Mentally ill man finally being moved after 15 years in isolation

From The Associated Press Sept. 3:

RICHMOND, Va. - A patient who has lived in virtual isolation for 15 years in a Virginia mental hospital would undergo less restrictive treatment intended to bring him closer to his family under a plan endorsed by the state mental health commissioner.

Cesar Chumil, a diagnosed paranoid and schizophrenic, has been in solitary confinement for long periods since the 1980s because of violent outbursts. State mental health Commissioner James S. Reinhard on Wednesday endorsed the series of treatment recommended by the oversight State Human Rights Commission.

Since 1993, Chumil has lived at Western State Hospital in a dormitory-style room with a separate bathroom and a small outdoor area where he remains isolated from other patients. His meals are pushed through a slot in a locked door.

Western State had argued that Chumil, a Hispanic man in his 50s who speaks very little English, was so violent that it was safer for staff and other patients for him to be held in the suite. In one year, he logged more than 300 assaults.

Reinhard said the treatment plan will lead to Chumil's transfer from the Staunton hospital to a place closer to his family.

"One of the big things that the family wants and needs is that they be closer to him in northern Virginia so they can be more active in his treatment," said Alex R. Gulotta of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville.

Gulotta, who cheered the decision, said the state will need to try different treatment solutions because of Chumil's limited contact with others.

"We've created this situation to some degree and now, to unwind it, we're going to have to be creative," he said.

Reinhard said Western State, which treats 224 patients, will expand recruiting efforts for Spanish-speaking mental health professional staff, which he called a "scarce resource" in the Shenandoah Valley where the hospital is located.

The Human Rights Committee said Western State could continue to keep Chumil in a "limited containment suite" at least until December, but that the state must devise a plan to move him out. Chumil has been allowed to take trips with his family without hospital staff to local parks, his favorite restaurants and shopping.

Advocates say it shows he is not as dangerous as officials contend.

Virginia law outlines when patients can be secluded and restrained and requires those methods be used only in extreme circumstances and for short periods.

The hospital had received a variance from the committee for what amounted to standing orders to keep Chumil in the suite. That variance expired a year ago, but the committee extended it until Dec. 5.

The hospital's director, Dr. Jack Barber, has said he would work with the state Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to address the committee's concerns while ensuring that other patients and staff are safe.

The treatment plan Reinhard approved will be presented to the Human Rights Commission in October. Each of the state's five psychiatric hospitals is overseen by a local human rights committee, which is made up of health care providers, advocates and community members.