Mental health executive throws women patients to the wolves

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Milwaukee County's top mental health administrator intentionally houses female patients with men known to be dangerous "because the presence of women reduces the likelihood of the men being violent," according to a county supervisor's letter obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

Except the fact that they're violent towards women... yeah, not like that matters.

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John Chianelli, administrator of the county's Behavioral Health Division, told county supervisors during a closed-door session last month that segregating men and women would result in more violence.

"It's a trade-off," he said. "Putting 24 aggressive male patients into a male-only unit would increase the level of violence in the unit."

So instead they just turn their violence onto someone who can't fight back... great. Man, you care so much for the people in your care....

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Lawmakers and mental health advocates have expressed alarm in recent weeks at the accounts of physical and sexual assaults on the complex's four acute inpatient wards. Earlier this year, federal inspectors threatened to withhold federal funds until the complex corrected deficiencies that led to the rape of the 22-year-old patient.

Her attacker, a man described by a medical supervisor as "a very devious sexual predator," had been charged with multiple assaults, including another sexual assault. Still, he was housed in the same unit as the woman, where bedroom and bathroom doors are unlocked.

Chianelli defended mixed-gender units as a way to reduce the likelihood of violence by male patients against other male patients. He also conceded that such units at the Mental Health Complex "cause more sexual problems," De Bruin's letter says. Chianelli reviewed medical literature and found, "Going to gender-based units trades violence for sexual assaults."

County supervisors called Chianelli into a meeting to discuss that case and the overall policy of sexual contact between patients.

According to De Bruin's letter and the remarks of other supervisors at the meeting, Chianelli told them that patients had a right to express themselves sexually. De Bruin agreed but said that right ends when they are placed in the county's acute psychiatric unit. A large majority of those patients are involuntarily committed.

Supervisor John Weishan Jr. told a reporter that he was astonished at Chianelli's remarks.

"I couldn't believe he was saying this," Weishan said. "It was just mind-boggling. Saying we either accept a level of sexual assault or we accept a level of physical violence. Why can't we have no sex assaults and no violence?"

Okay, they clearly have data from both methods. Compare the two sets of data. Go with on is deemed best.

They may very well be choosing between male patients murderizing each other or male patients rapifying female patients.

Even so, it seems Chianelli has been drinking a little too much of the Milwaukee brew.

Okay, to clarify what I'm about to say, John Chianelli is a horrible person and should be strung up by nails through his ankles at the doors to the courthouse, just to underline the point. Chianelli = bad person. That's obvious, true, but I don't want anyone to read any implications the other way out of my thoughts.

Because the problem of chronically violent mental in-patients is...ugh. I'm very glad I'm not dealing with it. Obviously the appropriate short-term solution is to separate them from the rest of the population. But this is not a long-term solution, or at least it shouldn't be. Human beings can literally die if they are prohibited the company of other humans for too long. So the answer is...??? I don't know.

KelinciHutan wrote:

Okay, to clarify what I'm about to say, John Chianelli is a horrible person and should be strung up by nails through his ankles at the doors to the courthouse, just to underline the point.

I'd have something involving the penis and/or balls, but that's just me

Quote :

Because the problem of chronically violent mental in-patients is...ugh. I'm very glad I'm not dealing with it. Obviously the appropriate short-term solution is to separate them from the rest of the population. But this is not a long-term solution, or at least it shouldn't be. Human beings can literally die if they are prohibited the company of other humans for too long. So the answer is...??? I don't know.

If a mental hospital patient is that violent that they can't be trusted around anyone, I would allow the patient(s) contact only with someone who CAN deal with the potential threat they represent, by defending themselves via physical force if necessary, if the patient turns on them. If that means interacting with a guard or guards rather than the rest of the patients, that may be the only solution.

Dear Mr. Chianelli,

Since when is sexual assault not a violent attack?

Sincerely,
The Person You Better Hope You Don't Meet In Real Life Because I Will Show You A Violent Attack Motherfucker

Lapin wrote:

Dear Mr. Chianelli,

Since when is sexual assault not a violent attack?

Sincerely,
The Person You Better Hope You Don't Meet In Real Life Because I Will Show You A Violent Attack Motherfucker

OH NOEZ A BIPOLAR CREAMPUFF WILL DO YOGA ON HIS FACE!!!

I CAN HEAR HIS KNEES KNOCKING FROM ALL THE WAY IN KENTUCKY!

You are as threatening as that little mop dog thing that lives in the yard by the second fairway of one local golf course.

Hey guise, I thought that you weren't supposed to feed the negative aspects of a mental disorder. You know, like you wouldn't put a set of knives in the room of a patient with severe schizophrenia?

Or egg someone with OCD to check the door to see if its locked.

Lembech wrote:

Hey guise, I thought that you weren't supposed to feed the negative aspects of a mental disorder. You know, like you wouldn't put a set of knives in the room of a patient with severe schizophrenia?

Or egg someone with OCD to check the door to see if its locked.

I'd do that because it sounds fun.

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I'd do that because it sounds fun.

Yes but, from what I've seen, you're a douchebag.

StillScreaming wrote:

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I'd do that because it sounds fun.

Yes but, from what I've seen, you're a douchebag.

But you agree with him that it would be fun.

Just sayin'.

Or s/he's agreeing that that's something he'd do.

Or both.

