HHS Completes Investigation into Philbrook Transfers

By Dan Gorenstein on Friday, December 18, 2009.

Health and Human Services has completed its investigation into the transferring young children with mental illness onto a unit with teenagers and adults.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports.

The Department took two days to review the policy that sent a 6 and a 12 year old to a ward for older patients with mental illness.

Internal correspondence from clinical staff at New Hampshire Hospital questioned the safety of the children while on F unit.

It provided details of their interactions, including when the 6 year old ran into the room of an adult female patient, upsetting her due to concerns she has for her own child.

Commissioner Nick Toumpas says he will look at the findings next week.

“I will take a look at that most likely on Monday, and sit down with people to say what happened, what are the issues and what do we need to do from a policy standpoint.”

Toumpas says he didn’t know anything about the transfer until he read about it in the Concord Monitor Wednesday.

The Commissioner says he doesn’t know if similar transfers are appropriate, but they had occurred in the past.