SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Gov.-elect John Kitzhaber could meet with federal officials early next year to discuss their expanded, four-year investigation of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem.
The Justice Department’s inquiry is focused on whether the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide mentally ill Oregonians with adequate community-based services.
The Statesman Journal reports that DOJ lawyers had hoped to meet with Kitzhaber this week, but state officials didn’t think the timing was right. They asked the DOJ to put off the talks until February, when Kitzhaber has had time to get his administration up and running and review the issues surrounding the hospital.
A spokeswoman for Kitzhaber’s transition team declined to comment whether Kitzhaber’s plans to participate in the talks. Kitzhaber is a medical doctor and has made health care a priority in his two previous terms as governor.
