It’s worth counting the high-ranking state government officials to leave or be taken down by scandals at the Oregon State Hospital since deputy hospital superintendent Derek Wehr was put on paid administrative leave in 2023 pending an investigation of workplace allegations against him.
- Hospital Superintendent Dolly Matteucci
- Hospital Superintendent Sara Walker
- Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi
- Hospital Superintendent Sean Murphy (after just one month on the job)
All while Wehr sat at home, taking a $210,000 taxpayer-furnished salary — and waiting to learn his fate at the hospital where he’d worked for 30 years.
He may have finally gotten an answer last week. Not long after a Lookout Eugene-Springfield reporter filed a public records request with the state for Wehr’s employment records, he received notice that the investigation had been concluded. His fate? A predissimal hearing scheduled for Sept. 8 — indicating the state wants to fire him.
The officials planning Wehr’s firing may be better served looking inward, and asking how they — not Wehr — have damaged the credibility of the state’s largest psychiatric hospital, which has seen five unexpected patient deaths since November 2023. The string of deaths started after Wehr first raised concerns about patient care at Oregon State Hospital, and after he was placed on paid administrative leave…