County Chafes Under Mental Clinic Safety Citation From State

Three months after psychiatric social worker Robbyn Panitch was stabbed to death by a mentally disturbed transient at a county mental health center in Santa Monica, the center had still failed to comply with state workplace regulations requiring protection and training of staff, according to state documents.

As a result, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration in August cited the county Department of Mental Health for violations, including the lack of an emergency alarm system and failure to train employees in handling disruptive patients.

County officials on Friday said they objected to the citations, contending that many security improvements were in the process of being made when the state inspectors visited the Santa Monica West Mental Health Clinic in May, and that numerous other improvements were made subsequently.

Francis Dowling, chief deputy director of the mental health department, said the county has requested a formal meeting with Los Angeles officials of Cal/OSHA to protest the fact that the citations “are blind to the fact” that “the bulk of these faults either had been corrected, were in the process of being corrected or have been corrected since the inspection.”

“I am unhappy with what I perceive to be . . . a lack of objectivity on the part of the investigators,” Dowling said.

Police say Panitch, 36, was stabbed 31 times in her office on Feb. 21 by David Scott Smith, a 26-year-old transient who allegedly told homicide detectives he killed Panitch because he saw her as the “Antichrist” and felt frustrated she was unable to assist him. He is facing a murder charge in Santa Monica Superior Court.

Overstaffed Counselors

After Panitch’s murder, other psychiatric social workers contended that deep cutbacks in the county mental health budget were responsible for Panitch’s death. They told stories of overstaffed counselors being spat at, punched and kicked in offices where the number of staff members was continually cut and the number of seriously disturbed clients was continually growing. County health officials have denied there was any relationship between the cutbacks and Panitch’s death.

Several weeks after Panitch died, her parents, Allan and Gloria Panitch of Palos Verdes Estates, went to Sacramento to lobby for stricter security at mental health centers. County officials said then that they were setting aside an extra $250,000 for security at mental health facilities.

No special security precautions were in place in the Santa Monica office when Panitch was attacked because the office was not thought by supervisors to be a high-risk place like Skid Row.

Among the most serious violations noted by the Cal/OSHA citations was the fact that patients were “allowed direct, uncontrolled access” into work areas. The citation called for locked doors, unbreakable glass to separate waiting areas from receptionists, trained security guards, metal gratings on all outside windows and separate bathroom facilities for staff and clients.

The state inspectors also said the absence of an emergency warning system for employees and the lack of a program to train workers in handling “assaultive or violent” patients violated state workplace safety requirements. They also criticized the lack of periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions.

No Fines Involved

The citations carry no fines because the state Labor Code does not allow Cal/OSHA to fine another public agency.

Ralph Mitchell, acting chief of the Santa Monica office, said changes now in effect include a security guard, safety doors and windows and a “panic alarm” system which allows counselors to buzz for help.

Mitchell said that “soon after Robbyn was stabbed” he began several programs for staffers on how to identify potentially dangerous clients, bringing in a variety of experts.

Mitchell said that despite the security improvements, staff members “probably still have a tendency to shy away from the same interaction” they once had with patients because of trauma over Panitch’s death.

“I’ve got six people on medical leave, five of which . . . are probably directly related” to psychological problems caused by the murder, he said.

While a more hesitant attitude by the staff that remains is understandable, “In my opinion . . . we’re not delivering services the way we should,” Mitchell said.