Testing fiasco shows Western State Hospital COVID-19 response needs close scrutiny
The subplots in the ongoing story of COVID-19 come hard and fast, and we don’t need to tell you that many of them stir outrage.
Witness the chaos at Western State Hospital in Lakewood, and the reported recklessness that took place during a hospital screening process in early April, a time when other densely populated facilities such as nursing homes, jails and shelters had already experienced outbreaks of the highly contagious coronavirus.
According to the Associated Press, WSH staff were herded into a small building, given test kits by people without gloves and told to “swirl a swab inside their noses.”
A WSH forensic psychologist told the AP the testing procedure “put us all at risk” and no doubt yielded inaccurate results because the kits were designed for patients already exhibiting symptoms, not for asymptomatic carriers.
Keep in mind the state’s largest psychiatric hospital, run by the state’s Department of Social and Health Services, can’t hand out applesauce without adhering to strict enforceable codes, so why were they allowed to stick ineffective Q-Tips up staff’s noses without proper protection?
It’s a question worthy of an investigation. Ensuring staff safety at WSH is often a talking point for politicians, including Gov. Jay Inslee. Now, more than ever, it has to be more than talk.
Lives are on the line. The 2,700 staff and contract workers don’t have the privilege of self-quarantining or social distancing and neither do the 704 patients; infections are bound to emerge.
To date, 29 WSH staff have tested positive for COVID-19, and all have recovered. A total of eight patients have tested positive; one patient died.
DHSH spokesperson Kelly Von Holtz conceded the initial testing did not go as planned; “It was meant to be a drive-through procedure,” Von Holtz told us this week, “but WSH staff got out of their cars, and the testing site was moved inside where single tests were administered.”
On the second day of testing, Von Holtz reported that DSHS increased supervision, and staff stayed inside their cars.
As to the ineffective short-swab tests, Holtz explained the hospital was acting in good faith and in accordance with the information it had at the time.
What about masks? Staff were initially told not to wear them for fear they could frighten patients or create a false sense of security, which is why it should surprise no one that union nurses are calling for the removal of five top administrators at WSH for lack of oversight.
Like all institutions, WSH faced a vertical learning curve at the onset of COVID-19. And certainly bungled messaging from our White House tweeter-in-chief, coupled with inadequate supplies and testing kits, didn’t equip anyone for the onslaught that was to come.
Was this a series of unfortunate circumstances or yet another example of WSH mismanagement? All we know is it didn’t take a virulent pandemic to expose the cracks in the state psychiatric system.
For too many years, the 850-bed Lakewood facility has had a revolving door of executives and served as a master class in what not to do when it comes to hospital management.
In 2018, the facility lost its certification and $53 million in annual federal funding after years of struggles with staffing shortages, patient escapes and long wait times for admission and discharge. Reported patient assaults on staff members doubled between 2013 and 2018, according to an AP investigation.
The problems are too numerous to list here; suffice it to say, the multiple state and federal investigations have been warranted.
WSH seems to be taking a swift course in self-correction. At least the findings from a recent visit from the state Department of Health show it’s adhering to best practices set forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and following the University of Washington’s screening protocol.
Staff temperatures are now taken before the start of each shift. And, yes, they’re wearing masks. WHS has also implemented isolation and quarantine wards, limited staff movement across units and stopped all unit transfers.
The state also discharged 44 of the 60 civilly committed patients officials said they would release last month to family, friends or community settings to reduce the hospital’s disease exposure risk.
Time and stats will tell if these actions will be enough.
Credit should go to the hospital staff who put themselves at risk to care for psychiatric patients during such a challenging time. For that, they are owed nothing less than the utmost protection in return.
This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 11:00 AM.