In his campaign literature, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele touts his backing of the state Legislature-created Mental Health Board, an appointed board of health professionals that has oversight over the county’s Behavioral Health Division (BHD).
Since the middle of 2014, the elected Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors has had no say in the county’s mental health and substance abuse programs and budget. Now, the all-appointee Mental Health Board makes those decisions and reports solely to Abele. The Mental Health Board only allows public testimony at very few of its meetings and, as the Shepherd has detailed, gets most of its information from BHD administrators, who are Abele’s employees, the very people the board is supposed to oversee.
But is Abele allowing these health professionals to speak freely about BHD’s administration and practices?
That’s up for debate.
In fact, you can debate whether a new code of conduct adopted by the Mental Health Board is straight out of the old Soviet Union or current-day Iran because it appears to stifle public dissent—even among Mental Health Board members.
In December 2015, the Mental Health Board signed off on a new code of conduct for all BHD employees, members of the Mental Health Board, and professionals providing patient care or other services for BHD, including those with contracts with the county. The code of conduct includes lists of acceptable behavior and inappropriate behavior at board meetings, as well as behavior that “undermines a culture of safety.”
In general, that sounds like a good thing, especially when these professionals are caring for some of our community’s most vulnerable members. And the Joint Commission, which provides accreditation for hospitals, requires that hospitals establish a code of conduct that includes appropriate and inappropriate behavior. BHD lost its Joint Commission accreditation during the Scott Walker era, but is trying to win it back again.
Although a code of conduct sounds good on the surface, when you dig into the details the devil emerges. There are a few examples of “inappropriate behavior” that sources say goes too far and prohibits employees, board members and providers under contract from speaking honestly about BHD administration and practices.
|
|
Among the “inappropriate behavior” is “intentionally degrading or demeaning comments” about patients, their families, BHD employees “and/or the BHD, whether occurring within the BHD or in the community.” Also inappropriate is “personal sarcasm and cynicism.”
Sources tell the Shepherd that they’re concerned that the code of conduct prevents them from speaking out publicly about their concerns about BHD administration. They’re afraid that they will face retaliation if their expressed concerns are interpreted by management as inappropriate.
Perhaps even more troubling, the code of conduct also calls into question whether Mental Health Board members themselves are able to speak freely during board discussions.
On Saturday, state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D-Milwaukee) held a public listening session on mental health, which was full of heartfelt, courteous and honest testimony about the needs of Milwaukeeans who are living with a mental health issue or substance abuse.
Brostoff held the listening session because the Mental Health Board rarely allows public testimony at its meetings. And while county supervisors can hold public hearings on the county’s behavioral health services, they cannot act on their findings.
In fact, the Mental Health Board has gone so far to stifle public discussion that union rep Dennis Hughes was arrested at the board’s Dec. 17, 2015, meeting when he alleged that long-term patients being released from the psychiatric hospital were talking about abusing boys when they are placed into a group home on Uncas Avenue, posing an “imminent threat to public safety.” He was arrested because he spoke up peacefully when the board wouldn’t allow testimony during its meetings.
It was at that same meeting that the board signed off on the code of conduct that stifles debate.
Once again we have to ask, Chris Abele, what are you hiding?
