Mental health facility under scrutiny after patient’s death

OSHKOSH - The Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the November death of a Winnebago Mental Health Institute patient who wasn’t sent to an emergency room until more than 14 hours after a fall reportedly left him unresponsive.

District Attorney Christian Gossett said Tuesday a prosecutor has been reviewing an investigation by Oshkosh police into the death and will likely release findings this week.

The psychiatric facility is already under threat of losing federal funding because of safety concerns uncovered in state and federal inspections this winter — including failures by staff who dealt with the patient who died.

Winnebago could lose its Medicare contract in July if it doesn’t address problems. The facility serves about 180 children and adults whom courts and county officials have ordered into treatment from all counties in the state.

In December, state inspectors responding to complaints found several issues with how the patient who died was handled. Inspectors noted the patient fell and hit his head around 10 a.m. Oct. 15 and became unresponsive. He wasn’t sent to an emergency room until after midnight.

A nurse told inspectors a doctor said there were no immediate concerns after the fall, made the nurse feel like the concern was a waste of time, and said they “needed to wake the patient up.” The patient was later diagnosed with a brain bleed and underwent surgery before dying weeks later at a hospital.

Inspectors found the newly hired doctor at Winnebago was not being properly supervised and reviewed.