FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR

FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1995 (202) 616-2765

TDD (202) 514-1888

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR ALLEGED

CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS AT THE D.C. VILLAGE NURSING HOME

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department today sued the

District of Columbia for allegedly failing to provide necessary
safety and medical care to the residents of the D.C. Village
Nursing Home, neglect that violated the residents' constitutional
rights and may have led to medical emergencies and even deaths.
D.C. Village, a facility located in Washington, D.C., houses
individuals with special needs, including the elderly, persons with
mental illness and persons with developmental disabilities.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in D.C., alleged that
the District of Columbia, which is legally responsible for the
operation of the D.C. Village, violated the rights of the
facility's residents under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act (CRIPA) because it failed to:

​ provide adequate medical care and treatment;

​ provide reasonably safe conditions;

​ ensure that there is an adequate number of

appropriately trained staff to meet the needs of the
residents regarding necessary care, medical and nursing
services and psychiatric treatment and training;

​ provide mentally retarded residents necessary treatment

and training;

​ meet the residents' basic care needs.

The Department asserted that in recent months individuals have

died from causes which call into question the adequacy of basic
medical care; at least two individuals have died this year from
allegedly treatable conditions. Another resident recently had to
have his leg amputated allegedly after suffering from severe
bedsores. In addition, the Justice Department received complaints
claiming that vendors are not being paid, resulting in such severe
shortages that in one case, family members were forced to supply
necessary colostomy bags.
The suit seeks to enjoin the District from continuing these
practices, and to require the District to improve the conditions at
the facility.
"D.C. Village has been in a state of emergency for too long,"
said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.
"We have tried and tried to resolve these problems amicably with
the District. And we are still committed to trying. But now it's
time to act."
 Former Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was informed of the
Department's most recent findings on October 1994. Since then, the
Justice Department has sought to negotiate a consent decree to
correct the unconstitutional and unlawful conditions to which
residents are subjected.
"We tried to rectify the immediate problems at D.C. Village
through a cooperative federal and local effort," said Eric H.
Holder, Jr., United States Attorney in Washington D.C. "We are
hopeful that before long the District will choose to enter into a
constructive settlement to safeguard the constitutional rights of
D.C. Village residents, rather than engaging in expensive
litigation. In that regard, the parties have agreed to continue
talking in an effort to resolve this matter."
The facility has been under investigation by the Justice
Department since August 1990, and has been visited by independent
experts and attorneys from the Civil Rights Division.
"We have the responsibility to protect the safety of the D.C.
Village residents and we intend to assume it," Patrick added.
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