The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "psychiatrists" ...
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America's Great State Payroll Giveaway
A state-employed psychiatrist in California made $822,000 by clocking in 17 hours every day last year, including Sundays and holidays. An employee cashed out with $609,000 for unused vacation when she retired, claiming she never took vacations in a 30-year career. A highway patrol officer collected $484,000 in salary, pension and leave payments. The chief money manager at a Texas pension fund got $1 million in salary and bonuses while posting investment returns that trailed those of peers who earned a quarter as much. Bloomberg News used freedom-of-information laws to obtain 1.4 million payroll records from the 12 largest states and show how taxpayers funded these out-of-control expenses and more, while at the same time states cut funding for universities, public safety, health care, schools and services aimed at the neediest residents.
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Hospital at Risk
My investigation of the Minnesota Security Hospital, a state-run facility that provides psychiatric treatment to nearly 400 adults deemed "mentally ill and dangerous," uncovered high rates of violence and injuries of employees and patients at the facility, a critical shortage of psychiatrists, and widespread confusion among employees about what to do when a patient becomes violent. I found that much of confusion was the result of the abrasive, threatening management style of head administrator David Proffitt, who was hired in 2011 to reform the facility. I began investigating Proffitt and found he was hired without a basic background check. I uncovered many troubling details from Proffitt's past, including domestic violence, a PhD from a now-defunct online degree mill, a forced resignation from his previous job as the administrator of a private psychiatric hospital in Maine, and other failings. The state ordered Proffitt to resign and the Minnesota legislative auditor began an audit of the department's hiring practices. The assistant commissioner of the Department of Human Services who led the hiring search also resigned. The governor proposed $40 million in renovations to address safety concerns. Regulators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the facility for the first time in 21 years. The facility also implemented new training for employees to reduce violence. My investigation of the facility continues.
Tags: Psychiatrists; domestic violence; injuries
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Failure to Aid
Over the last year, I spent a lot of time researching and reporting on stories pertaining to the mental health treatment of people in prison. More specifically, I have successfully fought to gain access to public records in order to tell the story of Tony Lester. Tony was a young man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He committed an assault and was sentenced to serve time at the Arizona State Prison in Tucson. Tragically, Tony committed suicide while in prison. Staff in the prison failed to render aid when they discovered him in his cell bleeding. My investigation not only revealed that he was improperly placed in with the general population against a judge's order and a court-ordered psychiatrist order...but he was also mistakenly given razors as part of a hygiene kit.
Tags: prison; paranoid schizophrenia; suicide; mental health
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Dr. Deception
The story reveals the bad behavior of a well paid psychiatrist. Among his bad behaviors there are duplicating reports to county judges, inappropriate behavior with a female jail inmate, and falsifying reports of competent defendants. Not only was he a problem, but the systems, including the courts, allowed him to get away with all his wrongdoings.
Tags: mental health; courts; defendants; trials; judges; money; unethical behavior
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The Fort Hood Shootings
The investigation showcases the unraveling of the Fort Hood massacre. It chronicles the repeated failure of U.S. intelligence to take substantive action against the assailant, Nidal Hasan, and the bureaucratic decisions that ultimately snowballed into a tragedy.
Tags: Anwar Awalki; Fort Hood; Brian Ross; military; massacre; shooting; jihad; Nidal Hasan; terror; Al Qaeda; Yemeni; bureaucracy; Texas; army base; psychiatrist;
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American Terrorist: In His Own Words
The ABC News reports on the confessions of Timothy McVeigh, the bomber of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The investigative team checks "McVeigh's account with dozens of others involved in the case - many of whom have never spoken publicly before." Among the interviewees are the psychiatrist who evaluated McVeigh, a child survivor, and a neighbor who trusted the bomber to baby-sit her children. The segment tells the story of McVeigh's childhood traumas and failures in personal and professional life.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; FBI; Oklahoma City bombing; children; psychiatry; government; crime
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Giving workers the treatment: If you raise a stink, you get the shrink!
Downs reports about "an increasingly popular weapon against whistleblowers: the psychiatric reprisal ... Across the country, companies have seized upon concerns about workplace violence to quash dissent. Hundreds of large corporations have hired psychiatrists and psychologists to advise them on how to weed out 'threatening' employees ... But by drawing the definition of 'threatening' as broadly as possible, they are giving themselves a new club to bang over workers." For example: Ford Motor Company electrician was barred from the factory and sent to a psychiatrist after he complained that he could not do his job because many of his bosses were taking equipment out of the plant to work on their homes or personal businesses.
Tags: workplace safety; U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration; American Postal Workers Union
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Limited Solace: Managed-Care Firms Handling Mental Health Trigger Complaints
Drawing on the stories of mental health patients and psychiatrists, The Wall Street Journal reports that the managed behavioral care industry "has transformed the treatment of mental illness and substance abuse." These firms, contracted with health maintenance organizations to provide mental health care to their members, "sprang up in response to soaring costs for mental-health benefits." The largest such firm is Magellan Health Services Inc. "As Magellan has grown, so have complaints." Many HMOs and psychiatrists have pulled out of Magellan's "phantom network," while plaintiffs seeking class-action status are accusing the company of fraud.
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Explosive Children, Desperate Parents
Courant reporters looked into life of two children who suffer with an early-onset of bipolar disorder and what parents of these children have to undergo in their daily routines. Children who have been diagnosed often take a number of drugs which can create unpredictable side effects and are more likely to "abuse drugs or alcohol, have troubled relationships, and have difficulty holding jobs. A quarter, if untreated, commit suicide." Experts also believe that while it is hard to diagnose this disorder, there is a rise of bipolar cases in children and many cases are simply overlooked.
Tags: children; bipolar disorder; psychiatrists; diagnosis
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False Promise
U.S. News and World Report investigates the effects of early exposure to computers on the development of very young children. The magazine finds that many child psychiatrists are not convinced that exposure to computers is good for children during their early development. "Too much 'screen time' at a young age, they say, may actually undermine the development of critical skills that kids need to become successful, dimishing creativity and imagination, motivation, attention spans, and the desire to persevere."
Tags: computers; children; development; parenting; critical skills