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Trouble in Alabama's Institutions: Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center

"I hold them responsible. They knew about this, and they should have done something."
--Betty Lyons, president of the Friends of Brewer, who sued the state after her daughter Sheri Renee Herring was found in bed with hundreds of bites from fire-ants (October 2000)

2004
January 23: Brewer Center Nears Closure Date
2003
September 25: State Settles Ant-Bite Lawsuit
April 23: Alabama Consolidation Means Three Institutions Will Close
July 7: Sawyer Plan Calls For Closing Alabama Institutions
2001
February 6: Lawsuit, Money and Weather May Mean The End of Troubled Institution
June 25: President of Parents Group Sues State And Institution For Neglect
July 23: Brewer Center Will Not Reopen, Says Top Official
2000
September 7: Woman Recovers From Hundreds Of Ant Bites
October 4: Ant Bites Not An Isolated Incident

Woman Recovers From Hundreds of Ant Bites
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 7, 2000
MOBILE, ALABAMA--The president of a pro-institution advocacy group says she is not angry at the state-operated institution where her daughter was bitten by hundreds of fire ants 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Renee Herring, 36, was rushed to a local hospital on the morning of Sunday, August 20th, after a staff member of the Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center found hundreds of fire ants in her bed. Doctors later said Herring, who has Rhett syndrome and cannot move, speak or scream, suffered several hundred bites from the venomous insects. She was treated and released within an hour.

"It was at least a thousand bites," said Herring's mother Betty Lyons, who is also president of the Friends of Brewer, a group made up of residents' parents. Her daughter has been receiving oatmeal baths to relieve itching and has been on pain medication since the attack.

Workers at Brewer, which houses 187 people with developmental disabilities, were supposed to check on Herring once every three hours and take her to the restroom. Officials say she was alright when she was checked at 10 p.m. Saturday evening, but that the worker who was to look in on her at 3 a.m. only opened her door to glanced into her room.

The ants were discovered in her bed at 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Lyons said she is not angry and feels officials are correcting any of the problems which may have caused the ant attack or allowed it to be overlooked. The institution has increased its spraying program since the incident, and workers have been instructed to use flashlights at night to inspect residents every hour.

According to the Mobile Register, this is not the first time the facility has had problems related to care of its residents. Last summer, an inspection by state officials found that several Brewer residents had bruises, cuts, bed sores and even fractured bones that did not receive proper attention. In February 1999, a 21-year-old resident walked away from the center and was never seen again.

About 600 people from Brewer and the state's other three institutions are scheduled to move into homes in the community, beginning October 1. The move is part of a settlement, reached in July, of a 30-year-old lawsuit against the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

Ant Bites Not An Isolated Incident
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
October 4, 2000

MOBILE, ALABAMA--An investigation by state health officials released this week revealed that staff members at the Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center, an institution housing 187 people with developmental disabilities, reported problems with fire ants several months before a resident was rushed to an emergency room -- her body covered with hundreds of ant bites.

The investigation was prompted after Renee Herring, 36, was found in her bed with hundreds of ants crawling over her on the morning of August 20. The woman, who has Rett syndrome and is not able to move her limbs, call for help, or even scream, was rushed to the hospital after being bitten "so many times that the bites were too numerous to count".

Officials believe that Herring had not been properly checked for several hours, and may have been covered with the biting insects overnight.

Immediately after the incident, Brewer Center director Levi Harris told officials, reporters and the parents of the facility's residents, that Herring's case was an isolated incident.

Betty Lyons, Herring's mother and president of the parents' association, defended the institution.

But over the past few weeks, a Department of Health inspection team found documentation of at least seven occasions between May 19 and the August 20 incident, where staff members reported finding fire ants on floors, walls, drinking fountains, and in residents' beds. In fact, six weeks before the attack on Herring, 44 bites were found on another resident. Investigators found that supervisors and managers had failed to adequately respond to the reports.

"This was not an isolated incident," said Rick Harris, director of health-provider standards at the health department. "This problem had been reported several times by the staff, and management was just not responding."

After seeing the report, Lyons told the Mobile Register that she was surprised supervisors had not acted to prevent the problems before the attack on her daughter, who is still recovering from the bites.

"I hold them responsible. They knew about this, and they should have done something."

Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Commissioner Kathy Sawyer has ordered a full investigation. The institution has 10 days to correct the problems or face losing federal Medicaid funding.

Brewer Center officials did not comment yesterday.

Lawsuit, Money and Weather May Mean The End of Troubled Institutions
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
February 6, 2001

MOBILE, ALABAMA--Two years ago, a resident of the Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center walked away from the facility never to be heard from again.

