Mental health advocates say a Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital patient with cognitive disabilities and a diet restriction choked to death on fast food not typically allowed in the state hospital, a claim a New Jersey health official denies.
The patient died Thursday at Morristown Medical Center, according to Robert Davison, CEO of the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris.
New Jersey Department of Health spokesperson Dawn Thomas disputed the claim on Sunday. Thomas, who declined to identify the victim, said that on April 15, a Greystone patient suffered a medical emergency, not related to choking, and was transferred to the hospital. The patient passed away at the hospital several days later.