The patient strike which began on August 6, 2007, is now in its fourth week - and going strong.

The Hospital is trying to play-it-off as a big joke and laugh at the patients. However, they fool no one. As the old saying that has become one of the strike slogans goes, "The pig don't squeal unless it's hurt!" In this situation, the pig is really squealing, and loudly.

This is evidenced by the pettiness that is being ordered by the administration, and the fact that the Clinical Director, Dr. Gary Renzaglia abruptly left his post on August 24, 2007.

The pettiness has only galvanized the patients' resolve. On Monday, August 20, the patients did an almost total sit-in. They refused to go to all three meals for that day. They also refused to leave their housing units. The sit-in continued for two days, then on Wednesday, August 22, the patients returned to eating and some recreational activities. They continued to show an 80 to 90 percent refusal to attend any treatment groups.

The Hospital's Department of Police Services ("DPS") stepped-up their petty harassment on Wednesday, August 22. They used the excuse that most patients were wearing some sort of paper protest badge. Most of these are approximately 3" by 5" hung by a piece of masking tape from the patients' shirts. They contain various protest language, e.g.:

"When Injustice Becomes Law 
Resistance Becomes Duty 
Support Your Rights"

The Acting Executive Director at CSH, at this time, was Rocky Spurgeon. Thus, my personal favorite is:

Another 
prisoner who's
had enough of the 
Rocky Horror Show

When attempting to print several of these out at the CSH Copy Center, the hospital staff confiscated five 81/2" by 11" sheets of paper, each containing six of the small paper signs. The Office Technician, Grace Mendoza, and her assistant who's name is unknown at this time, did this with the justification that she was ordered to do so. After demanding a Denial of Rights Form be completed, as is required by state law but never done, Grace checked with her supervisor, John Catano. Catano also approved of her action because he was ordered to do so. They also attempted to avoid giving a receipt for the confiscated papers. After much arguing, they did write a receipt, but then did not want to provide me with a copy. After more arguing, they finally made a copy.

This pettiness is much like the Shasta County Jail's effort to stop the many articles I wrote, at that time, by confiscating my ink pens and writing a disciplinary infraction. It didn't work then either.

After dinner on August 22, A RPAC [Resident Patients' Advisory Council] meeting was held in the Library at 18:30. The DPS went into panic mode and shut own the hospital. First they announced for everyone to report back to their Units for an "emergency count." When that was done they decided to do a "shakedown" for a "lost" set of keys. According to overheard staff statements the keys were lost the day before. Now they decide to have a middle-of-the-night shakedown. 

Virtually no one is buying the veracity of this situation, particularly since staff has been leaking rumors of a Hospital-wide shakedown since last week, and they were having a problem getting their stories straight. Some said they were looking for a lost ID card, then the story changed to lost keys. A hospital wide shakedown was done in the middle of the night.

The DPS overreacted to the wearing of the small paper signs. DPS Officers performed a physical takedown of Jimmy H. because he would not voluntarily surrender a piece of paper that he had folded-up and placed inside his folder. This was a protest sign of some sort, obviously that was much larger than the size it folded into.

Michael St.Martin began wearing a piece of paper that said something to the effect, "Please don't beat me up because 1 am wearing this piece of paper."

Staff "leaks" reported that the Hospital's key rings had RFID chips inside a leather key fob which is attached to each key ring at a cost of approximately $450,000. That it had been discovered that staff had been cutting this chip out of the leather key fob so that they could run to the snack bar or their cars without checking their keys in-and-out each time. Otherwise they could have electronically tracked the missing keys. Instead, they had to do a physical search.

Telephone calls to CSH officials resulted in lies by the officials. Both families and the news media were told that there is nothing going on and that there is no lockdown.

On Saturday, August 25, 2007, the lockdown was lifted without explanation at 09:00 this morning. The DPS harassment abruptly ceased without explanation. However, the patient strike continues because none of the actual issues have yet been addressed. Staff is saying that the top administration is being replaced by a team of administrators from DMH headquarters. That they should arrive either next Monday or Tuesday.

At approximately 19:00, on August 29, 2007, the new Acting Director, Norm Kramer, was seen entering the mall area. Someone in a group of patients that Kramer had stopped to talk to pointed at Rocky Spurgeon and said something like: This is the piece of shit who has caused most of the problems here like the strike. Kramer reportedly said, "What strike?" Either he has not been told, or he pretended to be unaware.

The patients remain on strike, but are now waiting to see if the new Director can and will solve any of the problems.