Last summer, bites from fire ants were discovered on several residents of the institution. One resident who has Rett syndrome, and is unable to speak or walk, was found in her bed covered with the poisonous ants and hundreds of bites.

In recent years, several parents of Brewer Center residents have complained about the presence of buckets and trash cans placed to catch the rain coming in through leaky roofs throughout the facility.

In spite of these problems, a group of parents calling themselves the "Friends of Brewer" are angry and suspicious about plans announced Sunday which would close the facility -- at least temporarily.

Kathy Sawyer, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, met with a group of about 70 parents to announce that the institution, which houses 187 people with developmental disabilities, would need to close while the department decides what to do with the deteriorating 29-year-old facility.

According to the Mobile Register, an inspection from an engineering firm found that the roofs and support beams in 14 of the facility's 15 buildings are in such poor condition that they present a "hazard to human life" particularly if a tropical storm hits the area.

Right now it appears the department has three options. First, it could completely destroy the old buildings and build new ones. This appears unlikely given the fact that the state already has to come up with extra money to fulfill its promise to move hundreds of people out of institutions across the state. The agreement, arrived at last summer, settled a lawsuit filed against the state 30 years ago.

In the second option, the buildings could be renovated and repaired. That would still cost an estimated $6 million to $8 million -- money which the financially strapped department does not have.

Finally, the state could completely close the facility and sell the 116 acre campus, much of which is wooded land, located in the middle of a rapidly developing area. One 40-acre section has been appraised at $4.2 million.

The residents will be moved to other facilities, including a now-vacant mental hospital, before the end of the month.

The pro-institution parents say they are angry that the facility is closing. "It is a hardship. It really upsets some of the kids," said Betty Lyons, president of the parent group, and whose 36-year-old daughter Rene Herring was the victim of the fire ant attack last summer.

Sawyer and other state officials continue to deny that Brewer Center residents will be moved into homes in the community.

President of Parents Group Sues State And Institution For Neglect
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
June 25, 2001

MOBILE, ALABAMA--The president of a pro-institution group is suing the state and former employees of the facility where her daughter suffered an attack by poisonous fire ants. The suit, filed on behalf of Betty Lyons, alleges neglect and claims that official documents were changed to cover up employees' actions. She is asking for more than $15 million in damages.

On Sunday, August 20, Lyon's 36-year-old daughter Sheri Renee Herring was rushed to the hospital after, as one doctor described it, being bitten by fire ants "so many times that the bites were too numerous to count". She was released from the hospital within the hour, and is still recovering from the bites.

At the time of the attack, Herring -- who has Rett syndrome and is not able to move her limbs, call for help, or even scream -- was a resident at Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center, an institution housing 187 people with developmental disabilities. Herring had been discovered in her bed covered from head to toe with the poisonous insects at about 5:30 a.m. Officials said she was alright when she was checked at 10:00 Saturday evening, but that the worker who looked in on her at 3:00 Sunday morning only opened her door to glance into the room.

Shortly after the incident, Lyons publicly defended the institution. As president of the Friends of Brewer, a group made up of residents' parents, Lyons said she was not angry and that she believed officials were correcting any of the problems which may have caused the ant attack or allowed it to be overlooked.

But a few weeks following the attack, the Department of Public Health released a scathing report which found that over a period of several months supervisors at Brewer Center repeatedly failed to take action after workers reported several incidents of ants in the beds and on the bodies of residents.

"I hold them responsible," Lyons told the Mobile Register in response to the report in October. "They knew about this, and they should have done something."

Lyon's attorney filed the suit last Friday, naming as defendants the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation and some former Brewer Center employees. The suit claims administrators knew the facility was infested and did not properly get rid of the poisonous insects, that residents were not checked on as often as ordered, and that records were altered to protect staff members.

Brewer Center was closed this February and its residents moved to other facilities and homes in the community because 14 of its 15 buildings had structural problems that endangered the health and safety of the residents. The facility remains closed, although officially on a temporary basis while its fate is decided.

Brewer Center Will Not Reopen, Says Top Official
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 23, 2001

MOBILE, ALABAMA--"It is not feasible from a financial or programmatic standpoint to return to the Brewer campus."

With those words, Kathy Sawyer, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation announced the end of the troubled Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center.

Sawyer made the announcement Saturday during a meeting with about 70 parents of former Brewer Center residents, according to the Mobile Register.

The 30-year-old facility that housed about 180 adults with mental retardation has become the focus of nine lawsuits related to abuse and neglect of its residents.

