AUGUSTA — The head of Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services has been ordered to appear in court next month to answer questions about the department’s refusal to accept a patient in the state’s psychiatric hospital. The Portland Press Herald reports that Commissioner Mary Mayhew has been subpoenaed to appear for a contempt hearing […]
Riverview
Posted inOxford Hills
Peru man pleads not guilty in strangulation death of mother-in-law
PARIS — A Peru man accused of strangling his mother-in-law to death during a sexual assault last October pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday. The attorney for Paul Orchard, 33, entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to one charge of depraved indifference murder and one charge of felony murder. […]
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Posted inBusiness, Maine
Maine’s lack of population growth source of economic concern
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers heard again Monday that Maine’s dwindling and aging population will continue to be one of the biggest factors in the state’s long-struggling economy. Key policymakers, including Gov. Paul LePage, are focused on a series of issues they believe would make the state a more welcoming place for job creators, including reducing […]
Posted inMaine
Legislature’s budget committee disappointed with answers on Riverview Psychiatric Center
AUGUSTA — Some lawmakers on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee on Tuesday were not satisfied with answers from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to a host of questions about Riverview Psychiatric Center. The state’s 92-bed center has been the focus of intense scrutiny since it lost $20 million in federal funding — about […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine oversight panel to investigate Riverview Psychiatric Hospital
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s nonpartisan watchdog organization will join a list of entities investigating problems at the beleaguered Riverview Psychiatric Center but will limit the scope of its probe for now, according to a directive from lawmakers on Wednesday. The Government Oversight Committee unanimously tasked the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability to focus […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Court master plans inspection of Riverview
AUGUSTA — The court master who oversees a consent decree governing how the state treats people with mental illness says he plans an inspection of the state-run Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta. Court Master Daniel Wathen, former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, laid out plans for the visit in his latest progress […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine plans to sue to gain Riverview certification
AUGUSTA — The Maine attorney general’s office is taking another shot at regaining federal certification for the state-run Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta. At stake is millions of dollars in federal funding for the 92-bed psychiatric hospital. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled the hospital’s certification last year after determining the facility […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Riverview workers cite problems, ask for help
AUGUSTA — A handful of current and former Riverview Psychiatric Center employees have asked the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee to look into problems at the state-run hospital. Those problems, they say, include the bullying and harassment of staff members who raised concerns about patient care, patients who were denied food or drink, patients who were […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Judge finds Lewiston woman not criminally responsible for fire
AUBURN — A judge found a Lewiston woman who set her mattress on fire last year not criminally responsible by reason of insanity on Tuesday. Misty Cornell, 45, was committed to Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta under the care of the commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Cornell will be evaluated every […]
Posted inMaine
LePage says state should go it alone on Riverview
LEWISTON — Gov. Paul LePage’s suggestion that the state reject $20 million in federal funds for the state’s psychiatric hospital would be the “pinnacle of mismanagement,” a local Democrat said Wednesday. State Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, criticized LePage for suggesting the state need not follow federal regulations at the state-run Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta. […]