Vol. 4 No.1 - Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto

Phoenix Rising 7Andrew Zamora's death might well have been prevented ifdrugs were withheld until the results of the blood tests wereready. And he might also be alive today if the resuscitationequipment were nearby, complete, and in proper workingorder.A MESSAGE TO THE CLASS OF '82IF YOU LIKED SCHOOL ...WES DORSEY: Case PendingCharles Wesley Dorsey is the latest victim of psychiatry atSouth Beach. He died on October 27, 1982, at the age of 27,after being placed in a straitjacket and given sodiumamytal.In an article published by the Staten Island Advance, (6) alocal newspaper, Wes, as he was called, was described by acousin as a "quiet, gentle man" who appeared in goodhealth around the time he was admitted to South Beach PsychiatricCenter. This same cousin reported that Wes had beenmaking progress in combatting a "mild mental illness," butthat other members of his family had complained to SouthBeach personnel about "overmedication."According to hospital sources, Wes was put in a straitjacketafter he became "agitated" and struck a "therapist"(who was taken to Staten Island Hospital, treated, and laterreleased). Immediately after being placed in restraint, Weswas given a shot of sodium amy tal. According to twoanonymous staff members who spoke to the Staten IslandAdvance, Wes then began to hyperventilate. He died atSouth Beach ten minutes later, and was officially pronounceddead at Staten Island Hospital.Only a day later, New York State Mental Health CommissionerJames Prevost announced that he would convenean "independent panel of medical experts" to investigateWes Dorsey's death.(?) The panel will include an internist, apathologist, and psychiatrist from outside the state mentalhealth system.The medical examiner's office has completed an autopsywhich as of this writing (February, 1983) has not beenreleased. A routine police report has been prepared, butno one has yet been charged with any wrongdoing.Additionally, the Office of Mental Health and theCommission for the Quality of Care for the MentallyDisabled will also investigate Wes' death.Wes' parents, Charles and Minnie Dorsey, still do notknow why their son died. The Dorseys and their attorneys,Peter Cooper and Steve Bamundo,(8) have appeared ontelevision to try to pressure the medical examiner to releasethe autopsy. They are still waiting. And so are thecommissions, panels, and bureaus whose task it is toinvestigate psychiatric death.Earlier, in October 1982, the Health and Human ServicesAdministration of the federal government announced thatSouth Beach Psychiatric Center had become ineligible for $5million in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements due to"administrative deficiencies" uncovered by federalinvestigators after the first three of the South Beach Fourdied. (9) Some of the deficiencies listed were inadequatecontrols over drugs and the use of "unqualified individuals"to run some of the units. Despite the ample time SouthBeach had to remedy these problems - over a year - theyfailed to do so. Five million dollars is one-fifth of SouthBeach's operating budget for a year. On November 5th,1982, the cutoff became official(1O),but the center continuedto get payments for another 30 days to cover the cost of"patients" admitted before the cutoff was announced. WesDorsey died only a week before the funds were cut off.... YOU 'LL LOVE WORKWORK: A PRISON OF MEASUREDTlMESouth Beach Psychiatric Center, the "jewel of the statepsychiatric system," has one major flaw: the public knowswhat goes on there. They know about the forced druggings,the straitjackets and bed nettings, the heat, and the callousneglect. This is the legacy of the South Beach Four - publicawareness. But how long will it take for the public to forget?ALLEN S.: The Martyr ofManhattan StateThe story of Allen S.(II) makes the previous seven pale bycomparison. Allen wasn't "victimized" or "abused." He wasMURDERED. The most remarkable thing is not that hedied, but that it took a variety of things to kill him. An"average" individual would not have survived what Allendid for so long. Allen was extraordinary in this regard.Allen's story begins with a degree in English literaturefrom a college in the City University of New York, and jobat the New York Public Library from 1967-1973. Not toomuch else has been revealed about his background exceptthat he was never married and that he had a psychiatrichistory stretching back to 1965. From 1972-1978 he was anoutpatient at the Vanderbilt Clinic of the Columbia­Presbyterian Medical Center. In June 1978 he was admittedto the Psychiatric Institute of Columbia-Presbyterian afterbeing treated for self-inflicted stab wounds in the chest.