In a medical setting, if staffers think a patient is violent or threatening, they may restrain them to a hospital bed. Or inject them with a sedative. 

In some cases, they might also use a spit hood. 

This is a mesh or cloth covering that goes over a patient’s head. It was patented for law enforcement to use during arrests. Critics of these devices consider them dehumanizing…. And in some cases, dangerous. 

In the past decade, at least five people in the United States died in medical care incidents involving spit hoods. And the FDA doesn’t classify them as medical devices, which means they aren’t subjected to safety regulations.

This all comes to us in a new investigation from The Seattle Times. The reporting looks at how spit hoods are used in medical facilities across the country. 

Guests: 

• Hannah Furfaro, a mental health reporter at the Seattle Times and the journalist behind “Shrouded in Secrecy.”

Related links: 

• Shrouded in Secrecy: An investigation from The Seattle Times | The Seattle Times
• When hospitals use spit hoods on patients, no one is watching | The Seattle Times
• Where and how spit hoods are used across the U.S. | The Seattle Times
• How safe are spit hoods — and do they actually work? | The Seattle Times
• How spit hood use could be made safer, according to experts | The Seattle Times

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.