Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission Human Rights Authority Chicago Region met Aug. 29.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
PRESENT: Judi Bradley, Jeff Gee, and Daryl Richardson.
ABSENT: Gary Doherty, Linda Cervenka, Tiffany Johnson, Dallas Read, and Marie Marasovich.
STAFF: Jeremy Polk (Disability Rights Manager)
GUEST: John Whitcomb (University of Chicago Medicine) and Michelle McFarland- McDaniels (concerned citizen)
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Human Rights Authority, Chicago Region was called to order at 5:13 p.m. by the Chicago Region Member Judi Bradley.
It was determined that a quorum was not present. Thus, the HRA did not move into close session. The confidentiality statement was read by Jeremy Polk.
Minutes: Minutes for July were approved. The motion to approval was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion carried with remaining votes.
Communications: DRM informed members of new trainings that are to be completed annually. The meeting time was changed for all future meetings to 5:30 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
New Cases:
23-030-9047 – New Case – A complainant states that she was given forced medication without cause. The complainant also states that she was transferred to another facility without reason. The DRM requested that the HRA move to table action on this case. The DRM has a release but is uncertain about his notes on the case and wanted to follow up with complainant. The HRA informed the DRM to contact the complainant via mail to secure information. Motion to table pending more information was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9003 – New Case – A guardian reports that her minor child was given medication without her consent. The guardian also reports that the facility called DCFS on her because of her refusal to medicate the child. The guardian them reported that the psychiatrist would not listen to her input and was very disrespectful. The HRA received a release for this meeting. The motion to open was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9004 – New Case – A complainant states that she was brought to the facility involuntarily. She states that she was never explained her rights and not give a copy of the petition. Complainant also requested discharge and was discharged timely. Motion to not accept the case was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9005 – New Case – A complainant states that he was given multiple forced medications without cause. He states that the patient's phone kept ringing and he asked staff for help locating the patient that the phone member was requesting. The complainant states that the staff hung up the phone instead of assisting. The complainant states that he told staff they were being unprofessional and was restrained and given forced medications. Motion to not accept the case was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9006 – New Case – A complainant states that the facility did not return all her personal belongings at discharge. The complainant also states that staff was rude to her and did not treat her with respect. Finally, the complainant reports that the staff has not responded to her request for her items. Motion to accept for informal inquiry entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9007 – New Case – A patient wants to be discharged from the facility. Spoke with SW at length and she did not understand why patient could not be discharged back to the same facility. Explained to her contact Ozell Adams the administrator of Central Plaza. DRM contacted Ozell and the patient was accepted back to Central Plaza. Explained situation to OSG representative Barbara Martin. Case was handled informally. Motion to open and close as case was handled informally was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Jeff. The motion will be ratified at next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9008 – New Case – A patient wants to be discharged from the facility. Spoke with the patient’s social worker and she indicated that the patient was represented by LAS in a treatment hearing and medications were granted. Patient states that he is autistic and not mentally ill. He also informed DRM that he was receiving forced medications. Social worker provided court order for medications. The DRM did not have the patient’s address to send notice, so the case was tabled. Motion to table was entered by Daryl. Th motion as seconded by Jeff. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9009 – New Case – A complainant states she would like to be released from the facility. Complainant signed a 5-day and then was petitioned to stay in facility. The facility then allowed the patient to sign in voluntarily as a new patient. Complainant then signed another 5-day and then was petitioned to stay in facility again. This is extremely odd. DRM met with social worker
and informed them that the patient appears to lack capacity to sign voluntarily into facility. DRM explained situation to LAS and attorney agreed to speak with family and provide guidance. Motion to close as referred to another agency entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
24-030-9010 – New Case – A guardian reported that a facility injured an individual under guardianship. The guardian also reports that the facility did not provide an adequate assessment of how the injury occurred. Motion to accept case was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The HRA did not move into closed session pursuant to the Guardianship and Advocacy Act (20 ILCS 3955/21) and the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2).
Case Assignments:
N/A
Draft reports for acceptance:
22-030-9031 – Jackson Park Hospital – The HRA motioned to accept this case without any changes. This report was combined with another case at the facility. The HRA was satisfied with the report and had a brief discussion on the fact that Jackson Park has not filed a petition of involuntary admission in several years. The motion to accept and issue was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
23-030-9018 – Jackson Park Hospital – The HRA motioned to accept this case without any changes. This report was combined with the previous case at the facility. The HRA was satisfied with the report and had a brief discussion on the fact that Jackson Park has not filed a petition of involuntary admission in several years. The motion to accept and issue was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
Accept responses, close, and publish:
22-030-9033 – Cermak – The HRA motioned to accept and close this case without any issues. There were no violations present in the case and the HRA received no response from the facility. The motion to accept and close was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
22-030-9034 – Cermak – The HRA motioned to accept and close this case without any issues. There were no violations present in the case and the HRA received no response from the facility. The motion to accept, publish, and close was entered by Judi. The motion was seconded by Daryl. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
22-030-9030– LSSI – The HRA motioned to accept and close this case without any changes. The report did not include any violations and the provider did not send a response. The motion to accept, publish, and close was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
23-030-9002 – Trilogy - The HRA motioned to accept and close this case without any changes. The report did not include any violations and the provider did not send a response. The motion to accept, publish, and close was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
23-030-9012 – Univ of Chicago Medical Center – The HRA motioned to table accepting and closing of this case. The facility provided a response indicating that they disagreed with the HRA but would follow the recommendations in the report. The facility also requested that the response be posted with the report. The HRA is awaiting verification of training completion. The motion to table closure of the report was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
23-030-9026 – Rainbow Beach – This was an informal inquiry into a report of a guardian not receiving a copy of financial paperwork. The HRA was notified by the guardian that paperwork was received. The case was motioned to be closed. The motion was entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Judi. The motion will be ratified at the next meeting with a quorum.
Other unfinished business, announcements, and comments:
23-030-9027 – CPS – The HRA created a closure letter to the facility. The closure is pending receipt of adequate documentation of student’s completion certification.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn entered by Daryl. The motion was seconded by Jeff and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm.
https://gac.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/gac/press/documents/minutes/2023/Chicago%20HRA%20August%2029,%202023%20Open%20meeting%20minutes.pdf
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