: James Spears
Co conservator estate: Andrew Wallet (resigned in March 2019)
Temporary conservator of the person: Jodi P Montgomery
Judges: Reva Goetz, Aviva K Bobb and Brenda J Penny
Doctors: James Spar, Stephen Marmer, David Trader
There is also the state, which is by the Los Angeles Court and States of California, Louisiana, Florida, and Hawaii, but most filings happen in the State of California.
Were the alleged perpetrators State agents or believed to be State agents? Yes
Andrew Wallet is a licensed attorney and likely has a fiduciary license, Jodi Montgomery is a licensed fiduciary, the judges have law licenses, and the doctors have medical licenses. They are licensed by the state of California.
If the alleged perpetrators were State agents, were they acting in their official capacity? Yes
Yes, they were granted permission by the court after petitions were put into place or were court appointed.
Name: James Spears Type: Individual Sex: Male Date of birth: 06/07/1952 Perpetrator is a child (0 – 18 years of age)? No Nationality: United States of America Address:
Ventura County, California, USA Occupation: Conservator
Name: Andrew Wallet Type: Individual Sex: Male Perpetrator is a child (0 – 18 years of age)? No Email: andrew@walletlaw.com Telephone: 18059877198 Address:
2551 La Sierra Court Camarillo, CA 93012 Occupation: Attorney, Trustee, Administrator, Conservator
Name: Jodi Montgomery Type: Individual Sex: Female Perpetrator is a child (0 – 18 years of age)? No Nationality: United States of America Email: inquiries@paismontgomery.com Telephone: 626-398-2090 Address:
1443 E. Washington Blvd – #644
Pasadena, CA 91104 Occupation: Fiduciary
Name: Los Angeles County Court and State Type: Group Telephone: (213) 830-0800 Address:
Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Description of the group/community (including, if relevant, number of members; number of women, men, girls and boys; indicate the group/community leader(s); other facts):
Los Angeles County Court has not dissolved or properly investigated the conservatorship. They have court appointed judges, investigators, and lawyers.
Judges: Reva Goetz, Aviva K Bobb and Brenda J Penny
Describe the activities of the group/community, civil society or other entity:
State government, court, judges, lawyers, and appointed investigators.
Occupation of group/community members: Judges, court appointed investigators, lawyers
Members: Brenda Penny (United States of America), Reva Goetz (United States of America), Aviva Bobb (United States of America)
Name: Doctors Type: Group
Description of the group/community (including, if relevant, number of members; number of women, men, girls and boys; indicate the group/community leader(s); other facts):
Doctors involved in Britney Spears case: James Spar, Stephen Marmer, David Trader
Describe the activities of the group/community, civil society or other entity:
Involved in evaluating and treatment of Britney Spears, as well as likely consulting the court on her ability for financial or personal decision control.
Occupation of group/community members: Doctors
Members: James Spar (United States of America), Stephen Marmer (United States of America), David Trader (United States of America)
Additional Comments or Information:
The court ordered a Court Investigator’s report for January 22, 2020 during a September 23, 2019 last minute order. A capacity declaration was a part of the order to grant the initial conservatorship. On September 9, when Jodi Montgomery was granted temporary conservatorship, a petition was filed “to register the Orders appointing Mr. Spears as Conservator of the Person and Estate, as well as his Letters of Conservatorship, with states outside of California, in accordance with each of the states’ required procedures.”
The states are Alabama, Arizona, District of Columbia, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia.
I was an ambitious kid; always thinking about money, philosophy, and my career. Witnessing the price of my father’s comic collection soar in the early 90’s, made me realize that collecting things I enjoy was a lucrative investment. On my 12th birthday I had a psych appointment, I explained to the shrink my excitement to go shopping at Toys R US, and scalp out all the new X-Men figures. She said to me, “Don’t you think you’re a little old for that?” Her words sunk hard into my chest, I considered what she said, but it still didn’t faze me yet. I wasn’t buying toys to play with them; I was buying them as a collector’s item, because based on historic volatility, I knew they would be worth money in the future.
While at Toys R US; I ran into a girl from my former elementary school, seeking validation I asked, “You shop here too?” She gave me a dirty look, and said, “No Dan, I’m here for my niece.”
Lol, that stung a little. I thought to myself, maybe I am an immature loser, and mentally ill?
