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An investigative report by WXYZ's Ross Jones raises serious questions about patient safety at, Harbor Oaks Hospital, a psychiatric treatment facility in New Baltimore in Macomb County.
Among the scary concerns are assaults by patients, including sexual ones. Employees say they have witnessed frequent attacks.
One patient, a 44-year-old man with a developmental disability, who came to the facility after burning down two homes, was twice accused of sexually assaulting patients in 2015: A male and a female, Jones reports.
He was criminally charged, but the judge ruled he wasn't mentally competent to stand trial.
"This facility needs to be thoroughly investigated by the state," Mark Reinstein, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in Michigan, tells WXYZ. "Enough is enough. We're talking about actual and potential abuse and neglect. It's already had some incredibly serious consequences."
Harbor Oaks CEO Sari Abromovich declined an on-camera interview, He emails WXYZ:
We are proud of our long history of providing exceptional care to our patients and their families in highly structured treatment programs. Our health care professionals are committed to ensuring the physical and emotional wellbeing of our patients. The alleged incidents took place in 2015 and were reported in accordance with state requirements.
Due to federal and state patient privacy and confidentiality laws, we cannot comment on the specific allegations.