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HomeMy WebLinkAbout97-06972 ~ .tJ '" :\) ~ ...., ,~ 0- ...,) ~ q- ~ ,",' ' , , , , ! 'J 'I " ~ ", , , ) , / ,'"' ,. I " ~EC 2 2 1997 R. SCOTT PIERCE, Plaintiff/Petitioner IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. Holy Spirit Hospital Defendant/Respondent NO: (j '? - ~ 'I '7.l... C,~;i 1-:t-~ " I I~ RULE And now, this ~, day of _~ 1997, upon consideration of the Petition to Compel Access to Mental Health Records a Rule is hereby issued upon Respondent to show cause, if any, as to why the re1;;: re}~~~ ShOU~~ be ;;;~d~c..e . Rule returnable Uf l._~L Ia_ I.~l.d _l .."'^ "'~r QJ 1 Qq~ r11mhQ.,..1 ::!.n..4 ~- ~~l!-I CQI'~+- l-I'nus~ '-'r ull_le, __ r~IU1~YJ.Van.Ld.- This Rule and Petition may be served upon Respondent by certified mail, Return Receipt Requested. J. .. R. SCOTT PIERCE, Plaintiff/Petitioner IN THE COURT OJ: COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERI,AND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. Holy Spirit Hospital Defendant/Respondent NO: (/'/- (,,')/.)..- C~~,i .1:t~ PETITION TO COMPEL ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS AND NOW, comes the Petitioner, R. Scott Pierce, who files this Petition to Compel Access to Mental Health Records and in support thereof respectfully represents: 1. The Petitioner is R. Scott Pierce currently resIding at 112 Forest Drive, Camp Hill, York County, Pennsylvania. 2, The Respondent is Holy Spirit Hospital residing at 503 N. , 21st Street, Camp Hill, PA 17011 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 3. The Petitioner is the natural father of the minor child, Christine A. Pierce, born July 2, 1984. 4. On September 19, 1997, the mother filed a Petition to Modify the Existing Custody Order NO. 2131 CIVIL TERM 1987 concerning the minor child. S. A cllstody conciliation conference was held on November 13, 1997, before the custody conciliator, but no agreement could be reached. 6. The purpose of the Petition to Modify the Existing Custody Order was the allegation of the mother that circumstances have changed in that her husband had secured employment i" Nashville, Tennessee, and wants to remove the minor child to the State af Tennessee to live with mother and her husband. 7. Peti tioner has obj ected to the move of the minor child to Tennessee and believes that it is not in the best interest of the child to be removed from her home state and from her father and his family with whom she has had significant contact over the years. 8. As of the date of the filing of this Petition there has been a hearing set for January 30,1998 in the custody matter. The Petitioner is attempting to gather evidence to support his case that it would be in the best interest of the minor child to remain here in the Comn\onwealth of Pennsylvania. 9. At all times throughout the history of this case which dates back to 1987, the Petitioner has had what he believes to have been a positive relationship with his daughter as testified to by Dr, Hazel Brown. 10. In 1987, Petitioner reported suspected child sexual abuse involving his daughter by mother's then boyfriend. Following three days of hearings at the Department of Public Welfare, the Hearing Officer denied the request to expunge the record of the boyfriend. Mother later told Petitioner that he ruined her reputation as a mother and said she is going to make his life miserable. 11. Since that time the Mother has ma~e false allegations of sexual abuse by the father and various other claims against the father and his wife to Children and Youth Services. These allegations have been investigated by Children and Youth services and have been determined to be unfounded. 12. In 1988 the father started taking the child to Dr.' Hazel Brown. Mother agreed in court that she would alternate in taking the child for counseling with Dr. Brown and also was Court Ordered to do so. Mother took the child one time, then refused to take her again. Father continued taking the child for the next couple years. 13. Mother told the father that Dr. Brown was a quack, but then took one of her classes in child psychology at HACC. 14. In October 1993, Petitioner agreed and was Ordered to allow his minor child to attend counseling at the Holy spi.rit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. See Exhibit A. But, the mother made it clear that this was her thing with the child and did not want the father involved whatsoever. 