At 14 got my first gf, she asked me if I was a player? Got excited, and said “you role play AD&D too?” Her, “What is that?” I immediately went to Flipside Records in Clawson MI, sold all my comics, and Dungeons & Dragon books in exchange for a nice pair of pants. Never spoke about it again. Hahaha
Now here’s the deal, many years later I was sitting in the cafeteria at WCCCD with my former best friend, and his fiancé at the time.
She was from Kuwait, and was super judgey towards the black kids for what she called “wearing juvenile clothing.” She even told my best friend, “why don’t you go to H&M and dress like Dan?” All the dots connected at that point, I didn’t feed into the conversation, because I realized this was a cultural indifference. That Psych Dr who labeled me mentally ill at 12 for collecting toys as an investment was also from a foreign country, and probably just didn’t understand western consumerism. 🤔 – Boom!
Every disorder listed in the DSM is invented. Every disease found in a pathology text book is discovered.
Mental illness refers to something a person does, real disease refers to something a person has.
It takes one person to have a disease, it takes two people to have a mental illness.
The diagnosis of mental illness has always been a weapon, not so when diagnosing a real disease. Social conflict has nothing to do with developing a real disease. You don’t develop diabetes because someone doesn’t like the way you think, act, or behave. – Jeffrey A. Schaler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Aaron Carter has a six pack and is called mentally ill, meanwhile prescribed harm is still a legal practice. Drs are killing kids on a daily; pumping them full of toxic chemicals, causing them to have real diseases like diabetes, looking like Jabba the Hutt.
WESLEY CHAPEL — More than two thousand people arrive each year at North Tampa Behavioral Health in extreme crisis.
They are checked in under a state law that lets mental health centers keep people who might hurt themselves or others for up to 72 hours.
But when that time is over, some patients find themselves held captive by the place that is supposed to protect them.
Priya Sarran-Persad had a psychologist threaten to commit her a second time if she didn’t volunteer to stay longer. Michael Jenkins hired a lawyer to help him get out but couldn’t for a week because the hospital never sent his paperwork to a judge. Robert Allen was held an extra three days for not participating in group therapy. His family was stunned. Allen is deaf and wasn’t given his hearing aids.
Each night they stayed, more money flowed into the psychiatric hospital.
Priya Sarran-Persad, Michael Jenkins and Robert Allen were unable to leave North Tampa Behavioral after 72 hours. The hospital used different techniques to extend their stays. YALONDA M. JAMES, Special to the Times; JOHN PENDYGRAFT and LUIS SANTANA | Times
A Tampa Bay Times investigation has found that North Tampa Behavioral makes huge profits by exploiting patients held under Florida’s mental health law, known as the Baker Act.
The hospital illegally cuts patients off from their families. Then it uses loopholes in the statute to hold them longer than allowed, running up their bills while they are powerless to fight back.
Powerless
The problems with Florida’s Baker Act
In the coming months, theTimeswill explore the unintended consequences of Florida’s mental health law. This is the first in an occasional series.
Some patients describe getting virtually no psychiatric treatment. Meanwhile, people at risk of suicide have been allowed to hurt themselves, and helpless patients have been attacked on the ward.
For this, the hospital charges up to $1,500 per night.
TheTimesanalyzed thousands of hospital admission records and reviewed hundreds of police reports, state inspections, court records and financial filings.
The documents — and interviews with 15 patients and their families or advocates — show the hospital uses a variety of tactics to keep patients beyond 72 hours. Some are tricked into thinking they’ve waived their right to leave. Others are forced to wait for court hearings that never happen.
The patients’ stays are typically stretched just a few extra days. But keeping all of the hospital’s Baker Act patients even one additional night would add about $1.4 million in annual revenue, according to figures provided by the hospital.
North Tampa Behavioral hasn’t escaped the notice of state regulators. Since 2014, it has been cited 72 times for unsafe conditions and code violations, more than all but one other psychiatric hospital in Florida. Inspectors have zeroed in on unqualified and undertrained staff members who have put patients in danger or denied them basic rights.
Even still, the Wesley Chapel hospital has grown and thrived. It made $17 million last year in net annual revenue, mostly from taxpayer-funded insurance programs like Medicare. In recent years, it has had one of the highest operating profit margins of any free-standing psychiatric hospital in the state. Of the 26 facilities in Florida, half couldn’t break even.
