Another pushed a resident, causing injury, and then failed to notify a nurse.

Another employee was allowed to retire after failing to “ensure the rights to privacy for clients during showers” and filing false abuse reports.

The state-run facility for disabled adults in Buckley grabbed headlines earlier this month when three counselors were arrested and charged with assaulting residents after being caught slapping and manhandling them on undercover video shot by KIRO-TV Eyewitness News.

The News Tribune has learned that 10 other Rainier employees have been suspended or fired for incidents involving abuse or neglect of residents during the past three years.

Another nine were disciplined for other reasons, including sleeping on the job, medication errors and mismanaging the petty cash fund.

A total of 81 allegations of suspected physical, sexual or mental abuse of residents at the 400-person facility were reported to state officials between October 2004 and this month, the Department of Social and Health Services said. The information came in response to a News Tribune disclosure request following the KIRO-TV report, which aired Oct. 3.

“The issue here is that anything like this is unacceptable,” department spokesman Steve Williams said Thursday. But he noted that the incidents involved only a small fraction of those who have worked at the facility since 2004.

“We wish we were perfect,” he said.

Mark Stroh, executive director of the Washington Protection & Advocacy System, a local member of the National Disability Rights Network, said his organization already had been concerned about whether Rainier staff were reporting all the abuse and neglect they witnessed.

“Facilities don’t always do the right thing once they know about it,” he said Thursday. “We’ve asked and no one can tell us of any instance where someone who failed to report has been prosecuted.”

Under Washington law, failure to report the abuse of vulnerable adults is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Stroh also said he had a general concern with investigations of such incidents at state facilities. He said one of his staffers was visiting a different facility and saw an open medicine cabinet with drugs spilling out onto the floor.

The incident was reported, but investigators were unable to substantiate it, he said.

Sue Elliott, executive director of the disability advocacy group Arc of Washington, said she was saddened the video didn’t spark much outrage.

“I don’t know what it takes anymore,” she said. “Clearly, the people who tipped off KIRO thought it wouldn’t get attention any other way.”

After the arrests of the three employees, Rainier School immediately started retraining all its staff.

It’s even seeking to use the KIRO video to “show them the way things are not to be done,” Williams said. (The incidents in the video are being discussed with staff, but the Department of Social and Health Service has not yet obtained permission from the guardians of the residents in the video to use their images for training purposes.)

The earlier incidents didn’t lead to any such system-wide programs, he said.

“Every time there is an incident, they go back and look at it,” Williams said. “If it’s just an individual who’s not following proper procedure, there probably won’t be a full-blown retraining exercise. What makes this one different is that you have visual proof. There’s no ambiguity. There’s no denying this happened.”

The three arrested employees have each pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault in Tacoma District Court and are awaiting trial. One was a probationary employee and already has been fired.

Seven other employees at the school, which typically employs more than 1,000 people, were removed from positions having contact with residents pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Of the seven, two were temporary and will not be called back; one is on medical leave; and the remaining four remain on alternative duties, Williams said.

Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872

ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com

some of those disciplined

Here’s a look at some of the Rainier School employees who have been suspended or fired over the last three years for infractions involving residents.

Oct. 21, 2004: A counselor was accused of rape. The employee was fired. But after being found not guilty in court, the employee was rehired for a different position having no contact with residents.

April 2, 2005: A counselor verbally abused two residents. Result: fired.

May 17, 2005: A counselor provoked and was emotionally abusive to a resident. The counselor pulled on the resident’s arm and clothes, causing the resident to become upset. The employee also yelled at the resident and ripped up one of his checks. Result: Resigned in lieu of being fired.

Sept. 19, 2005: Other staff reported a probationary counselor might have abused residents. One resident had a serious finger injury and another was fearful of the employee. He also failed to disclose he had previously been imprisoned for a violent crime. Result: fired.

May 26, 2006: A counselor pushed a resident and then failed to notify a nurse of the resident’s injury. Result: fired.

June 6, 2006: A counselor allowed a one-on-one client to escape from the bathroom and then the house. Result: four-day suspension.

June 16, 2006: A counselor was verbally abusive and threatening in front of residents. The counselor threatened to go home, get a gun and shoot the residents and himself or herself. Result: fired.

Nov. 6, 2006: A counselor was abusive and intimidated a resident. She yelled at him to take a shower and threatened to withhold his snack. Result: two-day suspension.

Jan. 30, 2007: A counselor failed to “ensure the privacy rights for clients during showers.” The counselor also made false allegations of abuse and neglect of residents. Result: Agreed to retire and was placed on alterative assignment.

April 23, 2007: A counselor left a resident on the toilet for four hours. Result: five-day suspension. got a story?

Are you a former employee of the Rainier School? Do you have a loved one there? Got a story to tell about the facility? If so, we’d like to hear from you.

Contact Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872 or ian.demsky@thenewstribune.com

Mailing address: 1950 S. State St., Tacoma WA, 98405.