15. The purpose of the counseling which started October 1994 was to help the minor child deal with difficulties when her parents had conflicts concerning her custody arrangements. 16. Due to the history of this case and the number of times that the case has been in court the Petitioner felt that the counseling might be beneficial to his minor child so long as both par.ents were involved. 17. Mother made sure all counseling sessions were made when the Petitioner was at work and she had custody, Also, mother has never notified the Petitioner concerning any progress reports that they were to attend together as directed by the Court Order. 18. To the best knowledge of the Petitioner, the counseling at the Holy Spirit Hospital ceased in March 1996. 19. During the time period in which ~he counseling was being conducted and following the termination of the counseling in March 1996 your Petitioner has noticed subtle changes with his child. Three examples: A. The child thinks that it is ok to talk to Petitioner once every 7 - 10 days as restricted by mother. S, That it is ok for the child to be off school for 3 or 4 days and wait until she visit's the Petitioner's home for 4 or 5 hours on a Wednesday to do her homework which would take a couple of hours. C. The child testified at a custody hearing in December 1996, that she wanted to spend less time at the Petitioners horne, which , rt'\ , is contrary to previous statements. 20. Because the fact that the mother did not abide in the Court Order and that the mother has made it clear on several occasions that she doesn't want the Petitioner involved in the child's life; your Petitioner sought to obtain copies of the records (See Exhibit B) fram the counseling that his minor child had received at the Holy spirit Hospital that ended in March 1996, but was denied access to these records by the Holy Spirit Hospit~l (See Exhibit C) . 21. Under 55 Pa. Code ~5100,33(c) (1) access to the mental health records of a person could be denied if it is determined by the director of the treatment facility that disclosure of the records would constitute a substantial detriment to the patient's treatment. 22. Based on that section of the Pennsylvania Code the Holy Spirit Hospir.al denied Petitioner's request for access to his minor child's records. 23. Mother seeks to relocate Petitioner's daughter to the State of Tennessee which will impose a substantial impediment to an ongoing relationship between Petitioner and his daughter. 24, Petitioner believes that his minor child and/or the counselor have been rois led by the mother, as has happened in the past, and the counseling that was provided by the Holy Spirit Hospital was in part the result of false allegations/information made against the Petitioner and m.ay have led to the current si tuation. 25. Petitioner believes that since he has legal custody of his child who is under the age of 14 that he should be entitled to have access to the records maintained by the Holy Spirit Hospital for counseling of his minor child. 26. Without having the opportunity to challenge the mental health provider's determination that allowing access to the records would be detrimental to the treatment of the patient, your ~etitioner is left without what could be his only opportunity to do what he believes is in the best interest of his minor child, 27. In addition, treatment has ceased as of March 1996 with respect to his minor child and theref(1re it is difficult to understand how giving the Petitioner access to these mental health records would be a substantial detriment to treatment which has ended, 2G. Your Petitioner believes that the information contained within those records could be beneficial to the court in determining what is in the best interest to the child so long as the ~eti tioner is provided with an opportunity to rebut any allegations within those records which he denies. WHEREFORE, your ~etitioner prays that this Honorable Court will schedule a hearing on this ~etition before the Custody He~ring on January 30, 1998 and, following hearing, that this Court will. enter an Order granting the ~etitioner a copy of the mental health records of his daughter which are being held by the Holy Spirit Hospital. Respectfully submitted, ;t~ ~m{J R. Scott ~ierce Plaintiff/~etitioner ROBERT S. PIERCE, plaintitf : IN TIlE COURT OF CCUo'JCN PLEIIS or :CUl-IDERLl\ND COUNTY, PENNSYLVArTrA . . v :CIVIL ACTION - LAfi . . ROBIN L. PUCKETT, Defandant :NO. 2131 CIVIL 1987 :IN CUSTODY _OnDER AND NOW, this ,,::~' ,1, day of Il" t: ' , 1993, up,:m consider~ti~n of the attached Custody Conciliation Raport, it is herf'by r:rrlared .!Ind directed a5 lollows: 1. Tha Father Robert S. Pierc" and the Mother R,',bin L. Puckett shall have sll<,rod legal custody of Christine A. Pierce born Ju.Zj' :1, 1984. 