Mental Patient's Death Results in Firings

Dan Frith

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North Carolina (Raleigh) officials said Wednesday that they fired three Cherry Hospital employees and disciplined others after the death of a mental patient who went without food, water and care for more than 22 hours. The man's widow said she cannot believe the hospital is still open.

Steven Sabock, 50, who was being treated at the Goldsboro state hospital for bipolar disorder, died April 29 after he choked on medication, hit his head and was left in a chair. Hospital employees played cards and watched television nearby. Security camera footage released Tuesday shows that some Cherry employees falsified records and lied to investigators in an attempt to cover up negligence in the death.

My Take: Don't the mentally ill deserve far better treatment? This is outrageous and those care providers who were involved should be criminally prosecuted!