Oregon State Hospital's pandemic staffing emergency prompts request for National Guard nurses
OHA director Patrick Allen requested the Guard nurses after exhausting other staffing options at the Salem campus. OPB noted that the hospital's patients include people found guilty except for insanity, civil commitments and defendants sent on aid-and-assist orders, and that a 2002 federal order requires it to admit the last group within seven days. The order has not always been met, with dozens of defendants at times held in jail past the deadline.
A Disability Rights Oregon attorney said aid-and-assist patients were a small part of the hospital a decade earlier but now make up the majority, a shift that has contributed to burnout and reduced the hospital's therapeutic focus.
The piece connects the competency pipeline to the hospital's workforce and capacity limits.
Source: 'Dire' staffing situation at Oregon State Hospital prompts call for National Guard to assist — Oregon Public Broadcasting, by Conrad Wilson
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