Popular on TelAve
- IRF Builders Forum Brings Global Leaders to Washington, D.C. to Advance Religious Freedom Through Cooperative Engagement
- The ITeam Ranked on Channel Partners 2025 MSP 501—Tech Industry's Most Prestigious List of Managed Service Providers Worldwide
- Keepy Uppy™ by Ollyball Wins Prestigious 2025 Influencer Award from Clamour & The Toy Association; Announces Fall 2025 Launch at Target Stores
- Colorado Scenthound Locations Partner with Humane Colorado to Give Adopted Dogs a "Clean Start"
- databahn Launches GenAI Sales Intelligence Platform to Revolutionize Fortune 500 and Global 2000 Account Research
- NYC Leadership Strategist Stacie Selise Launches Groundbreaking 4S Framework Series to Redefine Executive Excellence
- TCAA Welcomes Adolfo Gomez Sanchez to Its Family of Talented Speakers
- Shop American Made Goods: New Online Marketplace My American Goods Curates the Best of U.S. Made
- Spartan & Guardians Partner with Guitar Legend Buckethead to Support Global Child Rescue Efforts
- IQSTEL Surges Toward $400M Run Rate with $101.5M in Revenue—Reinforces Billion-Dollar Vision Backed by Fintech, AI, and Cybersecurity
Similar on TelAve
- Pixel Studio Productions Launches Same-Day Headshots in Houston
- California Family Launches Billboard to Reach "Pardon Czar" Alice Marie Johnson
- Sumter Landing Dental Care Launches Summer Special on Full Mouth Reconstruction
- WonderDays Launches the UK's First AI Experience Gift Finder – Gifting Just Got So Much Easier!
- CelluHeal™ Launches Full Line of Advanced Wound Dressings for Online Purchase in the USA, Canada, and Beyond
- Dr. Harmon Completes Prestigious Zygomatic Implant Residency in Brazil
- Iterators LLC Honored with IST82 State Award for Accessibility in Massachusetts
- Josh & Heidi Share Upcoming "Spreading the Good BUZZ" Podcast Guests, Select Top Five Elopement Locations as Their Instagram Presence Grows Globally
- Ironside HR Named Fastest-Growing Staffing Firm for Second Year
- Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies Celebrates New DBH Graduates
Hawaii Bill Marks Progress in Protecting Patients From Dangerous Restraint Practices
TelAve News/10853833
As the nation observes Black History Month, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights highlights racial disparities in restraint-related deaths and advocates for legislative change to protect vulnerable patients.
LOS ANGELES - TelAve -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International commends the introduction of a new bill in Hawaii that prohibits the use of life-threatening restraints and seclusion in psychiatric hospitals, particularly for minors and vulnerable adults. This bill, introduced by Representative Elijah Pierick, sets a vital precedent for other U.S. states to follow, aiming to protect patients from traumatic and often lethal restraint practices.[1]
CCHR underscores the importance of this legislation during Black History Month, spotlighting the alarming over-representation of racial minorities among those subjected to restraints and seclusion in the mental health system. The bill only permits the use of restraint in rare instances where there is an immediate risk of harm to the patient or others, and only after less intrusive measures have been attempted.
A 2011 report found that African Americans were disproportionately affected by restraint-related deaths, making up 22% of the studied deaths while only comprising 13% of the U.S. population. In addition, Black and multiracial patients are more likely to experience restraints, often for longer periods, than their white peers.[2] In 2021, a study of adults receiving an emergency psychiatric evaluation between January 1, 2014, and September 18, 2020, at a large academic medical center revealed Black patients continued to be at higher risk of experiencing physical or chemical restraint compared with White patients.[3]
Responding to high numbers of restraint deaths, in 2020, CCHR formed its Task Force Against Racism and Modern-Day Eugenics, led by Reverend Frederick Shaw, aimed at ending physical and chemical restraint deaths, particularly prevalent among minority communities.
