Oregon State Hospital to Beef Up Security

Investigators criticized blind spots in the hospital’s 1,200-camera system, which was monitored by only three people.

FLAGGED: The Oregon State Hospital campus in Salem is smoke and tobacco free. (Brian Burk)

Oregon State Hospital is hiring a new team of 75 people to monitor closed circuit video feeds in the wake of a federal investigation that found the psychiatric facility was failing to protect patients from sexual and physical assaults.

Investigators criticized blind spots in the hospital’s 1,200-camera system, which was monitored by only three people.

The announcement, at an advisory board meeting last week, comes as hospital administrators try to convince the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal regulator, that they’ve solved the problem. “We’re talking patient safety here—this is a big deal,” says Micky Logan, the hospital’s director of legal affairs. “CMS knows it’s a big deal, and they’re paying close attention.”

The hospital submitted a plan to CMS on May 9 that includes the creation of a “24/7 video monitoring team” to keep better tabs on both patients and staff, whom investigators found weren’t attending their stations.

CMS has promised to return in the coming weeks to ensure the hospital has implemented the fixes.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.