A state disability agency is preparing to investigate the suicide of a psychiatric patient at the Connecticut Valley Hospital in June.
The state Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities will request Donat M. Rioux III’s patient records at CVH and the results of all of the hospital’s internal inquiries, Executive Director James McGaughey said Thursday.
Rioux, 36, formerly of Waterbury, died June 22. Officials said he hanged himself. Patient advocates said he had a physical disability and was confined to a wheelchair.
Luis Perez, chief executive officer at CVH, said Thursday that he also expects the state health department to investigate the death.
Perez said the hospital’s own review found “no breaches of hospital policies, procedures, unit safety or supervisory processes.” He added that an outside consultant has been hired to do a separate investigation for the hospital.
Perez said the patient “had been doing well for months” and that “interviews of patients and staff yielded no indication of depression, demoralization, or hopelessness in the weeks preceding the suicide.”