More on TelAve News
This followed the death of a 16-year-old African American boy after being restrained in the now-closed residential behavioral facility for teens in Michigan. The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner's office determined the death was a homicide and three staff were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse—all pleading guilty.[4]
Two years later, another shocking tragedy was the death of a 7-year-old foster care child who was restrained and killed at a psychiatric residential center in Louisville, Kentucky on July 17, 2022. In September, the medical examiner also ruled that death a homicide.[5]
Their deaths underscored the urgent need for legislative action because, despite the clear risks, the practice of using seclusion and mechanical restraints remains common in psychiatric facilities. A 2023 report from Psychiatric Services issued a call for regulatory action to end these practices due to the significant trauma and potential for lethal outcomes, including asphyxiation and cardiac events.[6] This call is answered by Rep. Pierick's proposed bill, which aims to curb restraint use by implementing stronger safeguards and making these methods a last resort.
Studies such as the one about the Pennsylvania State Hospital System, which successfully eliminated the use of restraints and seclusion across multiple hospitals between 2011 and 2020, show that it is possible to improve patient safety while phasing out these harmful practices. The 2022 study of experience, published in Psychiatry Online, examined the effect of this change on key safety measures: physical restraint, assaults, aggression, and self-injurious behavior. It found key safety metrics improved, including a significant reduction in restraint duration and incidents of physical restraint.[7]
Global Momentum Against Restraint Practices
CCHR supports a nationwide movement to eliminate physical and chemical restraints, advocating for the passage of similar legislation in all states.
Globally, the call to end restraint practices is growing. In October 2023, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued guidance emphasizing the severe harm caused by coercive psychiatric practices, including restraints.[8] These organizations join CCHR in advocating for an absolute ban on all coercive measures, including restraint and forced detention in mental hospitals.
More on TelAve News
CCHR is committed to seeing Rep. Pierick's bill become law in Hawaii and to replicate similar legislative efforts across the U.S. to protect vulnerable patients.
The group, which was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and eminent professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, was one of the groups that were instrumental in obtaining federal regulatory reforms regarding restraints. However, CCHR International's President, Jan Eastgate, says a greater unified movement is still needed to prevent further deaths and trauma within the psychiatric system.
Sources:
[1] trackbill.com/bill/hawaii-house-bill-1394-restraint-seclusion-minors-vulnerable-adults-hospitals-medical-facilities/2638204/
[2] www.cchrint.org/2022/06/29/us-could-learn-from-reform-of-coercive-mental-health-practices/; "National Review of Restraint Related Deaths of Children and Adults with Disabilities: The Lethal Consequences of Restraint," Equip for Equality, 2011, www.equipforequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/National-Review-of-Restraint-Related-Deaths-of-Adults-and-Children-with-Disabilities-The-Lethal-Consequences-of-Restraint.pdf; "Race-Based Disparities in the Frequency and Duration of Restraint Use in a Psychiatric Inpatient Setting," Psychiatric Services, 1 Apr. 2024, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37855100/
[3] Colin M. Smith, et al., "Association of Black Race With Physical and Chemical Restraint Use Among Patients Undergoing Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation," Psychiatry Online, 21 Dec. 2021, psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100474
[4] www.cchrint.org/2024/05/31/journal-urges-its-time-to-regulate-troubled-teen-behavioral-programs/
[5] Deborah Yetter, "7-year-old died at Kentucky youth treatment center due to suffocation, autopsy finds; 2 workers fired," Louisville Courier-Journal, 19 Sept. 2022, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/19/death-child-jaceon-terry-brooklawn-kentucky-youth-center/10428004002/
[6] "Toward the Cessation of Seclusion and Mechanical Restraint Use in Psychiatric Hospitals: A Call for Regulatory Action," Psychiatric Services, Jan. 2024,
psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100538
[7] Gregory M. Smith, "Effects of Ending the Use of Seclusion and Mechanical Restraint in the Pennsylvania State Hospital System, 2011–2020," Psychiatry Online, 20 July 2022, psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202200004
[8] "Mental health, human rights and legislation," World Health Organization and United Nations, www.who.int/publications/b/70051
CCHR underscores the importance of this legislation during Black History Month, spotlighting the alarming over-representation of racial minorities among those subjected to restraints and seclusion in the mental health system. The bill only permits the use of restraint in rare instances where there is an immediate risk of harm to the patient or others, and only after less intrusive measures have been attempted.
