By Kirsten Stewart
The Salt Lake Tribune
July 22, 2006
Allegations of abuse and other misdeeds continue to plague Copper Hills Youth Center, a West Jordan psychiatric facility for troubled youth.
Andrew Tafoya of Los Lunas, N.M., has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the treatment center and one of its former doctors, James A. Miller, alleging that an anti-depressant Tafoya was prescribed while a patient at Copper Hills left him permanently disabled and disfigured.
The complaint follows probes by Utah licensors and child welfare officials into alleged physical and sexual assaults at Copper Hills. The facility was cleared, though investigators suggested improvements to the supervision, training and criminal screening of employees.
Utah Human Services licensing director Ken Stettler said there have been no recent complaints or sanctions filed against Copper Hills. State Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing officials, who are responsible for investigating individual malpractice claims, won't disclose whether Miller is under investigation. To date, no disciplinary actions have been filed.
Tafoya was admitted to Copper Hills in December 2002 for depression and a drug abuse problem. He was 17 years old.
According to his lawsuit, he was prescribed several medications by supervising physician Miller, including trazodone hydrochloride, an anti-depressant sold under the brand name Desyrel.
"Within weeks of first taking the trazodone, Tafoya began experiencing painful erections lasting 1 to 2 hours," the lawsuit states.
According to a warning posted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), one side effect of trazodone is priapism, a persistent erection caused by a pathologic condition rather than sexual desire.
The FDA recommends that patients who experience priapism stop using trazodone immediately and contact their doctor. Left untreated, priapism can result in permanent damage and impotence.
Tafoya said he told Miller about his negative side effects, but staff continued to prescribe and administer trazodone.
Since returning home in the summer of 2003, Tafoya has continued to suffer bouts of priapism, requiring at least three corrective surgical procedures, the lawsuit says.
Neither Miller nor Copper Hills executive director Mike Rowley could be reached for comment. Tafoya, now an adult, also did not respond to attempts to contact him.
In January 2006, the Division of Child and Family Services canceled its contract with Copper Hills for residential, or inpatient, treatment of foster children. Human services spokeswoman Carol Sisco said a second outpatient contract is currently up for annual review.
Up to 17 foster children and four juvenile delinquents under state custody are currently being treated there, said Sisco.
Prompting one of the earlier probes was the 2005 arrest of a counselor on seven felony counts of sodomy and forcible sexual abuse of a teenager under her care. The alleged perpetrator, Melanie April Seager, has yet to stand trial.
kstewart@sltrib.com
