Western State Hospital loses federal certification, and the state's forensic role comes into focus
The Northwest News Network reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would strip the state's largest psychiatric hospital of its certification after a May follow-up inspection found it still out of substantial compliance. The loss amounted to about 20 percent of the hospital's operating budget. The decision followed a two-year turnaround effort and years of scrutiny over assaults, escapes and staffing.
The story noted that roughly a third of Western State's patients were forensic patients, and that over the previous couple of years the state had racked up more than $55 million in fines for missing court-ordered deadlines to evaluate and treat defendants found not competent to stand trial, leaving many waiting in jail. It also reported that the governor and a bipartisan group of lawmakers had already announced a plan to end civil admissions to the state hospitals by 2023, so the hospitals could concentrate on forensic patients.
Source: Western State Hospital To Lose Certification, $53 Million In Federal Funding — Northwest News Network, by Austin Jenkins
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