Workplace safety issues and fear of retaliation at Alaska's state-run Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) will be examined by a special investigator, according to an article on the Anchorage Daily News website.
A public report will be released later this year, according to state officials.
A union office representing hospital workers said staff were afraid to report more minor assaults — when they are slapped, threatened or bitten, for instance — for fear of being disciplined.
API has been subject to previous investigations. A 2015 state-funded report by Arizona consultant Joel Dvoskin found that the hospital was seriously, "at times dangerously," understaffed.
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