Asked why Keith Clayton's family wasn't given complete information on his death, officials from the state hospital directed questions to their parent agency, the Texas Department of State Health Services. "Friday," she recalled, "they called us and said he was dead.". In 1983, Vernon State Centers name was changed to Vernon State Hospital (VSH) to maintain continuity throughout the larger system. Patients -- they are not called inmates -- are almost all on psychiatric medication. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. Ted Oberg Investigates made the seven-hour trip to Vernon to see the hospital for ourselves. His family held a memorial in Borger. The homicides include 16 murders, one manslaughter and one officer-involved shooting. His team of mental health providers cannot move patients out any faster, especially ones who need more treatment than in years past. The hospital also provides psychiatric services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. North Texas State Hospital is an inpatient mental health facility owned by the State of Texas and under. State hospital policy also does not require an autopsy for every death on campus. The hospital's population remained relatively steady between 1945 and the mid-1970s; its physical growth, however, continued. The state turned over records since 2006. To help patients decide where to receive care, U.S. News generates hospital rankings by evaluating data on nearly 5,000 hospitals. From there, hospital staff strapped Clayton into a restraint chair and wheeled him to a "quiet room.". The Austin American-Statesmen previously reported that Ervin was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2013 fatal stabbing of his 58-year-old father in West Austin. Tours must be arranged at least 72 hours in advance and approved by the superintendent. [citation needed]The facility used to be open until a few years ago before the merge with formally Vernon State Hospital. (940) 692-1220. Once Justin entered the state hospital system, things went downhill, Mandy said. Smith is confronted by the growing wait list every day telling abc13, "I feel a great responsibility not to let myself feel pressured or let my staff feel pressured into moving people out of this environment sooner than is appropriate.". Read more , High Performing in 5 Specialties & 13 Procedures/Conditions, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX is nationally ranked in 1 adult specialty. They were never told that a hospital employee had been fired over Keith's death, and they didn't know many of the details of the investigations until the Tribune obtained the records. NTSH has three campuses, one in Wichita Falls and two in Vernon.[1]. State hospital staff told police he was a friendly, cooperative patient, a message they had relayed to his parents as well. 1,001-5,000 employees. Best Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), Best Medicare Advantage Plan Companies 2023, Best Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan Companies 2023, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Temple, Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, Find Continuing Care Retirement Communites. The 1950s and 60s saw the addition of a volunteer coordinator and social workers to the staff. Read more , Nationally Ranked in 4 Children's Specialties, High Performing in 7 Specialties & 13 Procedures/Conditions, Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, TX is nationally ranked in 4 pediatric specialties. The North Texas State Hospital (NTSH) is an inpatient mental health facility owned by the State of Texas and under the Texas Health and Human Service Commission's Health and Specialty Care System division. Rooms must be reserved and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The North Texas State Hospital's adolescent forensic program now has a new home around Vernon. Before your visit, please contact the patients treatment team to coordinate any visits or releases. 8407 FM 433W. General Psychiatry, Addiction, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry. Forensic patients are also waiting for competency restoration services to stand trial or those found not guilty by reason of insanity. "We knew he needed help," Anna Clayton would later tell a police detective. Crucial information about the circumstances of Clayton's death, she wrote, "was requested and not received.". Claim this business. Love found there was "no evidence to suggest that state hospital employees intentionally injured" Clayton. At the North Texas State Hospital, another patient, a 46-year-old black woman, died in March 2014 one month before Clayton after collapsing in the dining area, state records show. There has not been any help on the way for years. Surrounding the facility is a 15-foot-high unclimbable fence. Specialties. heavier than Clayton, according to police records. the hospital is a facility where patients are treated after they've been deemed either . His first wife and two daughters were killed in a car crash more than four decades ago. North Texas State Hospital. They have the same rights as any other Texas patient in the free world. VOTE: Whats the best KXAN viewer photo of February? Doximity users who met U.S. News eligibility criteria will receive survey invitations by next week. A multi-agency manhunt ended Sunday when a man who escaped the North Texas State Hospital in June was found and taken into custody. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Texas Children's Hospital - Texas Children's Hospital is a full fledged pediatric hospital attending to over 2.2 million patients yearly. The state health department turned those letters over to the Tribune last week, six months after a reporter first began asking about the incident and three months after officials said there was "no additional releasable information." Preparing for your first cancer appointment can be overwhelming. Not only is University Health System one of the best hospitals in the state. He didnt have anything, you know, legal at all.. These campuses provide inpatient psychiatric services to adults, children and adolescents. The Vernon facility was located at the now unused Victory Field Army Air Corps training field and served about 400 patients. Updated: Nov 15, 2022 / 10:41 PM CST. The Tribune nonetheless obtained several police reports that provide a partial narrative of the events surrounding his death. Ultimately, one employee was fired. Having Keith Clayton committed seemed the best option to his parents, who were approaching their 80s and felt ill-equipped to care for a grown man with a serious mental illness and a history of alcoholism. 55 were here. Due to medical privacy laws, HHSC would not confirm or deny Justin was a patient in a state hospital or answer specific questions about his death. The addiction treatment programs require that the patient temporarily live on-site to receive the intensive needed. Leading up to his time in the state hospital, Mandy said his medication had become less effective. Around 3 p.m. that Friday, state hospital staff had gathered for a routine meeting to discuss patient developments. State hospital policy requires that restraints be "implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of patients while preserving their dignity, rights and wellbeing." The 1980s saw Vernon State Hospital redefined as the states forensic psychiatric facility, resulting in expansion of the hospitals service area from 23 to 53 counties. Justin had a history of injuries she said she didnt know about. When pressed, department spokeswoman Christine Mann wrote in an email that there was "no additional releasable information" on Keith Clayton's death "No police report or video footage.". "State hospitals are seeing people who are sicker and more difficult to treat," he said. Keith Clayton was cremated. VERNON, Texas The North Texas State Hospital islocated in Vernon, Texas just 6miles from the Texas-Oklahoma border. In 1967 the hospital treated 2,700 patients. Theres a speed limit of 15 mph on all campus streets. Mandy said she has hired a legal team to represent them. AUSTIN (KXAN) Mandy Reeder has been left devastated and baffled by the loss of her eldest son who died in North Texas State Hospital in September. In the wake of Justins death, Mandy and his family have been left searching for answers and regretting the decision to move him into the state hospital. Vernon, TX 76384. The hospital continued to be governed by a local board of managers until 1920 when the State Board of Control assumed the duties for governing State . When he began exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, Keith Clayton's family agonized over sending him to a state-run psychiatric hospital. Wichita Falls, TX. Consumer Services. Make a difference in someones life. "It's just a calculated effort to not make it oppressive.". Any visitors must be buzzed in. Their freedom of movement is not restricted within the facility. However, thecampus is surrounded by a 15-foot-high, unclimbable fence. They want to know all the circumstances surrounding Justins death, have accountability and to spark changes that will prevent a similar tragedy in the future. Alexander Ervin, 29, has been missing from the Vernon Campus of the North Texas State Hospital since Monday morning, June 27, according to Texomas Homepage, the digital news component of KFDX/KJTL News. He was charged with murder and was jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. The North Texas State Hospital is not a fun place to be. He couldnt participate in his normal activities, which unsettled him. He left this Earth, probably feeling very abandoned, Mandy said. Read more , High Performing in 1 Specialty & 17 Procedures/Conditions, UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX is nationally ranked in 9 adult specialties. An autopsy found he died of a ruptured spleen caused by blunt trauma to the abdomen. In this unit, sleeping rooms are limited to just two patients and all "stimuli" are muted: lights, colors, and sound all quieter than normal. At 235 lbs. There are classes on courtroom etiquette, courtroom personnel and job skills training. Twenty-six meet high U.S. News standards and are ranked in the state. Today it has fewer than 240. That's the case with the award-winning Pullitzer Prize-nominated author David Foster Wallace. ", The day after Clayton's death, Brad Love, a detective for the Wichita Falls Police Department, attended his autopsy. TEXAS - The Vernon Police Department (VPD) announced Thursday that residents in the area may see a significant presence of law . U.S. News has extensive information in each doctor's profile to help you find the best one for you. The exact circumstances around Justins death remain unclear. A spokeswoman for the city of Wichita Falls provided Love's interview transcripts to the Tribune but said she could not locate the other documents. To be nationally ranked in a specialty, a hospital must excel in caring for the sickest, most medically complex patients. She said shes been searching for answers since Sept. 18, the day a Texas Health and Human Services Commission employee called to relay the news. File a Joint Commission complaint. Ervin's brother Maxwell reportedly told jurors that the man thought his father was "an imposter" and that Alexander "was a trained member of the CIA on a mission to kill him.". Justin . By 1925, the name changed to Wichita Falls State Hospital, and the facility included a modern surgical operating room plus radiology, laboratory, electrotherapy and . The state also contracts with private and local psychiatric facilities to house patients with less complex cases, typically for shorter periods of time. "I recommend this case be closed / cleared as an accidental death," Love wrote. If you were in person with him, you could get a better idea of whats going on. On the night of Sept. 17, Justin was very agitated, according to a nursing observation report narrative. 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