For the second time in less than a month, the Oregon State Hospital has been fined for workplace safety violations.
According to the Statesman-Journal, Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division levied a $1,250 penalty against the Salem psychiatric facility last month, according to records. It came on the heels of a $3,750 fine OR-OSHA imposed against the hospital in a separate case on Oct. 7.
The Salem psychiatric facility intends to challenge the regulatory agency’s findings by pursuing appeals in both cases, according to hospital Superintendent Greg Roberts.
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In the first case, the hospital was cited for safety violations after regulators found self-defense training was inadequate for employees dealing with violent patients. Regulators also determined that the hospital had been late in providing training for staffers to use shields as “a tool to protect employees from projectiles, riots and to approach patients in order to secure them.”
According to Roberts, the hospital’s appeal in that case is set for a hearing with OR-OSHA on Nov. 22.
In the second case, regulators discovered safety violations in connection with an August incident in which a pair of security staffers received injuries after they were called to transport a mental patient from a transitional-program cottage to a secure hospital unit.
The two staffers reportedly were assaulted by the patient at the cottage and in the transport vehicle. Both employees received hospital treatment for their injuries.
The OR-OSHA citation issued in connection with the incident claims the hospital:
- Did not have adequate security staff on duty to perform the transfer.2. Did not have a contingency plan in place “in case the patient was resistant to transfer.”
- Did not have a plan or policy for searching the patient for weapons and other contraband after he was transported to a maximum-security ward.
The regulatory agency also found that the hospital lacked a standard policy or procedure for transporting patients from transitional cottages to other units at the mental hospital.Roberts claimed the hospital “fully disagrees with the findings in the report.”
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