AUGUSTA (AP) — A newly released report says federal regulators were horrified by the way patients were being subdued with stun guns and handcuffs at a state-run psychiatric hospital in Augusta.
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has warned that Riverview Psychiatric Center could lose $20 million in federal money — more than half its operating budget — unless the deficiencies are corrected.
Riverview Superintendent Mary Louise McEwen told the Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/13QMRZL ) that a plan to correct the deficiencies was submitted to federal officials.
She said stun guns were eliminated in May.
The 92-bed facility often houses criminals and people facing criminal charges.
Gov. Paul LePage blames the Democrat-controlled Legislature for failing to fund his proposal to alleviate problems at Riverview by creating a mental health ward at the state prison.
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