Visitors restricted to Western State Hospital and other state institutions because of COVID-19

Visitors won’t be allowed at Western State Hospital in Lakewood unless they are attorneys or members of advocacy organizations, the state Department of Social and Health Services announced Tuesday.

Also, all residential habilitation centers and state-operated living alternatives including the Rainier School in Buckley will not allow any visitors, except for in end-of-life situations.

DSHS’s decision to prohibit most visitors at its around-the-clock facilities is in response to the emergency proclamation that Gov. Jay Inslee signed late Monday. It is part of the state’s effort to use social distancing to combat spread of the novel coronavirus.

The tighter restrictions on the residential habilitation centers and state-operated living alternatives operated by the agency’s Developmental Disabilities Administration also are based on guidance from both the Centers for Disease Control and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“This was a difficult, but necessary decision,” Sean Murphy, Assistant Secretary for the DSHS Behavioral Health Administration, said in a statement. “The most important thing right now is to stop the virus from spreading into our institutions and keeping our clients and staff safe.”

In an interview, Murphy said legal professionals and members of advocacy groups including Disability Rights Washington and the Northwest Justice Project can continue to visit Western State residents because of various state commitment laws and the need to overcome communication barriers. Those visitors will be screened for potential COVID-19 infection.

“We want to make sure they have access to legal counsel. Outside of that, many of the folks in our care and custody have significant needs around communications, and the advocacy groups are permitted so that our patients, our residents, our clients have somebody who has the ability to speak on their behalf,” Murphy said.

The same visiting rules covering Western State also apply to five other facilities, including the Fort Steilacoom Competency Restoration Program in Lakewood, Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, and Maple Lane Competency Restoration Program in Rochester.

The Child Study and Treatment Center in Lakewood will continue to allow visitors to the children there, but visitation will be limited to one adult visitor per day.

Visitors will be asked if they have had a fever, cough, shortness of breath, contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or if they have traveled internationally within the past two weeks. They will have their temperature taken. If they are running a temperature or answer yes to any of the questions, they will not be allowed to enter the facility.

The screening process will remain in place until the risk of COVID-19 has been mitigated.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 9:14 AM.