Western State Hospital Opens Wards To Reduce Violence
January 30, 2020 11:38AM PST
Credit: MGN
LAKEWOOD, Wash. (AP) – Western State Hospital, the state’s largest psychiatric facility, is set to open a pair of newly renovated psychiatric wards to try and reduce by half the violence coming from a handful of patients deemed most dangerous.
The Seattle Times reports a 10-patient ward – set to open Monday – will combined increased staffing, more therapy for patients and tighter security to help stabilize and treat those who are hardest to handle.
The hospital has endured a host of struggles in recent years.
Federal regulators decertified the hospital in 2018 over a variety of safety and other issues.
That move cost $53 million in annual federal funding.
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