Disability Rights Arkansas

United Methodist Children's Home Little Rock

*Photos taken by DRA staff during onsite monitoring visits. Photos reflect the most recent conditions observed by DRA staff but may not reflect the current conditions at the facility. If you are associated with a facility and have updated information or photos you would like to share, please contact DRA at [email protected]

Methodist Children’s Home operates multiple programs on a single campus. Police responses to this campus often do not identify the program they are responding to. All reports plausibly related to the PRTF or Qualified Residential Treatment Program/Group Home (QRTP) have been included here. Where we can be certain the response was to the QRTP it is noted.

Location: Little Rock, AR                   Population Served: Children and adolescents in need of out of home psychiatric care in a residential setting

# of residents per unit: 20 Residents per room: 1 Capacity: 40

Contact with family (Calls and visit schedule): Clients have regularly scheduled phone call opportunities. The number of actual calls depends on the clients wish to utilize these opportunities. In person visitation (assuming no quarantine precautions) is available every weekend and can be scheduled at other times as needed by the family or guardian.

Restraint utilized? Yes Chemical Restraint utilized? Yes Seclusion utilized? Yes

Treatment Components:

Clinical Director: LCSW                    Therapists: 1 full-time therapist (LCSW)

Treatment modalities offered: Facility declined to identify any specific treatment modalities available

# of individual therapy sessions/week: Minimum 1 per week scheduled. May vary upon the treatment plan of the client.

# of group therapy sessions led by a licensed mental health professional/week: Minimum of 1 with 2 preferred.

UMCH LR Report (combined)

Photo Appendix to report

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Police Report

Property Damage

Officer responded to the facility for a disturbance involving several juvenile males that were destroying property. Contact was made with all juvenile suspects, J1 – J6. They were compliant and were taken to the nurse’s station as requested by employees. Staff provided all juvenile information. Contact was made with a staff member who advised she was spit on by J1 and was hurt by a door being forced open by the juvenile suspects.

Staff advised they have a legal team for damage restitution through the parents per their sign-in forms for the facility. Staff were provided the incident number and advised to contact the prosecutor’s office for charges. Several walls were damaged from being kicked in by the juvenile suspects, along with two keycard sensors that were ripped off the walls by the juveniles.

PRLU or OLTC

Maltreatment, Notice of Incident, Visit Compliance Report

Client reported during her individual session that Staff 1 came into the bathroom with her, and that they were initially “joking around” by throwing tissues at each other but then Staff 1 tried to put her head into the toilet. Client stated that she was trying to “fight against” staff but the staff member was successful in putting client’s hand into the toilet. Client stated that she “somehow ended up on the floor with a split lip” and reported that the Staff 1 told her not to tell what happened because it would get her in trouble and to inform the nurses that she fell and split her lip. Client reported that during the altercation, Staff 2 closed the bathroom door and informed other clients that “they did not need to see this.”

Client also reported another incident that occurred on 02/26/24, in which Staff 2 “threw her on the ground and was on top of her,” threw a shoe at her, and was pushing and hitting her during the altercation.

  • During camera review of the bathroom, client and staff are observed horse playing around. Staff does follow the client into the bathroom as other staff is in the foyer and at the door of the bathroom. You can hear but not see the client and staff laughing and joking. Staff had poor boundaries and was instructed that this can not happen moving forward. Facility has not found any evidence of the “busted lip” reported to nurse.
  • During camera review of the next incident, client is observed yelling and cursing at staff after her guardian phone call. Staff redirected client about behavior, and client threw a shoe at staff. Staff picked up the shoe and took it into the BI office.

Licensing Specialist Chelsea Vardell reviewed camera footage for both incidents and requested nursing notes. No concerns were noted.

The CACD case was found unsubstantiated. The Licensing complaint was unfounded. Both staff involved received individual in-service retraining on CPI techniques. Staff can be removed from their ICA and return to normal job duties.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client received an x-ray on 2/28/24 due to pain in right toes. Client reported to Nurse Brittany, that he hit his foot/toe while playing yesterday. Client is unable to recall exactly what he did when he hurt his toe and just remembers bumping it on something. The findings of the x-ray results were no acute fractures or dislocation.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident, Self-Harm

Client got upset and began to hit windows and doors. After hitting the items, the client’s hand became swollen. An x-ray was ordered that evening and found that he had angulated deformity of the distal shaft of the fifth metacarpus (broke his pinky). Client was sent to Arkansas Children’s Hospital for a soft ace bandage cast. Client was placed on Assault Precautions and Line of Sight 24/7.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident, Self-Harm

Client began to punch the wall out of anger. He came out of his room and was still upset but was able to calm down. An x-ray was ordered and the results are: Normal with no acute hand fracture or dislocation. Client will be placed on Suicide Precautions.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client was in the gym playing a basketball game with some of his peers. Client and peer were going for the rebound when they collided into each other, falling on the floor. Client complained of right knee pain. The doctor was called and ordered for client to be transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital for evaluation. Client was transported by MEMS and released at 3:19 pm. The ER did not find any fracture on the x-ray and the diagnosis was most likely deep bruise.