Hospital leaders declined multiple interview requests.In a statement, CEO Bryon Coleman Jr. called theTimes’findings a “highly distorted and sensationalized portrayal that absolutely does not reflect NTBH’s overall record” across thousands of patients.
The hospital “strongly rejects any claim that it deliberately or willfully holds patients against their will absent a legitimate, clinically based determination,” he wrote, adding that decisions to extend stays are never “driven by financial motivations and/or any type of nefarious intent.”
Coleman said the hospital’s average operating margin since 2014 was “well below” the average for all psychiatric hospitals in Florida. But he calculated North Tampa Behavioral’s figure using 2014 data, which brought it down because the hospital was new and operating at a loss.
In 2015 and 2016, North Tampa Behavioral was one of the state’s eight most profitable psychiatric hospitals. It was in the top four in 2017, the most recent year for which statewide data is available, although its margin dropped in 2018.
Experts say North Tampa Behavioral isn’t the only place in Florida that has violated the Baker Act, which has provided life-saving support to people with mental illness for decades. But the psychiatric hospital stands out both for its success making money from Baker Act cases and the frequent problems with its care.
Profits and problems
In recent years, North Tampa Behavioral has been one of the most profitable psychiatric hospitals in Florida. It’s also been cited by state regulators for unsafe conditions and code violations more often than almost any other facility.
NEIL BEDI | Times Source: Times analysis of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration records
Martha Lenderman, an expert on Florida’s mental health law and a former director of the state’s Baker Act program, described the way the hospital routinely extends patients’ stays as a “red flag.” Some of the hospital’s tactics she called “shocking.”
Kendra Parris, an Orlando attorney who specializes in mental health patients’ rights, has represented five North Tampa Behavioral patients in the past year alone. The most recent was held at the hospital for five days in April.
Parris said the reason was simple: “She has great insurance.”
North Tampa Behavioral opened in 2013 and grew rapidly. By 2018, it had more beds than its two competitors in Pasco County combined.JOHN PENDYGRAFT | Times
Explosive growth
North Tampa Behavioral sits on a desolate stretch of State Road 56 near the southern border of Pasco County. Stout palm trees line its well-manicured yard. Tall white columns give the entrance a stately feel.
The hospital opened in October 2013 as part of a chain called Acadia Healthcare. Five months later, it was approved to treat Baker Act patients.
The Baker Act lets judges, police officers, and mental health practitioners commit people with mental illness if they threaten to seriously hurt themselves or somebody else. The mental health center has 72 hours to do an evaluation.
Over the next two years, Baker Act patients became an essential part of North Tampa Behavioral’s business model, accounting for more than two-thirds of its admissions. Revenue soared.
A recipe for growth
Beginning in 2014, North Tampa Behavioral quickly increased the number of Baker Act patients it admitted. The hospital’s revenues grew at the same time.
Because of negotiations with insurance companies, hospitals rarely collect the entire amount they bill. But on average, North Tampa Behavioral still receives $670 for every night a patient stays, the hospital said.
In 2017, the hospital posted a 13.9 percent operating profit margin. Only three psychiatric hospitals in Florida performed as well or better. None generated as much business from Baker Act patients.
Amid the success, North Tampa Behavioral broke ground on a new wing. By the end of 2017, it had 126 patient beds — almost as many as the two other Pasco County hospitals that take Baker Act cases combined.
Because of negotiations with insurance companies, hospitals rarely collect the entire amount they bill. But on average, North Tampa Behavioral still receives $670 for every night a patient stays, the hospital said.
In 2017, the hospital posted a 13.9 percent operating profit margin. Only three psychiatric hospitals in Florida performed as well or better. None generated as much business from Baker Act patients.
Amid the success, North Tampa Behavioral broke ground on a new wing. By the end of 2017, it had 126 patient beds — almost as many as the two other Pasco County hospitals that take Baker Act cases combined.
Bryon “BJ” Coleman was named CEO of North Tampa Behavioral in 2018. He previously played professional football, worked for a trucking company and consulted on employee benefits. Associated Press (2013)
Longer stays, higher charges
When Coleman arrived at North Tampa Behavioral, the hospital had already managed to boost an important metric. From 2014 to 2017, the average length of stay climbed from 6.5 days to 8.8 days, an analysis of state data shows.
Its two competitors in Pasco kept patients an average of 5.2 days.
