MO - Girl, 16, dies during restraint at an already-troubled hospital

This is very sad and mistakes were definitely made. I was trained years ago to do restraints and have used them on numerous occasions. I'm very small and thus have to be really careful. But sometimes they are necessary to prevent suicide or other self-harm or to give a medication to a rageful child. Many would say that a child needing this level of care requires a more skilled facility but that's not always feasible. Plain and simple, there's always risk. One would think that a hospital would have sufficient staff to ensure a child's safety in a crisis situation like this.

I've watched carefully in psychiatric hospitals for juveniles and adults and so much has changed over the last 10 years. Most restraints are much safer now as the training is better and more people are required to be present and involved in restraints. Every detail must be logged. The very simple mistake here is that the child was rendered unconscious while laying on a bean bag chair. There should be nothing in a "quiet room". This hospital most likely seriously violated a strict regulation, IMO.

The child should not have died.

The staff held Alexis face down on the beanbag chair to inject her with a sedative, then left the room. She suffocated. The nurse who found her unconscious failed to promptly start CPR. Her death was ruled a homicide.
http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/me...435014aa09b.html?mode=story&mobile_touch=true

Alexis was sexually abused as a child, and removed from her birth family at age 7 then bounced around various foster homes and institutions. She grew up to be very troubled, and sometimes violent.

Prosecutors declined to file charges relating to Alexis' death because too many staff members were involved to pinpoint who was actually to blame.

Alexis is buried in an unmarked grave in Laurel Hill cemetery.
http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/me...435014aa09b.html?mode=story&mobile_touch=true

Rest in Peace, Alexis.