PRLU or OLTC

Maltreatment, Notice of Incident, Visit Compliance Report

On 2/6/24, client was spitting on staff repeatedly. After reviewing video from 2/6/24, staff was observed to use inappropriate crisis management. Staff reacted poorly after being spit on several times by resident. Staff pulled resident off the couch and held the resident down. A hotline call was placed and accepted for investigation.

Licensing Specialist: Kendra Rice.

Licensing visited facility 2/12/24 and reviewed camera footage and requested documentation of staff member’s suspension. Resident was placed on 60K Focus and assault precautions.

  • Facility cited for standard 905.4g: It appeared that staff member grabbed at resident due to resident’s behavior.

Licensing founded this complaint. The CACD case was found unsubstantiated. On 3/14/24, the facility provided training documentation for staff member mentioned in the incident and the ICA was approved to be lifted on 3/15/24.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident, Suicide Attempt, Visit Compliance Report

Client got upset and walked out of the classroom. Two staff members present did not follow. Client wrapped his red sweater around his neck and started pulling it tight. He then began coughing, his airway was not obstructed. Shawanda Martin intervened by taking the sweater from around his neck.

Licensing Specialist Kendra Rice reviewed camera footage on 2/12/24. No concerns noted.

PRLU or OLTC

Elopement, Notice of Incident, Visit Compliance Report

Client eloped out of the building at 8:24am. After staff stepped in the office, client picked up a chair and entered a peer’s room down the hallway. The fire alarm then started going off. Client then put the chair down and walked to the exit door and down the stairs to the first floor and out of the building. The peer got up and reported to staff that client went out of the door. The nurse ran down the hall to look for the client, and other staff assist. Client did not leave off campus. She returned to the front door at 8:27am and rang the doorbell. The therapist escorted her back to the unit.

Licensing Specialist: Kendra Rice.

2/12/2024, Program Coordinator reviewed camera footage. Facility reported they will work with maintenance to prevent future incidents of this nature when drills are being conducted.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client complained of hand pain after playing in the gym. An x-ray was ordered. Results revealed no abnormalities or dislocation.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client was playing in the gym. X-ray was ordered on left knee due to client complaining of knee pain and having palpable knot on the lower part of his knee with increased warmth and some possible swelling. Results came back and are: No acute fracture or effusion, but did show fragmentation along the tibial tuberosity with mild overlying soft tissue swelling suggestive of Osgood-Schlatter disease (more so from overuse).

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client was in the gym playing when he rolled his left ankle and complained of pain. An x-ray was ordered and results are: There is no acute fracture or dislocation. He was given an ice pack, elevation, and PRN Tylenol.

PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

Licensing Specialist: Clayton DeBoer

Buildings & Grounds conducted. Census: 28. Classroom 1 staff/client ratio: 2:8, Classroom 2 staff/client ratio: 2:8, Hallway staff/client ratio: 2:7, Milieu staff/client ratio: 1:2.

All buildings and sleeping areas clean, safe and in good repair. Bathrooms observed clean and sanitary with functioning sinks, showers, and toilets. Grounds clean and free of safety hazards. Fire and severe weather drill logs checked today. MARs checked. All initialed and up to date.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident, Peer Sexual Contact, Visit Compliance Report

A former resident at the facility reported the following allegations: Other kids would pick on him and touch him inappropriately while they would shower. The client stated they would touch his penis, and also that they would touch his butt and put a finger inside his rectum. He stated he would tell them to stop, and they wouldn’t. The client never did say how many people would do this to him but he said there were a lot of them. He was discharged from the facility on 11/17/23. This was reported to the AR Child Abuse Hotline and accepted.

Licensing Specialist: Clayton DeBoer.

Licensing spoke with staff regarding the complaint. No timeframe is given to review video. No video is available for the shower area where some of the alleged incidents occurred. Staff stated the clients shower alone with no other clients present.

The CACD case was unsubstantiated. The Licensing complaint was unfounded.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client reported he injured his hand outside of the facility, but during Recreational Therapy, he was trying to dodge a ball and fell on his right wrist. An x-ray was completed finding no acute fractures or dislocations.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident, Visit Compliance Report

Client needed an x-ray of his right wrist. Client was playing a game in the gym with his peers, when he slid into base and fell on his right arm. An x-ray was completed, finding no acute fractures or dislocation.

Licensing Specialist: Clayton DeBoer

Facility cited 110.17 for late reporting (client received the x-ray on 1/4/24 and it was reported to licensing on 1/8/24). In-service training will be provided to nursing staff and a verbal warning will be provided to the responsible nursing staff on serious incident reporting procedures.

