Name: Department of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated Constitution
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Department of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated Constitution

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AdvertisementDepartment of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated ConstitutionHide TranscriptShow TranscriptWHAT IS GOING ON IN GLENWOOD UNCONSCIONABLE. THE 61-PAGE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT DETAILED IMPROPER HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION AND INADEQUATE CARE AND PROTECTIONS AT THE GLENWOOD RESOURCE CENTER, AND A STATE AGENCY UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THE WESTERN IOWA FACILITY SERVES IOWANS WITH SEVERE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. THE INVESTIGATION BEGAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2019. THE STATE FIRED THE FACILITY’S SUPERINTENDENT, DR. JERRY REA, A MONTH LATER. THE REPORT SAYS HE LED PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS ON RESIDENTS, DONE WITHOUT CONSENT OR SAFEGUARDS. ONE EXPERIMENT INVOLVED OVERHYDRATING RESIDENTS IN A PNEUMONIA STUDY, AT LEAST EIGHT OF WHOM WERE FORCIBLY OVERHYDRATED THROUGH THEIR FEEDING TUBES. THE REPORT SAYS GLENWOOD LEADERS KNEW IT WAS DANGEROUS, BUT DID IT ANYWAY. ON TUESDAY, THE DOJ SAID INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AREN’T HUMAN GUINEA PIGS, AND SHOULD NEVER BE SUBJECT TO, QUOTE, "BIZARRE AND DEVIANT PSEUDO-MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS CALLING HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION, QUOTE, "THE HALLMARK OF SI TOTALITARIAN STATES." NOTABLY, THE REPORT DIDN’T SAY MUCH ABOUT ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL AROUSAL EXPERIMENTS, SIMPLY NOTING REA HAD ACQUIRED A SET OF COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGES OF NUDE AND CLOTHED CHILDREN FOR A STUDY, BUT INVESTIGATORS FOUND NO EVIDENCE THEY WERE SHOWN TO RESIDENTS. THE REPORT ALSO HIGHLIGHTED POOR TREATMENT, SAYING THE FACILITY’S USE OF RESTRAINTS WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND NOTED CONCERNING INCREASES IN PATIENT AND STAFF INJURIES. IT SAYS GLENWOOD IGNORED DEATH RATES THAT NEARLY DOUBLED OVER A ROUGHLY FOUR-YEAR SPAN, A PROBLEM IT SAYS THE STATE DISMISSED AFTER LAWMAKERS ASKED ABOUT IT. &gt;&gt; THEY HAD NO ANSWERS FOR US. CHRIS: STATE SENATOR CLAIRE CELSI IS ONE OF THOSE LAWMAKERS. &gt;&gt; IT ASTOUNDS ME. IT SICKENS ME. CHRIS: SHE’S THE DEMOCRATIC RANKING MEMBER ON THE SENATE GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. &gt;&gt; I’M VERY, VERY GRATIFIED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TOOK THIS CASE ON. CHRIS: GOVERNOR REYNOLDS CALLED THE FINDINGS UNCONSCIONABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE TUESDAY, SAYING THE STATE’S FULLY COOPERATED. SHE COMMENDED DHS DIRECTOR KELLY GARCIA, AND SAYS THE STATE’S, QUOTE, "COMMITTED TO BRINGING ALL THE TOOLS AND STATE RESOURCES NEEDED." THE DHS SAYS IT’S IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING THE FINDINGS. CELSI SAYS LAWMAKERS NEED TO HOLD ADDITIONAL HEARINGS WHEN THEY RETURN TO DES MOINES NEXT MONTH. &gt;&gt; I WANT TO SEE WHO KNEW WHAT, WHEN, AND WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IAdvertisementDepartment of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated ConstitutionThe U.S. Department of Justice said it found reasonable cause that conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.The DOJ released the findings of its investigation into Glenwood on Tuesday, which stated that experiments were conducted on residents without their consent.View the full report here.One set of experiments involved overhydrating residents as part of a pneumonia study. At least eight residents were on feeding tubes, and therefore could not resist.The report said officials knew the experiments were dangerous, and some led to physical harm.Other experiments involved psychological research on impulsivity. The agency said there were apparent plans by Glenwood’s former Superintendent Dr. Jerry Rea to conduct sexual arousal experiments using a computer containing images of nude and clothed children the DOJ said it didn’t find evidence the images were ever shown to residents. Rea took over the position in September 2017 shortly after Reynolds became governor. He was fired at the end of December 2019, about a month after the DOJ investigation began. Glenwood’s medical director later resigned.In June 2019 Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven resigned at the request of Reynolds over issues involving Glenwood and he later sued the state for wrongful discharge.Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, with the Civil Rights Division, said, "Individuals with disabilities are not human guinea pigs, and like all persons, they should never be subject to bizarre and deviant pseudo-medical 'experiments' that injure them."According to the DOJ, Glenwood residents were subject to inadequate physical and behavioral health care, with few safety or oversight measures.The department also noted severe deficiencies in oversight and quality management at both Glenwood and the Iowa Department of Human Services.“Iowa has been deliberately indifferent to those breakdowns and the risks they pose. Glenwood frequently leaves residents at serious risk of harm or death by ignoring changes in condition outright, or by adopting a clinically unjustified ‘wait and see’ approach,” the report said.The department began investigating in November 2019, just months after The Des Moines Register reported an unusually high number of deaths at Glenwood and quoted workers blaming inadequate care as the cause of some deaths.The DOJ said it is considering whether the Glenwood and Woodward resource centers violated rights under Title 11 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.Following the investigation's conclusion, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement:“What happened at the Glenwood Resource Center was unconscionable and unacceptable. Under Director Garcia’s leadership at DHS, we’ve fully cooperated with the investigation and I commend her for immediately digging in to assess the situation. "I am committed to bringing all the tools and state resources needed to address the challenges at the facility. The families and loved ones remain in my thoughts as this likely brings up very difficult and strong emotions.”A statement from the Iowa Department of Human Services said, in part, "We spoke with our federal partners and continue to work with them on the best path forward to ensure we provide the best care to those we serve. The Department is in the process of reviewing these findings. We will continue discussions with our legal counsel and the DOJ. We have been in a collaborative role in this process from day one."Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, the ranking member of the the Senate's Government Oversight Committee, which has questioned officials regarding high death rates and other problems at Glenwood, said the report's findings were "astound(ing)" and "sicken(ing).""I'm very gratified that the Department of Justice took this case on, because I knew that no one from the state of Iowa, especially the Governor's office, was going to get to the bottom of it like they could," Celsi said. Celsi said lawmakers should hold additional hearings when they return to Des Moines for the legislative session in January."I want to see who knew what when and who thought this was a good idea," she said. Celsi questioned whether Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, would be willing to hold additional hearings.KCCI called Celsi's Republican counterpart, Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, the new Chair of the Government Oversight Committee, and has not heard back. In a text message, Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, the ranking member of the House Government Oversight Committee, said the committee will continue its investigation as soon as the session begins."I speak for my colleagues in stating that we are aware of many (despicable) actions of neglect and abuse involving residents at Glenwood," Gaines said. "I am anxious to work with legislators to conduct our own thorough investigation."The U.S. Department of Justice said it found reasonable cause that conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.The DOJ released the findings of its investigation into Glenwood on Tuesday, which stated that without their consent.AdvertisementOne set of experiments involved overhydrating residents as part of a pneumonia study. At least eight residents were on feeding tubes, and therefore could not resist.The report said officials knew the experiments were dangerous, and some led to physical harm.Other experiments involved psychological research on impulsivity. The agency said there were apparent plans by Glenwood’s former Superintendent Dr. Jerry Rea to conduct sexual arousal experiments using a computer containing images of nude and clothed children the DOJ said it didn’t find evidence the images were ever shown to residents. Rea took over the position in September 2017 shortly after Reynolds became governor. He was fired at the end of December 2019, about a month after the DOJ investigation began. Glenwood’s medical director later resigned.In June 2019 Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven resigned at the request of Reynolds over issues involving Glenwood and he later sued the state for wrongful discharge.Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, with the Civil Rights Division, said, "Individuals with disabilities are not human guinea pigs, and like all persons, they should never be subject to bizarre and deviant pseudo-medical 'experiments' that injure them."According to the DOJ, Glenwood residents were subject to inadequate physical and behavioral health care, with few safety or oversight measures.The department also noted severe deficiencies in oversight and quality management at both Glenwood and the Iowa Department of Human Services.“Iowa has been deliberately indifferent to those breakdowns and the risks they pose. Glenwood frequently leaves residents at serious risk of harm or death by ignoring changes in condition outright, or by adopting a clinically unjustified ‘wait and see’ approach,” the report said.The department began investigating in November 2019, just months after The Des Moines Register reported an unusually high number of deaths at Glenwood and quoted workers blaming inadequate care as the cause of some deaths.The DOJ said it is considering whether the Glenwood and Woodward resource centers violated rights under Title 11 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.Following the investigation's conclusion, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement:“What happened at the Glenwood Resource Center was unconscionable and unacceptable. Under Director Garcia’s leadership at DHS, we’ve fully cooperated with the investigation and I commend her for immediately digging in to assess the situation. "I am committed to bringing all the tools and state resources needed to address the challenges at the facility. The families and loved ones remain in my thoughts as this likely brings up very difficult and strong emotions.”A statement from the Iowa Department of Human Services said, in part, "We spoke with our federal partners and continue to work with them on the best path forward to ensure we provide the best care to those we serve. The Department is in the process of reviewing these findings. We will continue discussions with our legal counsel and the DOJ. We have been in a collaborative role in this process from day one."Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, the ranking member of the the Senate's Government Oversight Committee, which has questioned officials regarding high death rates and other problems at Glenwood, said the report's findings were "astound(ing)" and "sicken(ing).""I'm very gratified that the Department of Justice took this case on, because I knew that no one from the state of Iowa, especially the Governor's office, was going to get to the bottom of it like they could," Celsi said. Celsi said lawmakers should hold additional hearings when they return to Des Moines for the legislative session in January."I want to see who knew what when and who thought this was a good idea," she said. Celsi questioned whether Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature, would be willing to hold additional hearings.KCCI called Celsi's Republican counterpart, Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, the new Chair of the Government Oversight Committee, and has not heard back. In a text message, Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, the ranking member of the House Government Oversight Committee, said the committee will continue its investigation as soon as the session begins."I speak for my colleagues in stating that we are aware of many (despicable) actions of neglect and abuse involving residents at Glenwood," Gaines said. "I am anxious to work with legislators to conduct our own thorough investigation."Loading more articles...

AdvertisementDepartment of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated ConstitutionHide TranscriptShow TranscriptWHAT IS GOING ON IN GLENWOOD UNCONSCIONABLE. THE 61-PAGE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT DETAILED IMPROPER HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION AND INADEQUATE CARE AND PROTECTIONS AT THE GLENWOOD RESOURCE CENTER, AND A STATE AGENCY UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THE WESTERN IOWA FACILITY SERVES IOWANS WITH SEVERE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. THE INVESTIGATION BEGAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2019. THE STATE FIRED THE FACILITY’S SUPERINTENDENT, DR. JERRY REA, A MONTH LATER. THE REPORT...

Department of Justice: Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated Constitution

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