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Officials probe
death of woman
in county jail
    SCHENECTADY — Authorities are investigating the case of a 27-year-old female Schenectady County Jail inmate who died Wednesday.
    The woman was found unresponsive in her jail cell at about 8 a.m., according to Sheriff Dominic Dagostino.
    “It appears that she was in cardiac arrest,” he said. “CPR was administered by medics. She was transported to Ellis Hospital.”
    The woman was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m. Her name is not being released pending notifi cation of next of kin.
    She had been at the jail since Saturday and had been taken to Ellis Hospital on two previous occasions and sent back to the facility. Dagostino could not discuss further details. ...............>>>>...............>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....ppName=1  

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Woman who died in county jail was Conn. resident

    SCHENECTADY — The Schenectady County Sheriff’s Offi ce has identified the woman who died in the county jail on Wednesday as Connecticut resident Latisha Mason.
    According to a bulletin from the Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, the 27-year-old Mason was from South Norwalk, Conn.
    She had been taken into custody by the police after she was accused of attempted robbery at the Subway restaurant on State Street last Friday. Mason is alleged to have remained inside the facility after closing and refused to leave and give up a phone that belonged to the restaurant, according to papers fi led in court.
    On Wednesday morning, Mason was discovered unresponsive in her jail cell around 8 a.m., according to Sheriff Dominic Dagostino.
    “It appears that she was in cardiac arrest,” he said. He said CPR was administered by medics and she was transported to Ellis Hospital. Mason was pronounced dead an hour after she was discovered.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01300&AppName=1

