Group Home Workers Lacked Training, State Says -- Improper Use Of Restraints Also Blamed In Teen's Death

A Tacoma adult-care home in which an autistic woman accidentally hanged herself last week employed untrained workers and shouldn't have used restraining belts to keep the woman in her bed, state officials said yesterday.

Melissa Neyman, 19, was found dead Thursday morning, after she became entangled in a restraint belt and her bedclothes while trying to crawl out a window. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death an accident.

Workers told the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) investigators that Neyman was strapped onto her bed and locked in her room because she wandered, said Amanda Carmier, area manager for adult family homes in Pierce and Kitsap counties.

None of the four workers on duty at the time of Neyman's death met state training requirements, Carmier said.

State regulations also prohibit using restraints at adult family homes, unless warranted by a medical condition and monitored by a licensed nurse or physician.

There was no medical reason for using restraints on Neyman, and the home had no licensed health-care worker for monitoring restraints, Carmier said.

The DSHS investigation is part of the process of revoking the home's license, officials said.

The care home, located at 1585 S. Seashore Drive near Day Island, is operated by Judith Young, who apparently was in Hong Kong last week at the time of Neyman's death. Attempts to reach Young by telephone yesterday were unsuccessful.

The home had been licensed since 1993 and was up for reinspection in September. The license was suspended Friday, and its only other full-time resident was transferred to another licensed facility.

Carmier said the home's workers had no proof of having received training in adult-care fundamentals, first aid or CPR.

When the DSHS last inspected the home in March 1996, its two workers met state training requirements, except one hadn't been trained in CPR, Carmier said.

Neyman had been at the home since January and had stayed at the home temporarily at least twice before.

"Because Judy herself was so good with Melissa, it's unfortunate that people who were there in her absence weren't properly trained," Margaret Neyman, Melissa's mother, said Monday.

Jake Batsell's phone-message number is 206-464-2595. The e-mail address is: jaba-new@seatimes.com