2. The 5hared legal custody arrangement sho'.lll be srlch tlMt each parent shall keep the other parent fully informad about the educati~nal, social, and health activitie~ of the child and all other import,]nt issues, Addi t ,tonally, both parento shall be allowed to attend all scho~l ~nrl ace!.,.! actiV.!.l;lHS tl1t1t .:zr'3 I.Ip.?ropr!.st'~!j. att:!nd~rl hy parents, and both paronts shall have froe aCCO~3 to schn~! infon~ation and m~dical ~nform~tion. 3. TIle ~lotller s.iall enjoy prima ry ph.1's 1c,]1 cust':Jdy 0 f tile minor child. 4. The Fath/?,:" :1hall ~njoy Hbflnd. periods of physic.::l custoc!y of the minor child as follows: A. On a three-weekend cycle, Father sh~ll have two consecutive wdekends with the minor child frem Fj.:ida.Y dt 4 P!t until !!::J::d!tJ' ~c::Jing r~'h9n F~t:.h(!r- sha 11 deli VAr the child to school or to tIle Moth'.!r's home. D. During tlJ'3 two con:1ecutl I'" weeks th'! eh 11 d is with the Mother, the Father shall have visitation every WednpsdllY &vening from after school on Wednesday until 8:30 P.M. 5. The parties shall alternate major holidays consisting of Thanksgiving, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and July 4th. The Mother shall have the Thanksgiving Holiday in 1993 wlr.h the parties alternating thoreafter. The visitation tlma on .:J .. II the holid:J}'s shall include> tho entire weekend for the particular holidilY, On tile Til,:Jnk:<giving Hol1d.1Y, the weekend shall start on r~odnearfa}' ,lt 4 PM and cot/clude Sunday at 6 PM. On the East~r Holiday, the weekend shall start on 4 PM on the last school day before the Easter vacation and end on Sunday at 6 PM, For Memorial Day and Labor Day, the we~kend shall start Friday ~t 4 PM and end Monday at 6 PIf. Theae weekend holidays shl111 not be included in the calculations 0: the weekend custody arrangements that are set forth ah~ve so that the three- w~ekend cycle shall continue uninterrupted and the Thanksgiving, Easter, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends shall not be included or considered ill that weekend cycle. 6. For the Christmas Holiday, the parties shall alternate the Christmas Iloliday itself from December 24 at noon until Christmas Day at noon and Christmas Day at noon until December 26 at noon. For Christmas 1993, the Mother shall enjoy custody on Decembar 24 through Christmas Day at noon. For l:he rem!linder of the Cllrlstmas Holidays, tho parties shall calculate the total Christmas vacation that the child hits to start from the day after the child finishcfI school befor~ Christmas and go to and include the daybofore th~ child rlJturns to school. The p,u:ti!!::: ar.;!!l totill the d"':'. of! the Christmas vacation (e.'Ccludi1Jg Christmas Evn, Christmas Day, and Decewber 26) and determina an equal division of those days. The party that has the child on Christmas Eve shall enjoy temporary custody from when the child leaves school prior to Christmas through Christmas Eve and Christmns Day, and that parent shall enjoy the remaining portion of their one half of the Christmas vacation at the end of the Christmas vacation. The parent that has the child from Christmas Day through Decew~er 26 shall enjoy their one half of the Christmas vacation from the 26th until their one half period of time is completed. 7. The Mother shall enjoy custody of the minor child on Mothc.>r's D"y at 9 All until 9 AM tho following morning, and the Father shall enjoy custody of tho m,inor child on Father' s D~y for the same timo perlod. Tfl.i:3 provis~rm shall. superser/e any other provision of this Cllstody Order. 8. During the Glimmer, physic,11 custody shall be al ternntf!d ....!nry t",o weeks st,'rting on a Hr.>nday morning at 9 AM. The part,!,.,,! 