Feds threaten $20M cut for Riverview
Federal inspectors found county corrections officers used stun guns and handcuffs to subdue mentally ill patients at the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta, a problem that, among others, could cost the state mental hospital nearly $20 million in federal funding.
The Kennebec Journal reported that inspectors detailed the use of Tasers and handcuffs to subdue patients in a report issued in June. That report came from unannounced visits in May to the hospital, where county corrections officers had been employed in response to attacks by patients on peers and hospital workers.
In the report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services warned the hospital it could lose more than $20 million in federal funding, which is over half its annual operating budget, starting Sept. 2.
Riverview Superintendent Mary Louise McEwen told the paper that use of Tasers ended May 24 and the contract with Kennebec County to provide corrections officers at the hospital ended Sunday. On Friday, the hospital provided the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services a corrective plan, which awaits federal review and approval.
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