Man went to hospital for psychological help, was imprisoned against his will

"In March of 2022, I was struggling with my mental health and sought help at a hospital, thinking I could speak to a therapist there. Instead, I was trapped inside Northwest Medical Center's behavioral health unit for eight days. I was not suicidal, and posed no danger to myself or others, but nobody would let me leave.

Long story short, I was having a horrible day at a new job at a fast-food restaurant. Life had gotten rough. I told a superior at the restaurant what I was dealing with, and how I was having trouble trying to find a therapist. He advised me to go to the emergency room."​

This man apparently lacked all sense. He expects to get free psychological counseling at a hospital emergency room? Emergency departments are for emergencies. What did he think would happen? As the old saying goes, to anyone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

"At my local hospital, staff asked me questions about suicide. I told them I've had suicidal thoughts before, but not at this moment. I just really needed a therapist, somebody to talk to. I don't have anybody - I'm from the foster system, with no family.

They asked me if I'd be open to inpatient therapy and I told them I was not. They told me I was going to be seeing a doctor. When I was finally introduced to the doctor, she told me I couldn't leave. I was on a 72-hour involuntary hold.

I started asking, "Why? What is going on?" She immediately told me I needed to calm down - that I'm being aggressive. Even though this whole time I'm sitting, while she's standing over me. The next morning, they took me by ambulance to Northwest Medical Center's inpatient behavioral health unit.

My roommate at Northwest gave me the rundown: "Hey man, you're gonna have to get through it. They're not gonna let you leave. The more you ask, the more time's gonna be added on."

In my head I thought, "Maybe if I ask respectfully, maybe if I explain why I shouldn't be here, they'll understand that I'm telling the truth and let me go." But when I saw the "provider" the next morning, it was the complete opposite. She started questioning my story, acting like I was lying.

The entire unit was small, cramped, and plain. There was no space anywhere, no color, and little sunlight. The staff wore no name tags, and I couldn't tell what their job titles were. Some staff were called "providers" and wore scrubs with lab coats. Other staff wore street clothes or sweatpants.

After 72 hours passed, I started asking more questions. "Why am I still here? When am I getting discharged? What's going on?" The 72-hour involuntary hold was clearly over. That's when they told me it's up to them how long I stay. I have to "show more progress." I have to eat more food, participate in group therapy.

They told me I had to take a medication, without even telling me what it was. They told me I wouldn't get out of there anytime soon unless I took the medication. So I took it.

I received no mental health treatment at Northwest, besides "group therapy," where patients would talk about our favorite Sonic drinks or our favorite candies. We would color. Sometimes we would watch wrestling.

I only encountered Dr. Brian Hyatt - the psychiatrist overseeing the unit - once, and I believe it was for less than two minutes. Dr. Hyatt stopped by the room, and didn't even come inside. He asked me how I was doing and how group therapy was going. That's it.

I felt completely helpless, in disbelief, in shock. It was an out of body experience. I went to the hospital looking for help, and they've got me in here in scrubs, coloring.

I witnessed one agitated patient get beaten up by an orderly or hospital attendant and thrown back in his room. I saw another young male patient get violently shoved up against a wall until he was injected with a sedative shortly after I arrived at the unit.

Several days later, I witnessed an older woman get forcibly injected. Both the young man and the older woman were crying and just trying to figure out what was going on with their situations.

In both cases, three large, male staff members ran in and flipped the patients onto the beds. Everybody kneeled down on a limb, and then injected the patient. I heard the woman screaming in despair for what seemed like 15 minutes before her yelling stopped. When there were outbursts like that, they took them up to the fourth floor, and that's where all the unruly patients were.

I learned you cannot show any type of emotion there at all, or they'll use that against you. Staff would threaten to make you stay longer if you weren't complying with their orders, or if you argued with them. The only time I was able to actually let my emotions go was when everybody was eating, and I would sneak off to the shower and have a nice hard cry.

I phoned my girlfriend and told her, "We gotta do something. They're not gonna let me leave at all." I whispered and spoke in code because the phone was so close to where the nurses sat. My girlfriend called her uncle, who got in contact with a lawyer, who advised that we tell Northwest they'll file a court order demanding my release.

I can't say for sure that was the reason they went ahead and let me go, but it feels like it was. I ended up being there for about eight days before I was discharged.

Mentally, this is the worst thing I've ever had to overcome in my life. And I've been through a lot. I'm now seeing a therapist and am still working through the trauma I experienced there.

Shortly after my discharge, I tried to accept what would be the highest-paying job I had in my life. I was finally about to get back on track, but I had a breakdown. I couldn't handle it. It felt so random and embarrassing.

I didn't even know it was possible to go to a hospital and be put on a 72-hour hold. If I would've known it was, I probably would've never gone there in the first place.

I do really feel like this is a whole system in play, involving everybody from the intake, to the hospital, to the behavioral health unit. I don't understand how this was allowed to happen."
​

This account comes from Darrius Racy, one of nine plaintiffs suing Dr. Brian Hyatt and Northwest Medical Center for false imprisonment. Racy alleges that he was held against his will, illegally, at Northwest's inpatient behavioral health unit between March 31, 2022, and April 7, 2022. Reported by Insider.