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Report faults jail, Ellis in death
Woman was taken to hospital 5 times
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Latisha Mason was first brought to Ellis Hospital after she was found collapsed and confused in a snowbank one evening in early February 2011.
    When first hospitalized, the 28-year-old dental hygienist and single mother from Connecticut tested positive for a toxic cocktail of substances, including PCP and marijuana. But after less than two hours under observation, she was released into the night.
    Over the next four days, the highly erratic Mason would bounce between the custody of the Schenectady County jail and Ellis, returning to the hospital on five separate occasions. The sixth time, she was pronounced dead.
    Mason’s tragic tale is outlined in a scathing preliminary report produced by the state Commission of Correction in April and obtained by The Daily Gazette this week. Among other fi ndings, the report determined that Ellis improperly discharged a psychotic and intoxicated patient to the jail, which was known to be “manifestly incapable” of caring for her.
    The report found Ellis failed to provide any psychiatric care to Mason during her intermittent four-day stay at the jail, despite the hospital’s contract to provide mental health services to inmates. Even when Mason was evaluated and treated at the hospital, she received only the level of care provided by social workers, according to the report.
    “Due to Mason’s frank psychotic symptoms and persistent altered mental status over four days, a psychiatric examination was warranted and failure to provide one represents inadequate mental health care by Ellis Hospital,” states the preliminary report, which was issued in mid-April.
    The report also recommends the state Department of Health conduct an investigation into the care that was afforded Mason and whether the hospital clinicians engaged in professional misconduct by releasing her without clearly identifying a line of care. The findings also support Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino’s decision to fire a corrections officer who failed to provide emergency care to Mason when she was found unresponsive the morning of her death.
    The report is due to be publicly released by the state Commission of Correction later this month.
    Meanwhile, county offi cials are considering a change to the county’s more-than-20-year relationship with Ellis to provide the jail’s mental health services. County offi cials may give the jail’s mental health services contract to Correctional Medical Care, a private, Pennsylvania-based company already providing its medical services.
    “Is there a possibility for a change? Absolutely there is,” County Attorney Chris Gardner said. “But it’s not resulting from one specifi c action.”
    Ellis spokeswoman Donna Evans said the hospital conducted an internal investigation immediately following Mason’s death and subsequently reviewed her medical records upon receiving the preliminary report. She said Ellis is unaware of any ongoing investigation by the Health Department and is standing by the actions taken by its physicians in the days leading up to Mason’s death.
    “Based upon our internal investigation and subsequent review, Ellis has taken those steps necessary and appropriate to address any identified opportunities to improve its processes, none of which would have altered the clinical outcome in this case,” she said Friday.
    Health Department offi cials said they are not currentl;y investigating Mason’s death.
    “We have not received a complaint about the incident, and therefore we have not conducted an investigation,” said Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the state agency.
    Calls placed to Correctional Medical Care were not returned Friday.
    Based on the 11-page report, authorities aren’t sure why Mason came to Schenectady or how long she had been in the city before she was found in the snowbank around 8 p.m. on Feb. 3. She was taken to Ellis and later released with orders to follow up with a medical provider and seek out drug detoxifi cation.
    About seven hours later, Schenectady police were called to remove Mason from the floor of an area hotel. She was again brought to Ellis, given anti-anxiety medication and released later in the morning.
    About 12 hours after that, Schenectady police were again called, this time to a Subway restaurant on State Street that was closing for the evening but could not persuade Mason to leave.
    Police said Mason attempted to assault a store employee with a coffee pot, then fought with officers when they tried to take her into custody.
BIZARRE BEHAVIOR
    By 10:40 p.m. on Feb. 4, Mason’s bizarre behavior prompted offi cers to send her back to Ellis. After four hours at the hospital, she was diagnosed as being intoxicated and released back into the custody of police.
    Mason was disruptive enough at the Schenectady Police Department’s lockup that a city court judge arraigned her in a jail cell on Feb 5, according to the report. She was formally charged with burglary, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration and sent to the Schenectady County jail without bail.
    Upon arrival at the jail, Mason’s combative behavior continued enough that corrections officers subdued her with pepper spray. She received treatment from the jail’s medical staff and was later assessed by a nurse, who acknowledged her findings were limited due to Mason’s continued combative behavior.
    Physicians and nurses at the jail continued to monitor Mason throughout the day on Feb. 6 but never completed a full intake assessment, in accordance with their own policies, according to the commission report. By the following afternoon, her behavior became more bizarre — at one point, she wrapped herself in a blanket and cradled her folded corrections gown like an infant.
    Mason became more despondent in her cell, refusing both food and drink. A physician from the jail was advised of her condition and ordered her to be sent to Ellis for evaluation.
    By the time Mason arrived at the hospital at 11 p.m. on Feb. 7, she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in two days. After receiving some treatment and intravenous fluids, she was discharged back to the jail.
    “The baseless discharge from Ellis Hospital of a combative, uncommunicative, intoxicated patient with frank psychotic symptoms without an adequate discharge plan to a facility manifestly incapable of caring for her represents grossly and flagrantly inadequate medical care by Ellis Hospital,” the report concluded.
    Over the course of the next day, Mason’s addled condition didn’t improve and a corrections offi cer summoned an Ellis social worker to assess her condition, the report states. The social worker determined she was suffering from psychosis and suggested she would likely require inpatient hospitalization. At the time, Mason couldn’t identify what month it was or say where she was.
    She was then brought to Ellis for a fifth time to secure medical clearance in order to be taken to the Central New York Psychiatric Center in Oneida County. But the center refused to take her because she tested positive for PCP (the animal anesthetic Phencyclidine, or angel dust).
    Ellis physicians attempted to have her admitted as a psychiatric inpatient, but the hospital’s regulations prohibited her from staying because she was charged with a felony offense. Eight hours after she arrived at Ellis, she was brought back to the jail.
FINAL HOURS
    Mason’s final hours of life were spent in a dazed and despondent state, and she occasionally paced in her jail cell. A corrections offi cer trying to rouse her for breakfast around 7:50 a.m. on Feb. 9 noticed she was sleeping and unresponsive.
    The corrections officer summoned a nurse for the woman, but failed to alert superiors of any medical emergency. The offi cer also prevented nurses from entering the cell until they declared an emergency nearly 10 minutes after they arrived.
    Mason was brought to Ellis at 8:30 a.m. and pronounced dead about a half-hour later. The report does not cite a cause of death. ...................................>>>>...............................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00101&AppName=1

This was a human being in desperate need of help.....and this is what the system does.....what a tragedy....now, if this person was a "friend" or relative of

a high official....bet this wouldn't have happened.....too many times this is the case ,..everyone deserves the same

care but unfortunately, it's the norm and not the exception..... mental health is on the back burner.......too many questions.....no answers....

but, COULD BE  some of these professionals  in mental health....probably need an psycho exam themselves.....bandaid the problem.....yell ....  NEXT ??

Sounds like an 'equal opportunity' jail/hospital...eh?

Just what the taxpayers need.....another law suit to pay for!!

I wonder what medical issue was also going on ex. cardiac condition, sugar diabetes etc.?

Important stuff for the campaign flyer- "we got a dangerous criminal off the street!"

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

Important stuff for the campaign flyer- "we got a dangerous criminal off the street!"

speaking of campaign flyers county legislator Santabarbara was kind enough to enclose one in my morning paper................................message to aforementioned legislator: Hey dimwit!!! Keep your freakin' garbage out of my morning paper!!!!! Moron!!!

