FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 29, 2014 LePage’s Riverview on Brink of Crisis Due to Mismanagement As deeper problems are revealed at Riverview LePage says we should give up PORTLAND – Gov. Paul LePage has made shocking comments, reported by Maine Public Broadcasting Network, suggesting that Maine should simply give up on re-certifying the state’s Riverview Psychiatric Center and throw away more than $14 million in federal funding. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, the Democratic nominee for governor, today called out Gov. Paul LePage for his failed leadership and record mismanagement at the Department of Health and Human Services. “Since taking office, Gov. Paul LePages Department of Health and Human Services has been a case study in government waste and mismanagement,” said Michaud. “His mismanagement of Riverview Psychiatric Center is the pinnacle of this and it needs to be addressed immediately. The list of issues at Riverview is exhaustive, troubling and a black eye on this administration and state. Rather than pledging to Mainers that he will address these issues, Gov. LePage is choosing to give up and throw away millions of dollars in funding. His inaction makes Maine vulnerable to lawsuits, puts Riverview on the brink of crisis and leaves Maine taxpayers to foot the bill for his failed leadership.” Riverview lost its federal certification and funding last September due to safety issues that endangered staff and patients, but a recent review of the hospital shows much deeper issues including unreported medication errors and inadequate patient care. The report was released after the federal Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services reviewed Riverview for re-certification. The re-certification was rejected. In response, the LePage administration turned a blind eye on the serious issues at Riverview, blamed the failed re-certification on the federal government and told MPBN that he thought Maine should give up on the certification all together rather than fix the problems at the state psychiatric center. Michaud released a plan earlier this year to create an Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services and cited the ongoing situation at Riverview as an example of one of the many mismanagement issues the Office of Inspector General would be tasked with investigating and addressing if he is elected governor. “Government isn’t perfect. It’s one thing for problems to emerge. It’s another thing to make excuses and refuse to take action when those problems have come to light. Under my administration, there would be a thorough and transparent investigation into the serious issues at Riverview Psychiatric Center and a comprehensive public report of findings that includes recommendations for next steps and improvements that can be made to address these problems head on,” Michaud said. “Mainers deserve a governor who will take action to combat waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement, not a governor who shames poor families while turning a blind eye to the waste and misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars within his own administration. The Office of Inspector General will put the focus in the right place by fighting waste, fraud and abuse at all levels and holds government officials responsible. Mainers deserve to know that their taxpayer dollars are being used wisely,” Michaud said. BACKGROUND ON LEPAGE MISMANAGEMENT: Since taking office, LePage has attacked Maine’s most vulnerable citizens under the veil of cracking down on fraud and abuse within Maine’s welfare system, yet scandal after scandal reveals that the biggest culprit of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement within the system comes from Gov. LePage himself. Under the LePage administration, the Department of Health and Human Services has gone from one crisis or scandal to the next: • Allegations that senior officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ordered documents shredded to hide inappropriate contract awards and now the FBI may be involved; • Failed efforts to contract for non-emergency transportation services that have cost the state millions and left vulnerable people stranded; • No-bid contracts to political cronies that produced the deeply flawed, controversial and plagiarized Alexander Report; • Controversial and inexperienced appointments inside the department; • Serious problems at Riverview Psychiatric Center that cost the state millions of dollars in federal funds while endangering staff and patients; • Unexplained budget deficits and errors; • Loss of program expertise and a politicized department; • Contracting to move the Portland DHHS office from its longstanding downtown location to a more inaccessible and remote location despite local opposition and reasonable alternatives; and; • Failure to perform core functions, which has caused homelessness to increase and programs to fall into disarray. For more information about Michaud, visit: michaud2014. Follow the campaign on Facebook at: https://facebook/MikeMichaudForGovernor; and on Twitter @michaud2014.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:30:00 +0000
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