Pray tell, what’s going on at Western State?

Western State Hospital in Lakewood is the Washington’s pre-eminent psychiatric institution. In terms of population, it’s a small city, with roughly 1,000 patients and a staff of 2,000.

Its patients are among the most mentally disturbed – and helpless – of the state’s citizens. That’s why they are being hospitalized around the clock in an era when mental illness is routinely treated in doctor’s offices and community clinics.

In other words, Western State is a critical institution. And the Department of Social and Health Services owes the public some explanation for the abrupt firing of its director, Dr. Andrew Phillips.

There’s no question that Gov. Chris Gregoire and DSHS chief Robin Arnold-Williams had the discretion to fire Phillips. He’s an appointee who serves at their pleasure.

What’s odd here are the circumstances. Typically, if public administrators aren’t keeping their superiors happy, but are otherwise honest and reasonably competent, they are eased out gracefully.

That’s not what happened with Phillips. Although state officials initially said he left willingly in mid- August, he now says he was forced out with no notice – five months short of the five-year tenure he needed to be vested in the state’s pension plan.

That’s how you dismiss someone who’s engaged in serious misconduct. At Western State, serious misconduct at the top is the public’s business.

The hospital has a long history of turmoil, sexual harassment and inadequate protection of its staff. If nothing else, the vulnerability of its patients argues for transparency and disclosure of any serious management problems.

But so far, DSHS officials have offered no explanation whatsoever for Phillips’ firing. His attorney says his last performance review was positive. The whole thing’s a mystery. No one is accusing Phillips of misfeasance or malfeasance – or anything else that would warrant summary termination.

A sexual harassment lawsuit was filed against the hospital managers a month ago by two Western State employees. If harassment is still a serious problem at the hospital, the public – which has lost huge sums of money to harassment victims in years past – ought to know.

Phillips was hired nearly five years ago to clean up such troubles. But lawsuits are almost background noise at Western State; a new one doesn’t necessarily say anything about his performance.

In the absence of any explanation of Phillips’ departure, the public can only speculate. When a public institution is this important and the stakes potentially this high, it shouldn’t have to.