The president of Silver Hill Hospital promised sweeping changes to safety and admissions policies during a tense public meeting Wednesday night, weeks after a former patient escaped the psychiatric facility and was later apprehended at JFK Airport carrying a hatchet and a sledgehammer.
Dr. Andrew Gerber, president and medical director of the 94-year-old psychiatric hospital, stood before an audience of approximately 40 neighbors and town officials to address what he called a “wake-up call.” Flanked by senior staff members and security experts, Gerber laid out a five-point plan to prevent future incidents, rebuild trust, and reestablish a sense of safety in the residential neighborhood that has coexisted with Silver Hill since 1931.
“We deeply regret jeopardizing your trust,” Gerber said. “These events are unacceptable. We must — and will — do better.”
The meeting followed the March 10 arrest of Darren Yu Huang, 25, a former Ridgefield man who left abruptly from Silver Hill’s inpatient program in late February. His arrest came more than one year after he attempted to set fire to Silver Hill’s admissions building, an incident that involved breaking windows and pouring gasoline on the property.
Despite the severity of that 2023 episode, Huang was re-admitted to Silver Hill following a court hearing. On March 10, a state judge revoked his bond and ordered him held without release, describing him as an “extreme danger.”
Gerber told attendees that allowing Huang to return to Silver Hill was a mistake. “I deeply regret that decision. It will not happen again,” he said.
The focus of the meeting quickly shifted from Huang’s case to the hospital’s broader responsibilities. Attendees raised longstanding concerns over security breaches, patient elopements, and what many described as a lack of transparency from the hospital.
There have been four separate incidents which involved Silver Hill patients leaving campus. One residential patient rang a neighbor’s doorbell asking to use a phone. Another entered a nearby home after leaving in an Uber. A third crossed into a neighbor’s property while walking on the hospital grounds. The fourth, most serious, was Huang’s escape.
“Why was he even there?” asked Andy Glazer, a Norwalk resident. He alleges “we’ve been hearing the same promises for decades — and every time there’s another incident.”
In response, Gerber and his staff presented a detailed plan intended to prevent such breaches. The plan includes increasing the number of full-time security officers from 11 to 15, building a staffed security booth at the campus entrance, installing 17 new perimeter cameras, and implementing wearable tracking devices for residential patients.
The hospital also adopted stricter admissions policies. According to Gerber, patients with pending violent criminal charges or documented dangerous behavior will now be excluded from admission. The facility has also revised its discharge procedures to ensure that patients who opt out of treatment do not enter the neighborhood unsupervised.
A new neighborhood notification system launched earlier this month now allows residents to receive immediate alerts via text or email if a patient leaves campus. “We will send out messages within minutes of any event,” said Molly Norton, Executive Director of Quality Experience at Silver Hill. “We owe you that.”
Still, many residents voiced skepticism. “We are not your partners,” said one resident. “We are your neighbors. And we expect to feel safe in our homes.”
Some expressed concern that the hospital, originally described in a 1931 document as a “simple hillside farmhouse,” has grown beyond what the residential neighborhood was designed to accommodate. “This is not the Silver Hill of 1931,” said Brianna Young, who helped organize the community response and petitioned town officials. “Mental health care is essential, but a locked inpatient facility for criminal cases does not belong in a residential neighborhood.”
Young also launched a Change.org petition titled Demand Enhanced Security Measures and Transparency at Silver Hill Hospital, New Canaan CT, which as of Wednesday night had 336 signatures. The petition describes the recent escape as part of a pattern of safety failures and states: “This was not just an unfortunate and isolated incident… There is a dire need for improvement in the safety measures and security protocols adopted by Silver Hill Hospital and partnership from the Town of New Canaan.”
First Selectman Dionna Carlson acknowledged the neighborhood’s frustration and referenced a dormant 2015 private agreement between the hospital and the now-inactive Silvermine River Neighborhood Association. She urged residents to reconstitute the group as a means to formalize oversight and accountability. “Silver Hill is committed to working with you,” Carlson said. “But you have to be organized in order to hold them to it.”
The Security Director at Silver Hill said the hospital is also working with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a full vulnerability assessment. “This isn’t just a policy change,” he said. “This is an overhaul.”
Silver Hill treats roughly 3,000 patients a year. The facility includes a 42-bed inpatient unit, residential treatment for 50 to 60 patients, and outpatient services. Gerber emphasized that the majority of patients are not violent, and most receive treatment voluntarily.
Nonetheless, residents said the hospital’s long and positive history with New Canaan should not exempt it from oversight. “This can’t happen again,” Glazer said.
