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It wasn’t a very happy story. Last week, New Times brought you a tale about the psychiatric unit at Jackson Memorial. There were in-hospital hangings, sexual assault, patient escapes, and a lot more.
Thing is, when you’re a reporter, you can’t get into a place like that. (Although we certainly tried.) So the story was lacking when it came to photos. These might help a little.
We’d seen the stacks of state complaints — and long lists of investigators’ findings — about the nasty conditions of the mental health unit. The one that comes to mind, for some reason, is urine stench. Click here to sort through a few recent ones.
According to former acting director of patient care Lisa Burton, the shots were taken at the Highland Park Pavilion, which houses mentally ill patients. She later presented them to the county ethics commission. (This one is a dead mouse, in case you couldn’t tell. A somehow-decapitated bird is after the jump.)
Responds Jackson spokesperson Lorriane Nelson: “The Public Health Trust cannot comment on the authenticity of the photos… nor can it be proven when and where they were taken.”
She adds, “It is important to note that vacant floors at the Highland Park Pavilion
are locked and never used as patient care areas.”
Unfortunately, the photos are just a tiny blemish on the unit’s badly broken face.
