What will new Western State Hospital look like? Security update on recent escape
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- DSHS is building a new $947 million, 350-bed Western State Hospital in Lakewood.
- Design renderings show interconnected buildings, private patient rooms, and courtyards.
- Officials say there is not an automated alert system for patient escapes.
As construction on the new $947 million Western State Hospital Facility continues in Lakewood, the state Department of Social and Health Services gave an update to the Lakewood City Council on April 13, which included renderings of the building and an update on security protocols in light of a recent escape from the current facility.
The new 350-bed forensic hospital will serve patients who need mental health restoration treatment as part of their criminal-court orders. Although 13 buildings at the 9601 Steilacoom Blvd. SW campus were demolished to make way for the new hospital facility, a majority of the existing hospital structures will remain, according to DSHS. The new hospital is expected to open by August 2028.
David Chipchase, quality manager of Western State Hospital, told the Lakewood City Council that not only is this the single largest construction project in the history of Lakewood, it’s “the largest project in all the state of Washington monetarily, minus road construction.”
Design renderings showed a sprawling interconnected campus with flowering courtyards for staff and patients surrounded by buildings (as opposed to tall, barbed wire fences). The exterior will have a basket-weave style facade “that we believe ties in nicely to the Pacific Northwest,” Chipchase said.
Renderings of the visitor entrance, cafe and exercise rooms depict modern, open, well-lit rooms. Chipchase said each of the 350 patients housed there would have their own rooms, with their own bathroom, shower and toilet.
The design is intentional, he said. Western State Hospital chose an architect firm that has experience building forensic hospitals that don’t look like jails, so patients will not be triggered and be in “more of a mindset to be able to heal,” Chipchase said.
Safety and security update amid recent escape
On March 31, 45-year-old Joshua Dylan Rice escaped from Western State Hospital, and police found that hospital staff did not follow protocol to prevent his escape, as previously reported by The News Tribune.
Some patients, particularly those who are found not guilty by reason of insanity, have privileges they can earn, like escorted outings in the community or unescorted opportunities to walk the grounds, said Mark Thompson, the CEO of the Western State Hospital Bruce Gage Center of Forensic Excellence. The new enclosed courtyards are designed to prevent escapes, he said.
Whenever there is an issue that impacts the greater community, like an “unauthorized leave” or escape, Thompson said staff have a list of agencies to contact, including local law enforcement, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, defense attorneys and victims or witnesses to their crimes.
In the case of Rice’s escape, Lakewood Mayor Paul Bocchi said Monday, “Everyone seems to agree, at a number of levels here locally, that we were not given timely notification.”
“Could you go through the timeframe as to when he was in the hospital, when you believe he left, and who was notified and when, and explain to us why it apparently took several days before we were notified?” he asked.
Thompson said there is not an automated system in place, like a text alert or an app, to inform the community when there is an escape. Phone calls to local agencies are often the fastest way to relay information, he said. Most of the time the public learns of an escape through the press, Thompson said.
Within five minutes of Rice’s escape, the Lakewood Police Department was notified, Thompson said. There is an investigation underway into how Rice escaped, he said.
“If we ever note that someone is missing, they’re not where they’re supposed to be, we will initially implement a lockdown of the wards. We will conduct a census check, a head count, assure that we’ve accounted for everyone,” Thompson said. “At the moment that we account for everyone, and we cannot find an individual, then we will begin that notification process.”