 

Many people in low level jobs are likely to get fired if they suddenly disappear and don't show up for 8 days, even if it wasn't their fault and they were locked up against their will. Fortunately that's not what ended up happening in this case, but this type of situation could have very likely resulted in this man not being able to pay rent and becoming homeless. If he had no friends or family members that had been able to help him, all his belongings might have ended up being thrown in the trash, if he had continued to be held in that hospital for a month.

 

It's an interesting case study isn't it?

We're only being told part of the story but from what is said I can tell you that he checks all of the boxes for someone who would be involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility.

It's all legal and he doesn't stand a chance in court. If he wants the big payout he'll have a better chance of getting disability benefits. He obviously can't work a day without a mental breakdown.

 

Don't worry they can't release you unless you have a safe place to stay. It's the law, at least where I am.

 

For that matter, you need to have health insurance or some way to pay the medical bills before they'll release you.

Basically you need to be mentally stable, on medication, have a place to stay, and be able to pay. In addition you'll have a prescription to fill at the pharmacy, pre-set up appointments with mental health professionals in the community, and contact numbers for the same. These things have to be set up for you before you leave the inpatient setting.

 

I've been in the psych ward before for mental illness, and I've seen a lot of stuff. I would say that situations like the ones described do go on, but these are not well people. Don't forget that.

 

I checked myself in for an overnight stay once. It was an overall good experience tbh. Glad they didn't try to keep me.

 

Interesting story. When we got to the part about his being allowed to keep a cell phone, I was thinking that this was fiction-- not that the rest of it didn't ring true enough for me to believe that it could happen, and that similar things probably do. But if he is part of a class action suit against this doctor, it may be completely true (or the author may be genuinely crazy-- if I'm covering all my bases).

 

The only reason you're supposed to be involuntarily committed is if you are a clear danger to yourself or others so that doesn't cut the mustard here.

 

So what you're saying is they're going to hold you hostage if you don't pay the bills?

 

Yes, but they can help you get health insurance before you're released.

 

That is completely not legal.
Just like it's completely not legal to involuntarily commit someone unless they have stated they are a danger to themselves or others.

You don't live in the USA do you?

 

Yes, happened to me.

And I do live in the United States, New York State, in fact.

And they absolutely can commit someone if they have the backing of a medical professional's opinion. The 72-hour stay is just the initial period for observation. And they absolutely can keep you there longer. Legally.

 

Have you ever heard of the Baker act?

 

There wasn't a cell phone in the story. It was, probably, a good old-fashioned phone hardwired into the wall by the nurses' station. And the patient got a call in from his girlfriend from the outside. Most psych ward phones don't have the ability to call out, and sometimes are restricted to certain hours.

Cell phones are banned from use in every psych ward I've been in. They are usually taken from patients when they check in and are kept in a locker until they are released.

 

What part of the Baker act do you want to talk about?

 

It's the law that makes involuntary commitment possible whenever someone States they are going to harm themselves or others.

I'm not aware of any law that says that they're able to hold you for non-payment. Do you know what law that is?

 

I don't know. I didn't even know it happened until my mom told me they held me extra days because my insurance wasn't active. It wasn't until the insurance issue was sorted out that they released me.

 

If that's the case I don't believe it was done according to any sort of law.

If anything they will get you out of there as quick as they could because you would be costing them more money that was not covered

 

The Baker act is not law in New York state according to this link:
The Baker Act and Marchman Act, Which States Have This? Involuntary Commitments & The Process - Involuntary Commitments (welevelupca.com)

But it IS law in Arkansas which is where the Op's story took place.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I should have figured that out, from the mention that it was so close to the nurses' station. But you had been a little careless yourself, as he does specifically say that he called his girlfriend (not received a call, from her).

 

So in other words they could hold someone pretty much forever? Suppose that person has lost their apartment during the time of being confined, has lost their job (also extremely common in minimum wage jobs if for any reason you don't show up for work), has no savings (a huge percentage of minimum wage Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck), and has no family members able or willing to help them.

Keeping them inside doesn't sound like it's going to do anything to help them, if they are going to end up homeless when released. Staying longer doesn't seem like it would get them any closer to the goal of not being homeless, when they are released.

 

Apparently the head doctor was already under investigation for Medicaid fraud before the lawsuit started.

I do wonder if that hospital might have had some incentive to keep people locked up so they could be able to bill the government for each patient.

(source: Third lawsuit filed against Arkansas psychiatrist, 5newsonline.com, Kathryn Gilker, March 28, 2023 )

According to this article, it apparently seems that the hospital had recorded (or now claims) the patient was "voluntarily admitted", but despite that apparently refused to allow him to leave.

 

Minimum wage jobs are plentiful. Get fired from one burger joint? Go next door to the next burger joint.

 

Yes, but in most parts of the country you're going to have to save up for one or two months before you can pay the security deposit.
Maybe more than that if you have just previously been evicted from another apartment for failing to pay rent. (Most corporate owned apartments use a shared database system to record an individual's rental history)

To say nothing about the person's clothes, bed, computer, and kitchen utensils having been thrown in the garbage. I suspect that might be another 2 or 3 weeks of working to replace those things. It might be more difficult to apply for a job if the records of one's previous employment have been tossed in the garbage.

The range of available jobs is also going to be considerably narrowed if one does not have a car, which I'm imagining may have likely been impounded if someone disappeared for a month. That will be another 2 or 3 weeks of working to pay the fees to get the car out.