So as you know, I’m a huge fan of Dr. Drew Pinsky of Love Line and, more recently, VH1’s Celebrity Rehab. He’s been in the headlines again recently, but this time, unfairly so in my humble opinion. It seems that three patients at the Aurora Las Encinas Hospital (where VH1’s Celebrity Rehab was filmed and where Dr. Pinsky is employed) died in the past five months and another was allegedly raped. The only reason that Dr. Pinsky is being brought into the investigation at all is because of his high profile and not because he has been named by any of the victims’ families as being to blame.

Here’s What We Know

There are patient confidentiality laws which follow one beyond the grave, so the chemical dependency program at Aurora Las Encinas could neither deny nor confirm the deaths but a spokesman from the California Department of Public Health did confirm that there is an ongoing investigation. Also due to confidentiality laws, Dr. Pinsky couldn’t go into detail on any of the deaths, but he did tell ABCNews.com that none of the patients in question were his and that he had nothing to do with any of those cases. He says, “To associate me with these situations is really becoming an egregious problem,” and that the real story is the skyrocketing number of lives lost due to prescription drug abuse. 

Another thing: one of the patients who died was found only a few hours after checking into the program, so it seems unlikely that any fault will be found with the center in this instance, at least. The man was 23-year-old Alex Clyburn and his mother, Arline Clyburn, told ABCNews.com that poor monitoring was the reason for her son’s death. She says, “I think our son died because of the clinical incompetence and gross negligence, and the protocol that was insufficient.”

As for the other patients who died at Aurora Las Encinas in the past five months, one is said to have overdosed on another patient’s medication and the other committed suicide and hanged himself. The rape of a 14-year-old patient was allegedly committed by another patient who was 16 years old. While two of the deaths did occur in the chemical dependency unit of Aurora Las Encinas where Dr. Pinsky works, the other two deaths happened in the hospital part of the facility, clearly out of Dr. Pinsky’s jurisdiction.

Here’s What We Don’t Know

We don’t know why this hospital is being singled out for investigation. Is it just because of the high profile of Dr. Pinsky and the chemical dependency program due to the reality TV show? Aren’t there significantly more than 3 deaths at hospitals in a five-month period on a regular basis?

It does sound like this hospital is lacking in efficient supervision. Perhaps Clyburn could have been saved if he had been more closely monitored by his nurses. Perhaps the suicide could have been caught in time and put in appropriate facilities. The other patient should never have had access to another patient’s medications and, obviously, underage patients need almost constant supervision.

For those of you who have been to inpatient rehabs or work or have worked in hospitals, what do you think? Are these investigations a normal occurrence or is there something amiss at Aurora Las Encinas?

If you like this post subscribe to the feed

"Celebrity Drug Rehab Center Has 3 Deaths in 5 Months" posted in Drug Rehab.
Subscribe: comments.