SALEM Ore. (KPTV) – A Marion County grand jury has concluded a six-month inquiry into Oregon State Hospital, finding the psychiatric facility lacks sufficient bed capacity to meet community demand while relying on extreme patient seclusion, compromised staffing standards, and administrative retaliation.
Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson initiated the inquiry in March under Oregon law to review operations, management, and public safety implications at the state-run psychiatric facility in Salem. Clarkson stated at the time that she had become increasingly concerned the institution could not meet the growing need for civil commitments, aid-and-assist competency restoration, and secure forensic treatment.
The grand jury released its findings Wednesday following 13 investigative sessions that included more than 47 hours of testimony from roughly 40 witnesses, alongside a tour of the hospital grounds. Witnesses included current and former hospital employees, medical providers, managers, union representatives, forensic evaluators, a former patient, a patient’s mother, sheriff’s office personnel, and a circuit court judge…