6hall calculate the numb~~ of weRks during the summer month~ and arrangR a schedule betwElen them to insure th!lt there is equal division of time ba.'led upon the days o{f fro", Ilchoal. For tIle days betwe'3n when thp. child finishes school and tile first Monday, the week days shall be spli t betl~cen the parties or adjusted based upon a period of time at the end of the summer that may not allow for a full week's vacation. The a.Zternating consecutive weekend schedule th...t is in , effect during the school year shall not b'3 in effect during the summer months starting the first Monday that the two waek rotation shall commence. The alternating weekend schedule shall go back into effect the first wcakend after school commences in August, under the schedule th~t was in effect the last weekend before the summer started. 9. The c.'lild's birthday shall b" altarna::ed in conj:JnC"tion with the alternating July 4 holiday such that the parent that has the July 4 holiday shall have custody of the child from 9 AM on the child's birthday until 9 AM on July 5. 10. The child shall be permitted to spend time with the immediate family members on their birthdays, immediate families to include the children of both parents and the spouses of. both parents. This provision shall be suspended if either parent is out oE the area on a vlIcation and notice of th':s vac"tl'.'n i~ qiv~n to the other parent at l~ast 45 days pri~r to tho bir::hdl.lte, I:otice to be given by a wrItten letter to ~hrl other parent. 11. It is directed that no per.iod of tima shall the child be in the presence oE John Morris, 12. Both parties shall insure that the minor child makes phone calls to the other parent while in the custody of one parent, and both parties shall insure that the minor child shall be available to receive phone calls Erom the other parent. The parents shall not interfere during these phone calls and shall allow the child to have a reasonable opportunity to talk wit.'! t.'!e other parent 101' an extended period oE time on the phone. .1.3. The Father is directed to sign any necessary documentati':Jn to aLlot., the child to attend counseling at Holy Spirit Hospital. Father shall be involved in this counseling such that the counselor shall only speak with both parents concerning the progress and any evaluations of the child. Mother shall notify rather a~ to when tha counselor is available to meet to give the progress reports on the ahild. The parent having physical custody of the child will trllnspo.rt the child to and from any counseling sessions. Absent the Father signing the neces"ary documentation, thin Order shall be suffic:1ent approv.1l for Holy Sp.lrit Hospitoll to enroll the child in a counseling program upon the Mother's signature alone. 14. When the Mother delivers med,ication to the Father for the child's benefit, the medication sholll be in the prescription bottle which identifies the physician and the medication and the method as to how the medication is administered, Father shall return the medicat,Lon to the Mother upon a conclusion of his custody with the child. This provision shall apply equally to the Mother. 15. Both pa:tl6s ahall advise the otbe~ p~rent of a telephone number that they can be reached at in tho event they traval with the child outside of the central Pennsylvania area for more than 48 hours. 16. Thd non-custodial parent shall pick up the child at the designated time for exc/Hlnge of custody. Howevar, at the end of Father's time of temporary custody on a weekend, Father shall be delivering the child either to school or to the Mother's home. Transportation shall be ac~omplished by the parent or their designee. Thoir designee ghall be a member of the inun1!diate family except in time of el"!'r'1'mcy. If the parent or their immediate family can~ot do the t.ransporta tion, they shall call the otller parent to accomplish the transportation. In the event the other parent is unwilling or unable to do the transportation, the parent that is required to transport the child shall have the choice of selecting a friend or relative to do the transportation. 17. Unless agreed otherwise by the parties, the two-week alternating custody time in the summer shall commence alternmtively with the Mother starting the first two rneks ill 19N a.,d the Fc:thdr stiJl-ting tho fil'3t tt{O w~eks in 1995. 