Webber Detroit News Op-Ed: State must investigate Hawthorn Center failings

By Michael Webber
9th Senate District

For years, problems have been mounting at Michigan’s only state-run psychiatric hospital for minors. Operated under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township offers a vital service to the vulnerable young people seeking care there.

At least 17 young patients have escaped from the center under the supervision of Hawthorn personnel since 2020, and the facility is the subject of a lawsuit pending from an active shooter drill that took place there in December 2022.

Families are coming forward to share troubling stories about the state of care their loved ones have received at the facility. On July 14, I hosted a listening session with fellow lawmakers in Oakland County to hear from former patients and family members about their experiences with the center.

Their stories ranged from heartbreaking to tragic and further highlighted the need for increased oversight of the facility.

Jayden Carter described disheartening living conditions and ways in which he felt mistreated and harmed by Hawthorn staff members during the 300 days he spent at the hospital. “I have to relive those memories every single day,” he said. “You feel trapped.”

It is our duty as legislators to do all we can to ensure state officials are held accountable and restore confidence for our residents who need the vital services the Hawthorn Center is meant to provide.

This is why I have requested the state Office of the Auditor General investigate the facility, including reviews of patient care and opinions of staff about patient treatment, as well as the effectiveness of the Office of Recipient Rights at the center, which is responsible for patient treatment complaints then and now.

The most recent OAG audit on the effectiveness of the Hawthorn Center was conducted in 2014. It did not focus on patient care, clinical decisions, opinions of staff about patient treatment, or the effectiveness of the Office of Recipient Rights.

State Auditor General Doug Ringler has informed me that a wide-scope review of the center’s Office of Recipient Rights will be considered for the 2024 audit planning cycle.

In my role as minority vice chair of the Senate Committee on Health Policy, I have also requested Senate leaders conduct hearings to investigate the ongoing problems at the center.

Unfortunately, the rising concerns with the Hawthorn Center are growing at the same time young people are struggling more and more with mental health issues in the wake of shutdowns and isolation experienced during the COVID crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported mental health-related ER visits for adolescents aged 12 to 17 increased by 31% in 2020. In fact, the pandemic’s toll led prominent pediatric associations including the American Academy of Pediatrics to declare a national emergency in children’s mental health.

Vulnerable young people and their families deserve access to quality mental health care they can trust. The Legislature has an obligation to help repair what is broken in this system.

This op-ed appeared in the Set. 7, 2023 edition of The Detroit News.