Secretary Strange takes in transformation at Western State, Child Study and Treatment Center
New construction, virtual reality training and competency restoration treatment all got spotlighted in a tour with Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Cheryl Strange at Western State Hospital and the Child Study and Treatment Center on April 7.
The day-long visit — Strange’s first onsite visit to a DSHS facility since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — began with a chat with onboarding staff at WSH’s New Employee Orientation.
“It’s a very fulfilling job, it’s a very rewarding job, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do,” said Strange. “This is a very special place, and the people who need us, they rely on us and our humanity. Be safe, be predictable, be kind — that’s 95% of the job.”
That emphasis on a person-centered culture was echoed by the Behavioral Health Administration Assistant Secretary Sean Murphy, who spoke to NEO staff about safety and trauma-informed care.
“Trauma-informed care is important because you can look at everyone, patients included, through a lens of what happened to them and not what’s wrong with them. They probably carry a pretty strong trauma in their life that brings them to be here in the hospital. As human beings, everyone carries trauma and we can recognize what happened and be able to meet them where they’re at,” said Murphy.
WSH Chief Executive Officer David Holt noted the incredible care provided by WSH staff to patients. “Many miracles happen here every day. We know it, we see it, and we’re proud of those miracles.”
During the tour, he highlighted WSH’s successful efforts in keeping COVID-19 at bay, and at vaccinating more than 1,800 patients and staff since December.
“We have started opening back up … we are reinstating grounds privileges, jobs for patients, all of the patient responsibilities and rights that we had prior to COVID; we’re starting to open that back up,” said Holt. He explained that the restrictive measures were initially necessary as “the greatest right for a patient is to live and to not get sick with COVID-19,” but the large-scale vaccination efforts are allowing the hospital to open up more.
“We feel we’ve been very successful in protecting patients and staff at Western State Hospital,” Holt said.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, WSH and CSTC still focused on new construction including a kitchen, pharmacy and forensic patient wards at WSH, and a new 16-bed cottage at CSTC. Modernized infrastructure and more therapeutic patient living and treatment spaces are a key part to transforming behavioral health in Washington state.
With a focus on becoming a Center of Forensic Excellence, WSH is transforming buildings, converting civil wards to forensic wards, training staff on how to deal with a new population of patients, and investing millions of dollars in infrastructure, staffing and training to prepare staff for that transition from a civil population to a forensic population, said Holt.
“Thank you to the governor for his support, the legislature, DSHS, BHA for a huge collaboration to make this the center of change for behavioral health transformation,” Holt said.