WASHINGTON STATE — To Craig Gibelyou, the state's efforts to hire more nurses to work with him at Western State Hospital is "a small shot in the dark," he said. "It's not adequate."
Moreover, the licensed practical nurse says the hospital buildings have not been updated to keep everyone safe.
"It's kind of like the 'perfect storm,' I guess," he said. "You have a staffing issue. You have the building issues. You have lack of cohesiveness in the staff and the lack of team building if you will on these various wards."
That "perfect storm" of issues, he says, led to the escape of two patients, both men considered violent and dangerous.
Lakewood Police tracked down 58-year- old Mark Adams less than 24 hours after he escaped. But 28-year-old Anthony Garver, last seen in surveillance photos buying a Greyhound bus ticket bound for his hometown of Spokane, remains on the loose.
"We've not had the situation where folks have actually breached the confines of the building," he said.
That the men escaped surprised Gibelyou. But he insists the lack of staffing that likely contributed to it, is inescapable.
"It's a dangerous environment to work in," Gibelyou said. "So with that danger coupled with those low wages, it's not worth it to a lot of people."
He says the legislation that set aside money for the 51 additional nurses here goes away if they are not hired by July 1st.
And the publicity surrounding these escapes, he says, likely won't make that any easier.
Cox Media Group
