AUGUSTA – Maine’s new Riverview Psychiatric Center, the replacement facility for the Augusta Mental Health Institute, has several deficiencies that must be corrected within weeks if it is to remain licensed to operate.

Among the concerns cited by the state’s Division of Licensing and Certification are that treatment plans at the state psychiatric hospital are not individualized, relevant or reflective of actual patient needs and that therapeutic programs selected for patients are neither related to treatment plans nor based on patient conditions.

“It seems like dj vu all over again,” said Carol Carrothers, executive director of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Maine, an advocacy group for those with mental health problems.

As the successor facility to AMHI, Riverview must follow the terms of the 1990 consent decree in which the state agreed to provide certain minimum levels of care for Mainers with mental illnesses. The decree settled a class-action lawsuit filed by AMHI patients in 1989 after the deaths of several patients from heat exposure and suicide.

Failure to comply with some terms of the decree led to courts finding the state in contempt three times since 1990. The facility remains under court oversight until a judge determines all of the terms have been met.

A division of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a conditional license to Riverview, provided that the conditions outlined “be met within the specified time frames.” Some of those conditions, which were “deemed necessary for the protection of the health and safety of the patients of the facility,” must be met within either 30 days or 60 days.

Beyond the problems with treatment plans and therapeutic programs, the report also indicated that nurse staffing plans were not meeting regulations, and it criticized the way data is used to develop care plans for patients.

Failure to be licensed as a psychiatric hospital also would jeopardize federal funds needed to operate the facility.

“These are the same problems from years and years ago,” said Carrothers.

State Sen. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, shares the concerns raised by Carrothers. He met with DHHS officials about the licensing report on Wednesday.

“Clearly there are issues in there that are of concern, particularly with the time frames of 30 and 60 days to correct problems,” he said.

He said the committee, which has oversight of the agency, was not notified until Tuesday about the licensing report, which was filed on Aug. 12.

Brenda Harvey, deputy commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, said she too had not been given a copy of the licensing report, even though she is responsible for Riverview. She said that was a mistake due to the merger on July 1 of the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services and the Department of Human Services and will not happen again.

“There are serious issues raised in the licensing report,” she said, “but I think we are working to make the changes that need to be made in treatment plans and have been working on them.”