Andy Phillips, the chief executive officer of Western State Hospital, resigned Friday, effective immediately.
Thomas Shapley, a spokesman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said agency officials would not answer questions about the reasons for Phillips’ resignation, why it was effective immediately or whether the departure was voluntary.
Phillips has run the state mental hospital in Lakewood since 2004. The facility has about 1,000 patients and 2,000 employees.
The hospital will be run by Richard Kellogg, the state mental health division director, until Sept. 2. Then Connie Wilmot, chief operating officer at Eastern State Hospital in Spokane County, will become acting CEO at Western State, Shapley said.
The Washington Federation of State Employees, the union that represents many of the hospital’s workers, declined to comment.
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