Then I'd ask him if he remembered to turn out the lights before he left the house. Then I'd casually wonder how many diseased chumps have touched that doorknob he's about to grab...

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Okay, they clearly have data from both methods. Compare the two sets of data. Go with on is deemed best.

They may very well be choosing between male patients murderizing each other or male patients rapifying female patients.

Even so, it seems Chianelli has been drinking a little too much of the Milwaukee brew.

Either that or he's a Category 5 idiot in the first place.

Really, Chris? And how many categories are there?

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Or both.

Then I'd ask him if he remembered to turn out the lights before he left the house. Then I'd casually wonder how many diseased chumps have touched that doorknob he's about to grab...

Oh Mikey, you're so ~*edgy.*~ You're not afraid to speak your mind! You with your rugged individualism!

But yeah seriously. Chianelli, what the hell. Then again, the mental health system in America is not exactly the best, and, uh, this kind of thing is surprisingly common. Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent is an excellent primer about it. Also, most every book about modern asylums, written by people who had to go to them.* There's a whole culture of 'survivors' who went through the system and were abused, a 'mad pride' movement.

*Not that it was any better when communities 'cared' for the mad. Families would dig holes in the floors of their huts and just kind of... leave the person in there. I did a report on the history of psychiatric practices. Interesting. Silly (paying to poke the mad folks in Bedlam with sticks). Disturbing on many levels.

Kinda went on a tangent there, but TL;DR- This is sad, but it isn't a surprise. It's hard to treat mental illness, and we're not doing a very good job.

Toastuh wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Or both.

Then I'd ask him if he remembered to turn out the lights before he left the house. Then I'd casually wonder how many diseased chumps have touched that doorknob he's about to grab...

Oh Mikey, you're so ~*edgy.*~ You're not afraid to speak your mind! You with your rugged individualism!

i kno rite? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

All I need is a cowboy hat, but then I'd look super duper triple dog goofy. Instead of just super goofy.

Toasty wrote:

Kinda went on a tangent there, but TL;DR- This is sad, but it isn't a
surprise. It's hard to treat mental illness, and we're not doing a very
good job.

What's that you say? The government does a mediocre job of barely containing the problem?

I've never heard of such a tragic injustice that has surprised me so little. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Quote :

Chianelli defended mixed-gender units as a way to reduce the likelihood of violence by male patients against other male patients. He also conceded that such units at the Mental Health Complex "cause more sexual problems," De Bruin's letter says. Chianelli reviewed medical literature and found, "Going to gender-based units trades violence for sexual assaults."

IOW "Men are important, women are not."

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Toastuh wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Or both.

Then I'd ask him if he remembered to turn out the lights before he left the house. Then I'd casually wonder how many diseased chumps have touched that doorknob he's about to grab...

Oh Mikey, you're so ~*edgy.*~ You're not afraid to speak your mind! You with your rugged individualism!

i kno rite? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

All I need is a cowboy hat, but then I'd look super duper triple dog goofy. Instead of just super goofy.

Aw Mikey, you could WERK the cowboy hat. And a checkered shirt. DO IT.

Quote :

What's that you say? The government does a mediocre job of barely containing the problem?

I've never heard of such a tragic injustice that has surprised me so little. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Oh you.
But yes, they kind of do an awful job. And you know what else sucks? When, in the 80s, the government tried to downsize and get rid of a bunch of nationalized hospitals because they thought that then the health system could get better, it effectively left lots and lots of crazies without homes. So now they are on the streets. We have late 80s government downsizing to blame for the majority of the homeless insane being homeless and insane. Isn't that nice? That's simplifying it a bit, but yeah.

So it's not as if the answer is clear-cut. I can't really blame the health industry, because mental illness is a tricky thing. It's rarely treated in a way that satisfies both the doctor and patient (it sucks when the government does it, it sucks when individuals do it), and I don't pretend to have any idea how to fix it. However, there are people who have had positive experiences, and I think we could listen to them and figure out what to do well.

Cyberwulf wrote:

Quote :

Chianelli defended mixed-gender units as a way to reduce the likelihood of violence by male patients against other male patients. He also conceded that such units at the Mental Health Complex "cause more sexual problems," De Bruin's letter says. Chianelli reviewed medical literature and found, "Going to gender-based units trades violence for sexual assaults."

IOW "Men are important, women are not."

You know, I really agree with this. This doctor is saying that men attacking other men is bad, but its okay for them to take it out on women. Its somehow better if, instead of beating some guy's head into the tile, they brutally rape a woman.

I really need some alcohol to make this stop bouncing around my head.

Lapin wrote:

Cyberwulf wrote:

Quote :

Chianelli defended mixed-gender units as a way to reduce the likelihood of violence by male patients against other male patients. He also conceded that such units at the Mental Health Complex "cause more sexual problems," De Bruin's letter says. Chianelli reviewed medical literature and found, "Going to gender-based units trades violence for sexual assaults."

IOW "Men are important, women are not."

You know, I really agree with this. This doctor is saying that men attacking other men is bad, but its okay for them to take it out on women. Its somehow better if, instead of beating some guy's head into the tile, they brutally rape a woman.

I really need some alcohol to make this stop bouncing around my head.

This, this, and that.

What about male-on-male rape, did the good exec ever take that into account?

Male-on-male rape is for homos and no one wants to help THOSE things.