DETROIT (WXYZ) — In the span of 73 days, two patients inside Detroit Receiving Hospital were victims of sexual assaults, according to police. A third patient, admitted after a failed suicide attempt, was able to take her life inside her hospital room.
In each case, the victims were patients who struggled with mental illness or were unable to care for themselves.
A three-month 7 News Detroit investigation reveals that the tragedies—detailed by interviews with current and former employees, police reports and complaints with the state—came amidst claims that hospital is made unsafe by a lack of staff.
“People are dying, people are getting raped,” said one current Detroit Medical Center who asked who filed a complaint with the State of Michigan in June that outlined his concerns. In August, the state found that the hospital failed to meet regulatory requirements. “It’s getting worse out there.”
The longtime DMC employee says understaffing inside the hospital’s crisis center—from not enough nurses to care for patients and sitters to watch them—has allowed for the hospital to become a crime scene.
“Lack of security, lack of staffing,” he said. “The patients are not in a safe environment, and you don’t have adequate staffing to make sure that happens.”
His concerns are echoed in a lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in September, by a former DMC nurse. She claimed she was wrongfully terminated for raising concerns over safety: that on some shifts, three staff members were responsible for 22 or more patients.
7 News Detroit spoke with the mother of a recent Detroit Receiving Hospital patient. Just after midnight on April 10, staff reported she’d been sexually assaulted.
Police records show the woman was medically sedated and strapped to her bed when a male patient approached the woman and began fondling her.
“You have somebody who cannot defend themselves in any capacity: mentally, physically, whatever it may be,” said attorney Bradley Peri, who represents the woman.
“And no one’s monitoring her. No one’s monitoring the other patient.”
For five minutes, according to police, surveillance video showed the sexual assault take place. While it was happening, according to DPD, an employee “can be seen a few feet away” who “appeared to be distracted by her cell phone.”
Eventually, another staff member approaches the man, who is seen walking out of frame.
“I didn’t hear from the hospital at all,” the patient’s mother said, adding that she only learned of he alleged assault from Detroit police.
“It was a phone call,” she said, “that shook me to my core.”
The current DMC employee called the alleged assault upsetting, but not surprising.
“I am surprised…didn’t happen more often,” he said.
Less than two months later, it would.
On June 2, 2024, a pregnant woman who suffered from bipolar disorder was admitted to Detroit Receiving’s crisis center. Like the victim before, she was in four-point restraints. But unlike that the other patient, she was not wearing any clothes.
According to the current DMC employee, the male patient could be seen on surveillance video entering the woman’s room.
“He tries to climb on top of this one but he can’t get her legs open,” he said.
According to Detroit police, the alleged assailant—also a psychiatric patient—would penetrate the woman while she was restrained to her bed.
Like before, police said the encounter was recorded on surveillance camera. But it was only when the victim herself reported the assault—more than 24 hours later—that hospital staff ever learned about it.
“What does that say that they didn’t even know this assault took place?” asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones.
“No one was watching either one of them,” said the current staffer.
Bradley Peri, the attorney representing the first alleged victim, said the hospital was put on notice after his client was assaulted, and should have taken measures to prevent history from repeating itself.
“Clearly, they did not do that,” he said.
After the alleged assault, according to the September lawsuit filed by a former DMC nurse, hospital officials offered the victim an undisclosed sum of money in exchange for not suing the hospital.
7 News Detroit heard a similar story from the other patient’s mother who said hospital executives offered her money they said could be used to find treatment elsewhere.
“What did they offer you?” asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones.
“$250,000 and then a $100,000 for incidentals,” she said. “I think they were trying to bribe me. I think they were trying to coerce me into making it sound like they were doing something really good for my daughter.”
She declined their offer, and has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital.
On June 22, there would be a third patient tragedy here at Detroit Receiving Hospital. This time, it involved a young woman who was admitting after trying to end her life.
Ella Bailey, 21, was admitted after a failed suicide attempt earlier that month. She had downed pills, according to police records, then drove to a bridge with plans to jump off. Another driver found her before she could.
Ella was admitted to the hospital’s behavioral inpatient facility, known as 3Q. Staff knew of Ella’s previous suicide attempt, and she was supposed to be monitored.
But on only her fourth day on the floor, Ella was able to take hang herself in her own hospital room.
Police reviewed the surveillance video outside Ella’s room, and noted a staff member was seen checking on her at 4:15 p.m. that afternoon. But 30 minutes later, at 4:45 p.m., the staffer was seen walking by her door…without ever looking inside. Ella took her life at 5:05 p.m.…discovered not by hospital staff, but her roommate.
“This young lady was able to end her life while she was under care,” said Kevin Fischer, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Michigan. “And as a parent, especially myself being a parent who’s lost a child to suicide, that’s unacceptable.”
He says these three tragedies—happening in close succession—show there are serious problems at one of Detroit’s busiest hospitals.
“If staffing is the issue, then we have to find a better solution,” he said.
“Because the outcomes that we’re experiencing are unacceptable.”
Citing patient privacy, the DMC declined to comment on the specific cases.
They released a statement, saying in part: “The DMC prioritizes the safety of our patients. The DMC has rigorous processes in place to immediately address any potential patient safety issues and take the appropriate actions necessary, including cooperating with law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Federal privacy laws restrict us from sharing patient specific information.”
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.