To forcibly hold a Baker Act patient for more than three days, a mental health center must file a petition in court. Under the law, a judge has five work days to rule on the case.
North Tampa Behavioral filed 592 such petitions last year. But it dropped 86 percent of them before the hearing, records show. Hundreds of patients were stuck waiting to see a judge, but never saw one. Meanwhile, their bills grew.
The other two Pasco hospitals that accept Baker Act patients each filed half as many petitions as North Tampa Behavioral, even though both admitted a similar number of people under the law. One dropped just two petitions; the other dropped none. The only other facility in Pasco County that admits Baker Act patients, a small mental health crisis center, withdrew about half of its 242 petitions.
Held without a hearing
North Tampa Behavioral asked judges for permission to hold Baker Act patients longer than 72 hours more often than any other Pasco County hospital. But most of the petitions were dropped before the patient ever had a hearing.
Robert Allen was a patient at North Tampa Behavioral this year. He thought about hurting himself after Christmas and knew he needed help. An emergency room doctor sent him to North Tampa Behavioral.
The 89-year-old said he didn’t get the clothes his family brought him and had only a hospital gown. No one told him showers were available. Employees didn’t give him his hearing aids.
Allen asked to leave repeatedly, but staff members insisted he stay beyond the three days, his family said. The hospital’s chief concern: He wasn’t participating in group therapy.
“That blew our minds,” said Allen’s son-in-law, Wayne Dowdy. “He can’t hear.”
The hospital petitioned to keep Allen longer. Six days into his stay, a nurse told Allen’s daughter, Jennifer Dowdy, that his case would be heard by a judge.
Jennifer Dowdy took off from work to attend. On her drive over, she called to find out where the hearing would be held but was told there was no record of her father’s case. Hearings weren’t even scheduled for that day. She pulled over in tears. As she sat in her car, North Tampa Behavioral called to say her father was being discharged and would be waiting for her in the reception area.
Allen was charged $9,000 for the six nights. His insurance paid much of the cost. In July, he received a bill for the remainder: $1,465.
Robert Allen is still traumatized by his stay at North Tampa Behavioral. LUIS SANTANA | Times
Other patients were held with a simpler method. Eight told theTimesthat they felt tricked or pressured into signing voluntary commitment forms. Four of them said they were told the documents would expedite their release. In reality, the forms let the hospital hold them longer than 72 hours without a judge’s consent.
Priya Sarran-Persad was sent from a hospital emergency room to North Tampa Behavioral after attempting suicide in 2015. When the 72 hours were up, Sarran-Persad was woken in the middle of the night by a nurse and escorted to a doctor’s office.
His first question: “What insurance do you have?”
After Sarran-Persad named her private insurance company, the doctor said she had a “flavor of bipolar disorder” and needed to stay at North Tampa Behavioral longer, she recalled. He insisted she sign a voluntary commitment form — and threatened to “re-Baker Act” her if she didn’t.
The law does not allow doctors to re-commit someone without a petition unless they’re experiencing a new crisis.
Sarran-Persad refused to sign, but the hospital still took two additional days to discharge her. She said a psychiatrist who treated her after the incident determined she had depression, not bipolar disorder.
Priya Sarran-Persad said she spent most of her time at North Tampa Behavioral in a hospital gown, staring out a window in the common area. YALONDA M. JAMES | Special to the Times
In the hospital’s statement, Coleman said the average length of stay at North Tampa Behavioral is lower than the average for Florida mental hospitals. But the figure he used included hospitals that mostly provide lengthier treatments to patients who aren’t admitted under the Baker Act.
He also pointed out that in 2018, the hospital’s figure fell to 7.4 days. The state hasn’t yet published comparable data for other hospitals.
Coleman said “confrontations and disagreements” sometimes happen because psychiatric patients can’t always make rational decisions about their care.
But in one extreme instance, North Tampa Behavioral was accused of kidnapping. In that case, first reported in the Miami Herald in 2015, the hospital refused to discharge an intellectually disabled woman for three weeks. Throughout, the woman’s longtime patient advocate argued that an extended stay could make her condition worse.
“They basically held her hostage,” the advocate, Nikki Drake, told theTimes.
The woman, Cindy Mertz, was eventually returned to her group home, Drake said. But she was traumatized by the incident and later committed to a state mental hospital. She’s been there ever since.
“They just did her in,” Drake said.
