Mental illness and More than a gut feeling

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From:Victor Tobias <vtobias@u.washington.edu>
To:"Bartlett, Jeanine" <jqb7@cdc.gov>
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To All,

Both of these topics are serious things to consider, but are irrelevant in the
case of the UW situation. In the case of hiring this particular resident, he had
to undergo many interviews and they all felt the same way. They all felt that he
would have some challenges, mainly due to language, but that he appeared
motivated to meet those challenges. Did he con everybody? When might you or your
co-worker snap?

With regards to supervisors not taking an active role. When a problem started to
show with the resident, everything imaginable within the law was done. The
University contacted social workers, mental health experts, lawyers, police. The
resident was offered counseling of which he did not participate. It probably
sounds easy to just lock up the person and throw away the key, but we do have
rights as citizens. Everything was done by the book and he could not be
involuntarily committed, because there never were any outright threats toward
anyone. He was a US Citizen and was able to purchase a gun legally. It was
always the fear that he was going to harm himself. Even in today's paper, there
is no evidence that he had premeditation in mind. We will never know the truth.

Let's not group every co-worker with "problems" as a mental case. There are
health issues, divorce, etc. that might make them more quiet or seem different.
These are just my thoughts as they relate to our situation and your comments.

I would like to thank all of you that have sent email of support and
condolences.

Victor Tobias
Histology Supervisor
University of Washington Medical Center
Seattle, WA





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