The Oregon Health Authority oversees the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. (Oregon Health Authority)
The Oregon State Hospital has hired a consulting firm to help it address safety violations that federal inspectors have flagged after three patient deaths and other issues like sexual contact between patients.
The hospital has contracted with Chartis and will pay the company up to $1.7 million for months of work at the hospital, said Amber Shoebridge, a spokesperson for Oregon State Hospital. The psychiatric hospital in Salem, run by the Oregon Health Authority, has more than 500 patients, many of them needing mental health care so they can return to their communities and face criminal charges.
The hospital has repeatedly violated federal regulations and been cited by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which funds about 4% of its budget of about $400 million annually.
“They will help the OSH shift from a reactive approach to a proactive approach for quality-oriented culture and patient care,” Shoebridge said in an email to the Capital Chronicle.