North Tampa Behavioral refused to discharge Cindy Mertz, left, for three weeks in 2015. Her patient advocate, Nikki Drake, fought to have her released. Courtesy of Nikki Drake
Cut off with little care
To help prevent these types of problems, the Baker Act guarantees family members “immediate access” to patients. But the families of 10 former patients told theTimesthat they weren’t allowed to see their relatives, which experts say is illegal.
Four families said their calls went unanswered or straight to voicemail as they attempted to check on loved ones. When they called from a different line, some said, their calls went through.
The law allows hospitals to deny access only if a doctor determines the visit would harm the patient. But that’s not what happened to any of the families. Instead, the hospital insisted they come during one of the two hour-long windows reserved each week for visitors.
The law doesn’t specify how often a hospital should hold visiting hours. But Lenderman, the Baker Act expert, called the schedule “totally inappropriate” and “overly restrictive.”
In other cases, state inspectors found that North Tampa Behavioral didn’t tell patients’ representatives the details of their care, even for patients who couldn’t speak or make independent medical decisions.
Many of the North Tampa Behavioral Baker Act patients who spoke to theTimessaid they rarely saw medical professionals and the therapies they received were unsophisticated or nonsensical. One patient remembered being told to smell an orange to ease her anxiety and depression. Another recalled having to watch an educational video on electricity.
In the statement, Coleman said the hospital’s visiting hours are scheduled around the treatment day and employees work “in good faith” to accommodate visits. He disputed that patients don’t see doctors often enough and said the hospital’s therapies use “evidence-based techniques.”
That wasn’t Michael Jenkins’ experience. Jenkins, 37, was committed last July after attempting suicide. His parents and his wife tried to see him but were told they would have to return during visiting hours.
A lawyer later helped Jenkins file a petition to argue for his release before a judge, records show. But state inspectors discovered that the hospital never sent the petition to the court.
By law, requests must be sent to court the next day.
After a state investigation, the hospital confirmed it broke the law by not submitting the court filing on time and promised to fix its process.
Jenkins spent a total of seven days in the hospital. He said it felt like a prison. He received no psychiatric care and had to beg employees to let him get some air, he said.
“I wouldn’t even wish my worst enemy to go there,” he said.
Michael Jenkins spent seven days at North Tampa Behavioral Health last July. Since then, he says his three children have been afraid he’ll leave and not come home. JOHN PENDYGRAFT | Times
Left in danger
North Tampa Behavioral promotes itself as one of the safest psychiatric hospitals in the Tampa Bay area. But the hospital has repeatedly failed to protect its patients, police reports and inspections show.
At least six people committed under the Baker Act have been able to escape. Two hopped over the fences during monitored recreation time. One kicked through the security doors and left. Another found an employee key card hanging from a door and showed himself out.
Patients have also been hurt inside the hospital. In July 2014, one smacked a disabled man in the face with a chair while he was sleeping. The victim needed 11 stitches. Later that year, a mental health technician punched an autistic man and kicked him in the head repeatedly. The employee was arrested and fired.
December 2014 police report Pasco Sheriff’s Office
In 2016, two suicidal patients were able to hang themselves, even though North Tampa Behavioral is supposed to provide special monitoring. Both survived.
Two patients reported sexual assaults at the hospital in 2018. When police arrived to investigate one of the cases, hospital leaders couldn’t provide any video footage. The cameras hadn’t worked for weeks.
August 2018 police report Pasco Sheriff’s Office
That June, another patient needed emergency medical care after he found a piece of metal and used it to cut himself. A nurse told police North Tampa Behavioral employees had been conducting the required checks. But the patient, Kevin Roach, told theTimesthat wasn’t true. He said he sat alone, bleeding, for at least half an hour and lost almost 2 liters of blood.
In the statement, Coleman, the CEO, called the incidents “regrettable but wholly non-representative temporary departures from the overall high level of quality clinical care.”
Coleman touted North Tampa Behavioral’s low frequency of serious incidents like assaults, injuries and runaway patients. But he provided a rate of incidents per patient-day that showed the hospital had experienced roughly 75 serious incidents — on average, one a month since it opened.
Coleman also said that North Tampa Behavioral had not been “subject to any fines or licensure actions” by the government. Later, when theTimespointed out state regulators had fined the hospital 10 times in the past six years, he conceded he was wrong.
Regulators have continued to find safety issues. In December, they cited the hospital for not having a working defibrillator.
