Western State Hospital Opens Wards To Reduce Violence

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.