While the Department of Social and Health Services and CMS work on a 13-month improvement plan for Lakewood, Wash.-based Western State Hospital, a new report outlines the numerous economic and quality of care difficulties the psychiatric facility faces, according to The Seattle Times.
The 111-page analysis was put together by Clinical Services Management, a business consulting firm, that surveyed staff members and patients at the hospital. Here are three things to know about the report.
1. Quality of care is weak. A number of patients stated they "rarely saw their doctor" or claimed their physician didn't know who they were, according to the report.
2. The hospital is not safe for patients or staff. Of the 462 staff members who completed the survey, just over 50 percent said they felt safe, down 9 percent from a similar previous survey. The report included numerous examples of unsafe conditions,
including an RN who claimed to have had three surgeries as a result of assaults at the hospital and a female patient who reported 14 assaults, 12 of which were by the same female peer over the course of just over one year.
3. The hospital is severely understaffed. Much of the hospital's middle management has departed. After two patients escaped in April, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee fired Western State Hospital CEO Ron Adler and replaced him with Cheryl Strange. "This constant turnover of leaders throughout all levels of the organization often required managers and supervisory staff to take on a broader scope of responsibility," the report claims.
The report is supposed to help DSHS and CMS develop the proper improvement plan. In order to have a better chance at gaining federal funding, WesternStateHospital must have the majority of its improvements in place by April, according to DSHS Assistant Secretary Carla Reyes.