Ya, don't impose your politics on me either

Quoted from 1251

speaking of campaign flyers county legislator Santabarbara was kind enough to enclose one in my morning paper................................message to aforementioned legislator: Hey dimwit!!! Keep your freakin' garbage out of my morning paper!!!!! Moron!!!

I bet he paid the delvery man to stick it in there

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

I bet he paid the delvery man to stick it in there

I wouldn't doubt it.........the regular person is on vacation..............this is a sub.........and I'm pretty sure because of how it was enclosed that the gazette didn't put it there..................hey does he have a paper route now that he lost his job???  

because ALOT of psyche stuff IS 'magic'.....drugs/assessments etc are only used to make folks behave like the rest.....never really knowing most of the time what the heck is happening to the brain.
just like the universe it's one place mankind has failed to master.

Psychiatric medication "causes" diabetes, cardiac problems and weight gain.  Those on mental health drugs die 25 years earlier than the national average.

I wonder why is it she is not responsible for doing the illegal drugs?  She did play a role in what happened.  Ellis didn't cause it.  The jail didn't cause it but both do have  a responsibility to provide quality care under all circumstances but that woman sure seems like an extreme case.

I personally know of one case that I was there with a friend.  Came in with what appeared to be serious physical symptoms they have extensive long term physical
health concerns since a youngster.  The doctor did the whole evaluation which the person gave their medical history since it was serious that the medical staff be aware
of it.  They ended the evaluation by mentioning the week before they had been in the hospital for depression all due to their medical condition.  The doctor immediately says "oh the depression is the cause of this" and he literally walked away.  A few days later the person returned to the ER with serious symptoms again and they were
immediately put in the medical side of the hospital.  So ER's treat people less than if there is any record or mention of anything related to mental health.  Heaven help our troops coming home with major depression and end up in an ER in crisis until they can get connected with VA hospital services..

Ellis Hospital has been cutting back on Mental Health services something fierce the past year and half while they make plans to build a muti-million dollar garage.

They have pulled staff out of the mental health side of the ER and maybe this wouldn't have happened if they hadn't I don't know.

Ellis is horrible when it comes to giving any support to the mental health service they provide.  The reason why?  They are losing money big time because
their clientele is mostly those on Medicaid and Medicaid pays peanuts. So from a business sense it makes sense.  Why don't they just get out of the mental health
business let county mental health services for the poor go private where there may be an improvement in services offered.  Then again, be wary what you wish for.

The waits are long to get mental health services in our county if you are poor and have to use public mental health services.

Cel YUP

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So ER's treat people less than if there is any record or mention of anything related to mental health.

I went to the ER last year with pressure in my chest and feeling weak. As soon as they heard I'm on xanax they said "your having a panic attack"  I told them no way because I've had panic attacks since high school and this was different.

They tried to dismiss it, thankfully they had taken blood. come to find out my potassium was very low and causing the heart issues.

Before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I would see a certain neurologist here in Sch'dy he wrote that my symptoms changed and that it was "all in my head"  Well yes the lesions were  

Sadly and mainly with woman we are told it's anxiety, stress etc etc.

They take mens symptoms much more seriously. I don't know why as we can have heart disease ...

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Care at Ellis cited in death
Female county jail inmate received "flagrantly" poor care, state report alleges
By Lauren Stanforth
Published 09:12 p.m., Monday, June 18, 2012

SCHENECTADY — A 28-year-old Connecticut woman who was high on marijuana and PCP received "grossly and flagrantly inadequate medical care" at Ellis Hospital in the days before she died last year at the county jail, according to a damning preliminary state report on the case.

Latisha Mason of Norwalk, Conn., was found not breathing and in cardiac arrest in her cell at the jail on the morning of Feb. 9, 2011, after being seen by Ellis' emergency room staff five times in the six days for substance abuse and erratic behavior.

A Schenectady County correction officer was subsequently fired for not immediately calling for medical assistance when it appeared Mason was unconscious in her cell.

The state Commission of Correction report dated April 17, which was obtained by the Times Union, details the circumstances surrounding Mason's death.

Mason was first transported to Ellis Hospital Feb. 3 after being found passed out in a snowbank. The hospital tested her urine, which indicated she was high on marijuana and phencyclidine (PCP). Mason was released with orders to seek out a detox program. She was admitted again to the hospital hours later after being found on the floor of a local hotel, according to the state report............................>>>>......................>>>>........................Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Care-at-Ellis-cited-in-death-3643009.php#ixzz1yEU0MRlv