A federal inspection found that Western State Hospital in Lakewood, Wash., has been neglected patients punishing staff for speaking out, according to an article on the Campus Safety website.
The largest psychiatric hospital in Washington state had an overworked staff unable to provide necessary safety and care to its patients, according to both employees and patients’ family members.
For years, U.S. and state regulators have found health and safety violations at the facility, including assaults on staff and patients and the escapes of dangerous patients.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently removed the hospital’s certification and federal funding, which totaled $53 million a year and an estimated 20 percent of its budget.
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