A 2011 report found that African Americans were disproportionately affected by restraint-related deaths, making up 22% of the studied deaths while only comprising 13% of the U.S. population. In addition, Black and multiracial patients are more likely to experience restraints, often for longer periods, than their white peers.[2] In 2021, a study of adults receiving an emergency psychiatric evaluation between January 1, 2014, and September 18, 2020, at a large academic medical center revealed Black patients continued to be at higher risk of experiencing physical or chemical restraint compared with White patients.[3]
Responding to high numbers of restraint deaths, in 2020, CCHR formed its Task Force Against Racism and Modern-Day Eugenics, led by Reverend Frederick Shaw, aimed at ending physical and chemical restraint deaths, particularly prevalent among minority communities.
More on TelAve News
- Rent Like A Champion Acquires CollegeWeekends
- Sumter Landing Dental Care Launches Summer Special on Full Mouth Reconstruction
- Seligson Law Launches New Website to Support Cannabis Businesses in California and New York
- databahn Announces Subscription Access to Fortune 500 GenAI Deep Dive Sales Intelligence Reports
- AI startup Congero offers instant websites with 24/7 updates - aiming to replace web agencies
This followed the death of a 16-year-old African American boy after being restrained in the now-closed residential behavioral facility for teens in Michigan. The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner's office determined the death was a homicide and three staff were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse—all pleading guilty.[4]
Two years later, another shocking tragedy was the death of a 7-year-old foster care child who was restrained and killed at a psychiatric residential center in Louisville, Kentucky on July 17, 2022. In September, the medical examiner also ruled that death a homicide.[5]
Their deaths underscored the urgent need for legislative action because, despite the clear risks, the practice of using seclusion and mechanical restraints remains common in psychiatric facilities. A 2023 report from Psychiatric Services issued a call for regulatory action to end these practices due to the significant trauma and potential for lethal outcomes, including asphyxiation and cardiac events.[6] This call is answered by Rep. Pierick's proposed bill, which aims to curb restraint use by implementing stronger safeguards and making these methods a last resort.
Studies such as the one about the Pennsylvania State Hospital System, which successfully eliminated the use of restraints and seclusion across multiple hospitals between 2011 and 2020, show that it is possible to improve patient safety while phasing out these harmful practices. The 2022 study of experience, published in Psychiatry Online, examined the effect of this change on key safety measures: physical restraint, assaults, aggression, and self-injurious behavior. It found key safety metrics improved, including a significant reduction in restraint duration and incidents of physical restraint.[7]
Global Momentum Against Restraint Practices
CCHR supports a nationwide movement to eliminate physical and chemical restraints, advocating for the passage of similar legislation in all states.
Globally, the call to end restraint practices is growing. In October 2023, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued guidance emphasizing the severe harm caused by coercive psychiatric practices, including restraints.[8] These organizations join CCHR in advocating for an absolute ban on all coercive measures, including restraint and forced detention in mental hospitals.
More on TelAve News
- WonderDays Launches the UK's First AI Experience Gift Finder – Gifting Just Got So Much Easier!
- CelluHeal™ Launches Full Line of Advanced Wound Dressings for Online Purchase in the USA, Canada, and Beyond
- Nonprofit innovator named Mensa Executive Director
- Yasmine Roulleau named Managing Director in Vancouver, Canada
- Chasing Elizabeth Taylor — The Dazzling True Story Behind the Queen of Diamonds Now Available in Limited-Edition Hardcover
CCHR is committed to seeing Rep. Pierick's bill become law in Hawaii and to replicate similar legislative efforts across the U.S. to protect vulnerable patients.
The group, which was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and eminent professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, was one of the groups that were instrumental in obtaining federal regulatory reforms regarding restraints. However, CCHR International's President, Jan Eastgate, says a greater unified movement is still needed to prevent further deaths and trauma within the psychiatric system.
