Does $2.9M Jury Verdict Put Western State Hospital, Lakewood, WA On The Ropes?

For those unaware, with well over 800 beds, Western State Hospital is the largest psychiatric hospital West of the Mississippi River. And unfortunately, it has a pockmarked history, and was in jeopardy of losing over $65M in Federal funding from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) because of gross negligence at the hospital so severe that it was in jeopardy of losing ALL it’s CMS funding.

With well over 800 beds, Western State Hospital, Lakewood, WA is the largest psychiatric hospital West of the Mississippi River.

Chronic rampant abuse and neglect has ranged from staff sexual abuse of patients, patient-on-patient and patient-on-staff violence,  numerous escapes by criminally violent murderers – which caused the CEO to be fired by the Governor, and “wait-listing” dementia patients which may result in the new CEO’s incarceration. They no longer have national Joint Commission certification. The list of criminal wrong-doing at the facility is extensive, and violence alone has cost millions in hospital bills for staff and patients, including time lost from work, and lawsuits.

As the hospital faced inevitable death from loss of $65M in federal funds, a veritable federal hatchet, the state legislature made last-ditch efforts to salvage a rotten-to-the-core system by hiring hundreds of staff, and approved a TEMPORARY pay increase, with retention bonuses, and made other efforts to put lipstick on a dead pig.

According to one senior staff member