Teen's mom brought to StoneCrest mental facility, dies within a day

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Mary Cole's daughter is still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that her mom was brought to the StoneCrest Center physically in good shape. 

Yet within 24 hours her mother was dead.

"She did what she had to do, being a single mother, only having us two - it was always us two," said Trinity Tyus. "She was like my best friend. Everywhere I went, I went with her. I was her everything."

Tyus knows how her mother lived, but has questions about how she died. The uncertainty centers around Mary Cole's brief stint at the StoneCrest Center - a mental health hospital - and why she was rushed to Ascension St. John last Friday where she died. 

"I lost my mom the day after Thanksgiving and it's so hard," Tyus said.

Cole went missing November 26th. She was found inside her car on I-75 a day later. Tyus says her mother suffered from schizophrenia and did not have her medication because she had recently lost her insurance coverage.

Cole was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital where Tyus says staffers encouraged her to have her mother petitioned and moved to their psychiatric unit.  She would not stay there for long.

"I'm like why didn't you notify me; why didn't you tell me? They said there was not enough room for her," Tyus said. 

She said staffers at StoneCrest would not allow her to see her mother because she's not of age. She tried calling more than a dozen times, but says she got the run around. 

"They kept transferring me to another patient," Tyus said. "I was calling them again and I kept saying, 'Can I speak to my mother?' (They said) 'She's sleeping.'"

Later that night Tyus got a call, it was from Ascension St. John telling her to get to the hospital with an adult. Her mother had been taken there.

"The doctor came in crying, which I've never seen in my life, he said he did everything he could," she said.

Trinity Tyus' mother, Mary Cole, was dead at 44-years-old.

"He tried to give her something to breathe, she had a tube down her throat when she died," Tyus said. "He tried to do everything, he could he said he don't know what happened to her."

A StoneCrest supervisor later told Tyus they believed her mother had a seizure. The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office says it's unclear how she died.

"There's no reason to hinder contact between the daughter and the mother," said Dr. Mark Reinstein.

Reinstein is the president of the Mental Health Association in Michigan.

"We don't know that anything untoward happened in terms of the actual medical treatment, but it's a bit of a red flag because that facility has had some patient deaths, very soon after release," said Reinstein. 

Stonecrest says it could not comment on any specific patient incident but released a statement which reads in part:

"Our heartfelt compassion and support go to the patient's family. Unfortunately, despite clinically appropriate policies and procedures and careful monitoring of our residents, isolated incidents do occur.  These incidents are reported to state agencies and guardians, fully investigated and discussed with our clinicians."

A GoFundMe has been started to help Trinity Tyus pay for her mother's funeral. CLICK HERE.

The full statement from Stonecrest: 

"Our heartfelt compassion and support go to the patient’s family.  StoneCrest Center is proud of our long history of providing exceptional care to our patients and is committed to ensuring the physical and emotional wellbeing of our patients.  Our policies, procedures and patient treatment protocols are designed to promote a compassionate, patient-centered, and therapeutic treatment environment.  Unfortunately, despite clinically appropriate policies and procedures and careful monitoring of our residents, isolated incidents do occur.  These incidents are reported to state agencies and guardians, fully investigated and discussed with our clinicians.  Due to federal and state patient privacy regulations and our confidentiality policies, we cannot comment on any specific patient incident."

Paul Anderson 
Chief Operating Officer
StoneCrest Center