COLUMBUS — Saying he is “heart-sickened” by questionable deaths in the state's mental retardation system, Gov. Bob Taft said Monday he will not tolerate the abuse and neglect of Ohio's most vulnerable people.

OHIO'S SECRET SHAME

Instead of keeping people healthy and safe, Ohio's mental retardation system is so chaotic it routinely fails to prevent deaths, correct problems or enforce minimum standards of care, The Cincinnati Enquirer has found. • Twelve who died - Our investigation found a dozen questionable deaths • An unequal system - The kind of care depends on where you live • Take control - make sure a person with mental retardation is well cared for

        The governor said he will immediately appoint a team of prosecutors, coroners, judges and law enforcement officers to recommend how to prosecute people who attack, abuse or neglect the mentally retarded, especially those who cause deaths.

        “In some of these cases, there may have been criminal activity,” Mr. Taft said in a statement.

        The governor's comments come one day after The Cincinnati Enquirer identified 12 people who died under questionable circumstances in the last three years inside a state system that's supposed to protect them.

        The newspaper reported that one top state medical official, who reviews all deaths in the system, says 80 to 120 deaths per year are avoidable. That's about one of every seven mentally retarded people who die each year.

        Dr. Andrew Eddy, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation, raised questions about 147 deaths since 2000. He questioned the lack of basic information in 35 death reports and was troubled by 13 cases in which coroners either weren't called or didn't do autopsies. He also raised questions about eight people who died of pneumonia, 16 who choked on food, 10 accidents and a suicide.

        The newspaper reported that 44-year-old Denise Tavner, a mentally retarded woman in Dayton, died of dehydration in a relative's home where she had no water for days at a time, was infested with lice and afflicted with urine burns. Dayton police and Montgomery County officials did not remove her from the home although they knew of her plight.

        While they debated what to do, Ms. Tavner died on April 2, 2000. The coroner ruled her death a homicide but nearly two years later, no one has been charged.

        The governor said such cases show changes are clearly needed.

        “We need to train police and prosecutors on how to take witness statements,” Mr. Taft said. “And we should consider granting disabled people some of the same protections afforded children when testifying in a criminal case.”

        He said the criminal justice team's job is to figure out how to prosecute those who harm the disabled.

        The governor also said he will ask the General Assembly to quickly pass a bill sponsored by Sen. Robert Spada, R-Parma Heights, that would allow the state to suspend admissions at all nursing homes owned by a company that's had repeated problems at any one home. The bill also would grant the state new powers to move people from homes with major health and safety problems.

        The Enquirer report showed that in the last three years conditions were so bad the state had threatened to cut off all Medicaid funds to 65 institutions and nursing homes for the mentally retarded, one of every seven in Ohio.

        Current law allows the state to fine regular nursing homes when people are harmed, but nursing homes for the mentally retarded aren't subject to such fines. The governor said he supports a measure that would let agencies fine facilities where there are significant health and safety issues.

        Both Ken Ritchey, director of the Department of Mental Retardation, and Dr. Nick Baird, director of the Department of Health, say such measures are needed to crack down on nursing homes that are repeatedly in trouble.

        Tom Eamoe, executive director of the Hamilton County Arc, an advocacy group for the mentally retarded, praised the governor's actions.

        “The reforms are long overdue,” he said.

        The governor said these new efforts will add to reforms already under way. He noted that the state now reviews all deaths and county officials are better trained to report abuse and neglect. He he touted an abuser registry designed to blacklist convicted or suspected abusers from working with the mentally retarded.

        The abuser registry was created by lawmakers in November 2000. To date, no abusers are on the list.

        The Dayton Daily News also published a story on Sunday pointing out problems in the mental retardation system.

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