State closes Rice Lake
clinic
NORTHWEST COUNSELING AND
GUIDANCE CLINIC: The state
says the center failed to
address shortcomings found
after a girl's death there
in May.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICE LAKE, Wis.
- The clinic
where a 7-year-old girl was
fatally injured while being
restrained will lose its
state certification and
close for at least six
months.
The state told Northwest
Counseling and Guidance
Clinic officials in a letter
Friday that the clinic
failed to adequately address
shortcomings cited by the
state after the death of
Angellika Arndt in May. The
certification will be pulled
Aug. 15 and the clinic, in
Rice Lake, will lose all
county and state money.
The letter to Northwest
President Denison Tucker
said the facility did not
meet requirements outlined
in a plan of correction and
failed to address a
psychiatrist's
recommendations that the
clinic severely limit its
use of restraints.
The clinic can appeal but
the suspension will be in
effect during that process.
The state told the clinic it
must help the 11 youths at
the center find other
facilities. None of the 12
other centers operated by
Northwest will be affected.
Tucker said officials had
not yet decided whether they
would appeal. But he said
officials will work "to do
the things we need to do to
restore their trust in the
Rice Lake center."
"We are committed to that
mission and our goal is to
address their concerns as
quickly and practically as
possible," Tucker said.
Angellika had attended the
clinic's day treatment
center five days a week for
a month for behavioral
problems. She had been
restrained on nine
occasions, according to the
state report released June
22.
She died May 26, the day
after she was injured while
being restrained at the
center.
The Hennepin County medical
examiner ruled her death was
a homicide caused by
"complications of chest
compression asphyxiation"
leading to "cardiopulmonary
arrest while restrained by
another person."
A criminal investigation
into the girl's death by the
Rice Lake Police Department,
Barron County District
Attorney and the state
Justice Department is
expected to be finished in
the coming weeks.
The state gave the center 30
days to file a plan to
correct multiple violations
of state law, including the
law governing physical
restraint of clients.
The facility was required to
submit a plan by July 21
that would outline how it
would correct the violations
and make sure they weren't
repeated.
The Health and Family
Services Department also
advised clinic officials to
make use of recommendations
by consultant Dr. Randall
Cullen, who recommended that
officials severely limit
their use of restraints.
Department spokeswoman
Stephanie Marquis said the
clinic's certification will
be restored if the changes
are made in six months. But
the facility will remain
closed if the changes aren't
made, she said.
The state could make no
other comments because of
the criminal investigation,
she said.
Disability Rights of
Wisconsin, an advocacy
group, had called for the
center to be shut down
several weeks ago. The group
cited concerns for the other
children in treatment.
Angellika, according to a
state report, had been
diagnosed with reactive
attachment disorder, mood
disorder and attention
deficit with hyperactivity
disorder. She was born in
Milwaukee and became a ward
of the state after her
parents relinquished their
rights
