On April 1, Oregon State Hospital administrators were bracing for another tough news cycle.
So tough, in fact, that a communications staffer in Gov. Tina Kotek’s office recommended that the Oregon Health Authority hold off on releasing news about a federal investigation into the death of a patient at the Oregon State Hospital, the state-run psychiatric hospital in Salem.
The health authority, which runs the state hospital, pushed back, stressing the need for transparency. But the press release never went out to media outlets, unless reporters asked specifically about the results of the federal investigation…