During the investigation, the supervising nurse said the hospital didn’t have a team for medical emergencies. The plan, she said, was to call9-1-1.
A profitable chain
North Tampa Behavioral is one of 595 facilities owned by Acadia, a Tennessee-based chain that specializes in psychiatric care.
The company brought in $3 billion in revenue last year. But serious safety problems, including rapes and patient deaths, have been alleged at Acadia-run facilities across the country.
Just this year, an employee at an Acadia-run rehabilitation center in Chicago wasaccused of sexually abusing six patients. At least two Acadia facilities were shuttered: one in Montana thatused drugs to restrain childrenand one in New Mexico, where employees were accused of threatening and abusing children and orchestrating fight clubs among patients.
Another Acadia hospital in Florida — Park Royal in Fort Myers — has paid more than $3 million in settlements to eight former patients who said they had been sexually abused by an employee. Park Royal is the only Florida psychiatric hospital with more citations than North Tampa Behavioral. It has been cited by state regulators more than 100 times since 2014.
Since 2014, Park Royal in Fort Myers has had the most citations in Florida. It is also owned by Acadia Healthcare. SARAH COWARD | The News-Press
Acadia declined multiple interview requests.In a statement, the company said serious and grave incidents made up an “infinitesimally small percentage” of patient encounters.
There have also been allegations of fraud. Most recently, investigators said Acadia-run mental health and addiction centers in West Virginia had charged Medicaid millions for lab tests they had actually outsourced at a bargain.The chain settled for $17 million.
In its statement, Acadia said it was “pleased to have reached this resolution” and pointed out that the settlement did not include an admission of liability on the company’s part.
But the scrutiny hasn’t stopped. In its July financial statements, Acadia said nine of its U.S. facilities are under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services. Another is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The U.S. Attorney’s Office won’t name the hospital.
In each of the cases, Acadia said in the financial filings, the federal government is probing issues related to patient care, improper admissions and the length of time patients are kept.
In a July call with investors, none of these problems were mentioned.
Instead, Debbie Osteen, Acadia’s new CEO, said she was pleased with the company’s performance. Revenue grew across its facilities. About 300 beds were added in the past six months. The number of billable patient days increased.
Later, a caller asked Osteen if she expected the number of days patients stay to decline in the future. She touted the company’s success keeping the statistic stable, noting that it hadn’t dropped in years.
She said she didn’t expect anything to change.
Photojournalist John Pendygraft and data reporter Connie Humburg contributed to this report. Contact Neil Bedi atnbedi@tampabay.com.
The reason why I haven’t been posting about politics; or antiwar much lately, is because this era is almost over, so I’m not stressed about it anymore. Data is the new Oil!
My commute to pick up my son is 2 hours there, 2 hours back. My ex-wife is finally realizing living in a big city like Detroit or Chicago makes sense, and that I’ve been the practical one this whole time. She’s also not alone, the entire world for the most part thinks like I do now. We’re tired of going nowhere, doing the same tasks, and losing money as the result.
Common sense doesn’t come easy to some, like Britney Spears having human rights, lol. People used to laugh at me about that too. Now look, psychvictims.com is the new CNN, and it’s not the first time I’ve been involved in pushing msm outlets to publish truth.
You would not believe the amount of aggression I would get from my own family; because I wanted to ride Adult Peddle Cars on the beach, instead of getting ticketed, and going bankryput just for just pulling out of my own drveway. 🤦♂️🚔
Nowdays grandma’s everywhere are saying “fuck the police” at the dinner table on Christmas. I proudly helped make this change; however, this wasn’t my ideal scenario, it was just a temporary fix to keep public servants in check.
Something’s I do I regret though, is feeding into the apathy narrative regarding sex. I feel terrible that all these girls are like me now; so I’m hoping that within time, things will go back to normal, and intimacy will be a thing again. Maybe Worldie.com could help remoralize family, and cultural values worldwide? 🤷♂️
Human responsibility over social media is a big thing. Now that many of these tech companies are hip to people like me; having the ability to influence perception of communities over night, even anonymously, they are beefing up their policies; making social media more of a prison, than a place for people to freely socialize, network, and have fun.
This is why I’m so pumped for having our own network; so when the poop hit’s the fan, WORLDIE.COM will be ready and able to help businesses network, free of red tape and political Biases.
