COLUMBIA — A worker at a state-contracted psychiatric hospital in Columbia was arrested and charged with Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult, the State Law Enforcement Division announced Feb. 19.
Gregory Marcel Higgins, 44, was arrested Feb. 18 and booked into Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center after an investigation, according to SLED.
Higgins worked at WellPath Recovery Solutions, a Columbia psychiatric hospital contracted with the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities’ Office of Intellectual Disability. SLED investigated after WellPath notified the agency of a June 2025 incident.
The incident, according to booking documents for Higgins, occurred June 18 at the Farrow Road facility.
Higgins “did place the victim in a chokehold and walked him down a hallway.” The allegations were corroborated by interviews, reviewing surveillance videos and additional information that was supplied to SLED during its investigation.
Abuse of a vulnerable adult can carry a maximum prison sentence of five years, according to the website for Nicholas G. Callas, an SC disability lawyer.
The victim was classified as a vulnerable adult. In South Carolina law, a vulnerable adult is anyone 18 or older “who has a physical or mental condition which substantially impairs the person from adequately providing for his or her own care or protection.”
According to the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the facility at 7091 Farrow Road, where SLED said the incident occurred, includes a “Forensic Services” facility.
“Patients are admitted from across the state through the criminal or probate court system,” according to the state agency’s website. “The legal status of patients includes: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI), incompetent to stand trial (IST), and pretrial status with charges pending.”
Wellpath, a Nashville-based company, declared bankruptcy in 2024 in lieu of resolving lawsuits — including one related to work it did in the Lowcountry — that cost the health care contractor millions.
According to prior Post and Courier reporting, part of Wellpath’s South Carolina contract included providing care to people under involuntary commitments. The company said it can provide a “one-stop” shop for these facilities that struggle with bed and staff shortages.