Wisconsin officials
cited "multiple violations" of state law at the Rice
Lake counseling clinic that restrained a 7-year-old
girl who later died.
In a report released
late Thursday, the Wisconsin Department of Health
and Family Services wrote that the Northwest
Counseling and Guidance Clinics failed to identify
the proper level of care for Angellika Arndt. The
girl died May 26 at a Minneapolis hospital after
being restrained by clinic staff the day before.
The clinic also
failed to provide required services by a physician
or registered nurse, failed to document the side
effects of Angellika's drugs, failed to review the
number of control holds placed on the girl and
failed to follow the law regarding physical
restraint of clients, according to the report.
In the month that she
was treated at the clinic, Angellika was restrained
nine separate times — sometimes for as long as two
hours, the report said.
The clinic was
ordered to respond to the report within 30 days.
In a statement
released to the news media Friday, clinic board
president Denison Tucker said the clinic has
"expressed concern (to the state) with what we find
to be errors of fact, incomplete context and
misapplications of statute references."
Angellika lost
consciousness May 24 after being restrained by
clinic staff, and died the next day at Children's
Hospital and Clinics in Minneapolis. She had a
history of tantrums, angry outbursts, and physical
aggressions against other children.
The Hennepin County
medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused
by "complications of chest compression asphyxiation"
leading to "cardiopulmonary arrest while restrained
by another person."
