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Report: Lax security at Seattle mental hospital led to escape

Hospital Safety Insider, September 15, 2016

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Corrections officials who investigated the April escape of two violent patients from Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital say they discovered a list of mistakes, blunders, and deceptions at what should be a secure facility, according to a report from CBS News.

Among the allegations, the report said that investigators tasked with assessing security at Western State Hospital in the town of Lakewood determined there were no routine inspections, 25,000 master keys were missing, thousands of tools used to open patient windows had been misplaced, and management was unwilling to recognize that failing to focus on security puts patients and the public at risk.

According to the report, these lapses led to the April 6 double escapes by Anthony Garver, who was confined for allegedly torturing and killing a woman, and Mark Alexander Adams, who has multiple domestic violence convictions. Adams was caught the next day, but Garver made it across the state and was captured several days later.

The escapes led the hospital to make significant safety improvements since the escapes, the report said.

Read more here.

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