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Kenneth Marcus, the man who declared yours truly to be "dangerously intelligent" has proven himself to be internationally infamous for his dangerous stupidity, as head of CVH:

Conditions at Connecticut Valley Hospital are so dangerous that patient health and safety are in "immediate jeopardy," according to a state probe of the psychiatric hospital that comes on the heels of a searing federal investigation.

The oldest, largest public psychiatric hospital in Connecticut will lose its federal Medicare reimbursements if it doesn't fix major problems with nursing services, the condition of patient wards and medical record-keeping, officials of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Boston confirmed Tuesday. The agency regulates the nation's medical insurance programs for the poor and elderly.

The 591-bed hospital must submit a plan of correction to the agency, which calls itself CMS, by Oct. 4. At stake are millions of dollars a year in federal funding for the care of indigent patients. Money for patient care at CVH comes from federal reimbursements and also from the hospital's $100 million state budget.

An official with the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which operates the hospital, said Tuesday night that some corrective measures already have been taken.

"We're giving this the highest priority. We will make the corrections and CVH will not lose its Medicare funding," department spokesman Wayne Dailey said.

The Department of Public Health came to the sprawling CVH campus on Sept. 12 to investigate the June 22 suicide of patient Donat M. Rioux III at Battell Hall. Rioux, 36, formerly of Waterbury, died of asphyxia by hanging, according to his death certificate. It was the fourth suicide at a CVH unit since 2003.

The state investigators, acting as agents for CMS, "found deficiencies of such a serious nature that they cited the facility for `immediate jeopardy,'" said Roseanne Pawelec, spokeswoman for the CMS.

"The conditions posed an immediate threat to the health and safety of patients. The `jeopardy' finding is the highest level of deficiency," said Pawelec, based in the agency's Boston regional office.

CVH is still able to accept new admissions, however.

The state health department sent its findings to CMS on Monday.

Pawelec said that under federal law, the findings aren't released for 30 days, or until a plan of correction is submitted by the hospital, whichever comes first.

Pawelec wouldn't comment on the possibility that the hospital could shut down if it loses its federal reimbursements.

She said the "vast majority" of hospitals and nursing homes across the nation that find themselves in the same fix as CVH are able to correct the deficiencies in time, and don't lose the funding.

She also said she couldn't comment on what the state investigators found. But she said the inquiry would have focused on the supervision and care received by the patient who committed suicide and on general hospital procedures, operations and conditions.

"They look at specifics regarding the patient, and the systemic operation of the hospital to see if it is sufficient to protect all of the patients," she said.

The state's findings come one month after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found fundamental breakdowns in patient care at CVH.

The federal report concluded that suicide risk remains high, that patients are restrained as a "first resort" and as a "convenience" for staff, that one shift doesn't talk to another about high-risk patients, and that treatment practices are often "grossly inadequate."

State mental health officials have been working on their formal response to the justice department's report, which is due at the end of this month.

Now they have to turn their attention to the CMS deadline.

Contact Josh Kovner at jkovner@courant.com.

Courant.com

Report: CVH Patients In 'Jeopardy'