Sources:
[1] trackbill.com/bill/hawaii-house-bill-1394-restraint-seclusion-minors-vulnerable-adults-hospitals-medical-facilities/2638204/
[2] www.cchrint.org/2022/06/29/us-could-learn-from-reform-of-coercive-mental-health-practices/; "National Review of Restraint Related Deaths of Children and Adults with Disabilities: The Lethal Consequences of Restraint," Equip for Equality, 2011, www.equipforequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/National-Review-of-Restraint-Related-Deaths-of-Adults-and-Children-with-Disabilities-The-Lethal-Consequences-of-Restraint.pdf; "Race-Based Disparities in the Frequency and Duration of Restraint Use in a Psychiatric Inpatient Setting," Psychiatric Services, 1 Apr. 2024, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37855100/
[3] Colin M. Smith, et al., "Association of Black Race With Physical and Chemical Restraint Use Among Patients Undergoing Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation," Psychiatry Online, 21 Dec. 2021, psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100474
[4] www.cchrint.org/2024/05/31/journal-urges-its-time-to-regulate-troubled-teen-behavioral-programs/
[5] Deborah Yetter, "7-year-old died at Kentucky youth treatment center due to suffocation, autopsy finds; 2 workers fired," Louisville Courier-Journal, 19 Sept. 2022, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/19/death-child-jaceon-terry-brooklawn-kentucky-youth-center/10428004002/
[6] "Toward the Cessation of Seclusion and Mechanical Restraint Use in Psychiatric Hospitals: A Call for Regulatory Action," Psychiatric Services, Jan. 2024,
psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100538
[7] Gregory M. Smith, "Effects of Ending the Use of Seclusion and Mechanical Restraint in the Pennsylvania State Hospital System, 2011–2020," Psychiatry Online, 20 July 2022, psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202200004
[8] "Mental health, human rights and legislation," World Health Organization and United Nations, www.who.int/publications/b/70051
Source: Citizens Commission on Human Rights
0 Comments
Latest on TelAve News
- ICAST 2025: The Crystal-Clear Revolution Begins at Booth #3233
- Brindle Pet Supplies Now Carries Badlands Ranch Dog Food in Canada
- $10 Million Allocated to Establish Crypto Treasury Focused on High Value Ethereum (ETH) & Bitcoin (BTC) as Long-Term Holdings for Cybersecurity Leader
- Sing For Your Supper: A Night of Musical Comedy and Drag for a Great Cause
- Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies Celebrates New DBH Graduates
- $100 to $200 Million Equity Agreement with Top Digital Advisor Bitwise to Power Major Digital Asset Initiative for Bitcoin and Solana: OFA Group
- New Collaboration Launches Corporate ESG Solution for Responsible Decommissioning and Transparent Reporting
- SlickCashLoan Launches Free Loan Calculator to Help You Plan Monthly Payments
- Cellhire boosts its EE offering via deal with BT Wholesale's Complete Mobile
- 24/7 customizable AI answering service from Kell Web Solutions, Inc. helps businesses never miss a customer call, lead, or appointment again
- TikTok Star ArcadeFriends Attempts 24-Hour Claw Machine Marathon at Lucky Puppy Arcade in Las Vegas
- Next-generation virtual receptionist service leverages AI to ensure every customer call and text is answered, enhancing efficiency and engagem
- New AI-Powered Platform from Kell Web Solutions Delivers 24/7 Professional, Automated Call Handling and Appointment Scheduling
- Pyro Marketing Launches New Website to Accelerate Growth for Fitness Brands
- KCON LA 2025, 106.3 RAIN FM 'Take Over' Special Event
- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights Annual Purple Heart Day Event will be Hosted at the Historic Fort Harrison
- Blake Harris the Leading Authority in International Asset Protection Joins Tom Hegna on "Financial Freedom with Tom Hegna"
- Psychedelics for Vets? CCHR Cites History of Exploitation and Failed Science
- GreenPal Empowers Lawn Care Pros Leveraging AI, Surpasses 5 Million Transactions
- Santa Monica Businesses Push Back on Bus Stop Relocation That Threatens Access and Safety