PRLU or OLTC

Corrective Action Plan, Recertification Survey, Revisit Survey

A validation survey was conducted from 12/18/2023 through 12/21/2023. The facility was not in compliance with §483, Subpart G – Conditions of Participation for Psychiatric Residential Treatment Center:

  • N 127 – Facility failed to ensure a physician’s order for a physical restraint was received for 1 (Client #5) of 1 client.
  • N 142 – Facility failed to ensure an order for physical and chemical restraints were not received at the same time for 3 (Clients #1, #2 and #5) clients.

Plan of Correction:

  • The policy and procedure in place already requires orders to be obtained for any restraint. Upon being notified of the deficiency, additional monitoring steps were put in place. The Nurse Manager is responsible for checking that orders are obtained for all restraints and seclusions and now checks these twice weekly for compliance. The RTC program has enlisted the assistance of the HIM department to monitor the completion of seclusion and restraint documentation and physician orders. The results of these audits are reported to administration. The Nurse Manager reports on accuracy of S&Rs at the bi-monthly Department Head meetings.
  • Nurses were educated to ensure that no simultaneous orders for physical and chemical restraints are obtained. Nursing staff are required to indicate that less restrictive measures have been attempted and failed within supporting documentation on the Seclusion and Restraint form. The Nurse Manager is now responsible for monitoring that orders for physical and chemical restraints have not been received simultaneously.

During a revisit conducted on 2/21/24, the facility was found to be in compliance with program requirements.

PRLU or OLTC

Medical, Notice of Incident

Client complained to the Physical Therapist Specialist of pain and discomfort in her right shoulder. An x-ray was ordered and findings are: No acute findings, no foreign bodies to be found, all skeletal structures are intact.

Police Report

Non Police Incident

Officers were unable to locate the building the hang up call was coming from. No answer on call back. Officers circulated the area with negative results.

Police Report

Battery

Officers responded to a disturbance at 2002 S Fillmore. Upon arrival officers made contact with Methodist Children’s Home staff. While attempting to intake Juvenile1 (Jv1), he became irate and punched a staff member, Mr. Justin Smith, in the head. Mr. Smith advised Jv1 stated he was about to start beating everybody up and Jv1 decided to hit him first. Officers did not observe any injuries. The Methodist nursing staff issued medication while Jv1 was restrained prior to officers arrival to calm him down. Officers stood by while MEMS transported Jv1 to the Methodist Maumelle facility. Officers provided Mr. Smith with an incident number and left the location without further to report.

PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

Licensing Specialist: Clayton DeBoer

Buildings & Grounds conducted from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Census: 28

Dayroom staff/client ratio: 4:9, Classroom staff/client ratio: 3:8, Milieu staff/client ratio: 1:1, Therapist office staff/client ratio: 1:1

Hall C and D observed to be clean, safe and in good repair. Bathrooms clean and sanitary with functioning sinks, showers, and toilets. Cafeteria observed to be clean and sanitary. Gym observed to be clean and free of safety hazards.

MAR checked. All initialed and up to date.

Annual Review/Policies PRTF Checklist completed. All items accounted for except a log or file of all calls to the child abuse hotline. Facility cited 110.11. UMCH PRTF Director Kaylynn Bennett created an electronic child abuse hotline log prior to conclusion of today’s visit.

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client was playing in the gym with peers. Client complained of some ankle pain. An x-ray was ordered and the results are: normal x-ray examination of ankle. No findings of any irregularities.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident, Self-Harm

Client was upset and punched a door. Nurse assessed client and client refused ice packs stating he was fine. APRN came and visited on 11/14/23 and ordered an x-ray. X-ray results of his left hand were normal (no fractures or abnormalities).

PRLU or OLTC

Accidental Injury, Notice of Incident

Client was in the gym playing catch with a peer. She began running to catch the ball and fell on her left knee. She was assessed by the nurse and an x-ray was ordered due to a birth defect that the client has. Client x-ray was completed on 11/13/2023, X-ray results indicates no findings of an acute fracture.

Police Report

Battery

Officers responded on a battery. Upon arrival officers made contact with Vic#1(Pearson). Pearson advised officers he is an employee at the facility. Pearson advised officers he told Susp#1(Juvenile 1) it was time to take a shower. Pearson advised the juvenile pushed him into the wall and began poking himself with a pen. Pearson advised he attempted to take the pen from the juvenile and the juvenile scraped his arm and stomach with the pen. Pearson advised officers this has happened multiple times in the past with various staff members. Officers observed very minor scrapes to the stomach and arm of the victim. Pearson advised officers he wanted a report made so he can seek warrants on the juvenile, officer gave Pearson an incident number. Officer asked Pearson if he needed medical attention, he refused.

On 11/10/2023, at approximately 2234 hours, officers responded back to the location and made contact with Pearson. Pearson advised Juvenile 1 pushed him and hit him again. He said he did not sustain any injuries this time. Pearson said he was leaving work after he was done speaking with officers and his supervisor did not want officers speaking with Juvenile 1.