Last summer, bites from fire ants were discovered on several residents of the state-run institution. One resident who has Rett syndrome, and is unable to speak or walk, was found in her bed covered with the poisonous fire ants and hundreds of bites. That resident's mother, who is the president of the "Friends of Brewer", has filed suit against the state alleging that staff members covered up the fact that they had not checked her daughter as often as they should have.

The decision does help the state move closer to fulfilling its part of an agreement to down-size institutions.

But what has caused Brewer to close for good is the poor condition of the buildings. After years of complaints that residents and visitors were having to weave past buckets placed in hallways to catch rain water, an engineering firm inspected the facility and found that 14 of the 15 buildings on the campus presented a "hazard to human life". It was later estimated that the cost to renovate or remodel the buildings would be between $6 to $8 million -- money that the financially-strapped department does not have.

The state has yet to decide what to do with the buildings and the land, which sits near a rapidly growing commercial district. Sales of one heavily wooded 40-acre parcel is estimated to bring the state about $4 million -- money that would stay within the division to possibly be used to enhance staff salaries.

All of the residents were moved out of Brewer in February while the state made its decision as to what to do with the former campus. Saturday's meeting took place at the former campus of Emmett Poundstone mental health facility in Daphne, where about 80 Brewer Center residents were relocated.

The Daphne facility is now being called "Brewer Bayside".

Sawyer Plan Calls For Closing Alabama Institutions
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 7, 2003

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA--Last Wednesday, Mental Health Commissioner Kathy Sawyer submitted an 85-page report to Governor Bob Riley outlining how the state should close three of its four institutions housing people with developmental disabilities, along with several psychiatric facilities.

The governor is expected to make a decision in a few weeks. Riley's office has indicated that he supports Sawyer's plan.

"This is one of those rare circumstances in state government where we have the opportunity to save millions of dollars and improve services," Riley's Press Secretary David Azbell said.

Under Sawyer's plan the state would shut down the Lurleen Wallace Developmental Center in Decatur, the Albert Brewer Developmental Center in Daphne and the J.S. Tarwater Developmental Center in Wetumpka. Residents would either move to the W.D. Partlow Center in Tuscaloosa, or to group homes, or to their family homes with new supports from the state.

Sawyer, along with other current and former officials, have said that closing some of Alabama's institutions is inevitable because the trend toward smaller, community-based settings has left large facilities half-empty and too expensive to operate.

In her report, Sawyer says her plan will save the state $21 million over two years. She said the savings could be used to reduce a 2,000-person waiting list for community-based services.

The institutions' campuses are being eyed by the Pardons and Paroles department to help the crowded state prison system.

Related article:
"State may close institutions, transfer inmates" (Birmingham News)
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/03/red/0707a.htm

State Settles Ant-Bite Lawsuit
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 25, 2003

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA--The state of Alabama and a pest control company agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a suit filed by the mother of a woman who had been attacked by fire ants while in an institution bed.

On August 20, 2000, Sheri Renee Herring was rushed to the hospital after, as one doctor described it, being bitten by fire ants "so many times that the bites were too numerous to count".

At the time of the attack, the 36-year-old Herring -- who has Rett syndrome and is not able to move her limbs, call for help, or even scream -- was a resident at Albert P. Brewer Developmental Center, an institution that housed 187 people with developmental disabilities. Herring had been discovered in her bed covered from head to toe with the poisonous insects at about 5:30 a.m. Officials said she was okay when she was checked at 10:00 the previous evening, but that the worker who looked in on her at 3:00 the next morning only opened her door to glance into the room.

Among those initially defending the institution was Herring's mother and guardian, Betty Lyons, who also happened to be the president of the Friends of Brewer, a pro-institution group made up of residents' parents.

But when a Department of Health inspection team found at least seven reports of other ant infestations and ant bite attacks during the three months before Herring's attack, Lyons changed her position.

"I hold them responsible," Lyons said in early October 2000. "They knew about this, and they should have done something."

Kenny Mendelsohn, the lawyer who filed the suit for Lyons, said this week, "She literally was eaten up by ants for hours and hours. If you saw the pictures, they would infuriate you."

In her lawsuit, Lyons claimed Brewer supervisors had been warned about the ant problem, that staff had not done bed checks during the night as required and that staff falsified bed check records. Lyons originally sought $2.5 million in damages.

In the settlement approved September 18, the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation agreed to pay $750,000, while the pest control company that serviced the facility agreed to pay $300,000. After attorneys and court fees are paid, $595,777 will remain in a trust fund for Herring's on-going care.

Brewer Developmental Center is one of three Alabama institutions housing people with developmental disabilities slated to be closed by this coming March.

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