18. This Order is entered pursuant to an agreement reached at dI Custody Concili) tion Conference. In the e\'pnt either party becomes dissatisfied with this Order, that party maJ' file a petition with the court to hav~ tile csse agsin scheduled before the Custody Conciliator. + .,- 1 BY THE COURT: , ,,! .~ :'y "";j "_ C'. )'(l.l~ ,.;,. George B. Ho~ter .. qa: Joan Carey, s.qulre R. SaCltt Fleree, Esquire ,.~(;~ ,.~.:",. , . t--"'.' , , ' , ' '" -...... ~-..., ,.'~ :,: kt:",I' r. . .' I' '., .' I' rO" 1\1".1 111 ',r i "I '. ' Tt.'~. ",~ S,~:"! d {!).,.t ", VI .~l}. ,_J.{",.L.1"....f.L., 1:;..., r.~~i..,,,... _.....u dt. _ FI'C~~VJIl,=,l:"1 01.) f' '~r' October 17, 1997 R, Scott Pierce 112 Forest Dr, Camp Hill, PA 17011 .1... Steven Bucciferro Community Mental Health S03 North 21st Street Camp Hill, PA 17011 Dear Steven Bucciferro, I am requesting a copy of my daughters mental health records. Her name is Christine Ann Pierce, she is 13 years old, and her SS# is 193-66.0788. When the records are ready to be picked up, you can call me at work (720-3080). I was told that this should take only a very short time and I appreciate your attention to this malter, sincerel7, ?7" ~t:~ ~ . R. Scott Pierce '. " (") ,,') 0 c: OJ '11 ;:,.. '- ;,J ~,Ui ,.. i i \:;y {lJIII :..":': ..... I. I "~ .,~ r '.' i'iL'. en '''l~ " r '" ...1..' -" ,-\-' J;(' ::::: '~ (C1( ) - <':i ;';'C~ .. :;; v, :t. .- IrJ , ,C:- :" 6. Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief f,lS to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 7, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 8, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant. 9, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant. 10, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 11. Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 12, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 13, Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as tel the truth or falsity of this averment and the same is denied and strict proof thereof is demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant. 14, Denied. The Delendantls without knowledge or Inlormatlon sufficient to lorm a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 15. Denied. The Defendant Is without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same is denied and strict proof thereof I~ demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant, 16, Denied. The Defendant 15 without knowledge or Information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, If relevant. 17. Denied. The Defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same is denied and strict proof thereof Is demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant. 18, Answering Defendant objects to responding to this allegation as it would breach the confidentiality of such information as required by the Mental Health Procedures Act at 50 P.S, ~7111 and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 55 Pa, Code ~5100,33(e), 19, Denied. The Defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of this averment and the same Is denied and strict proof thereof is demanded at the time of hearing, if relevant. 20, Admitted In part. Denied In part. It is admitted that Plaintiff sought to obtain copies of his minor child's menial health treatment records at Holy Spirit Hospital as evidenced by his Exhibit "8" and the Hospital's response as evidenced by his Exhibit "C," The remaining averments are denied as Defendant is without information or knowleelge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of these allegations and strict proof thereof is demanded if relevant. 21, Admitted. By way of further explanation, it is for this reason the Defendant has denied Plaintiffs request to see his daughter's mental health treatment records, CERTIFICA TE OF SERVICE! AND NOW. this 11i!. day of January, 1996, the undersigned does hereby certify that he did this date serve a copy of the foregoing Answer to Petition to Compel Access to Mental Heallh Records upon the other parties of record by ceuslng same to be deposited In the Unlled States Mall, first class postage prepaid, at Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, addressed as follows: R. Scoll Pierce 112 Forest Drive Camp Hili, PA 17011 { I' I, I <4 I, .. (") ., r") ~ .;,".1 " I ," ,)(,..,- '.) , " '.:J ,)oJ ',,::) -~ "... " "(1 -.-'") ~) )\1'1 ,j ,:.. .Il ..1 ~