SEATTLE — The CEO of Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital was spared jail time Monday after a Pierce County court commissioner put on hold a contempt order that would have placed her behind bars for failing to hospitalize a mentally ill patient.
Superior Court Commissioner Craig Adams issued a stay in the case one day ahead of the deadline that required the patient to be moved to Western State Hospital, according to Kathy Spears, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social and Health Services, which oversees the 800-bed facility.
“The state’s motion for a stay – jail and penalties – was granted this morning in Pierce County Superior Court,” Spears said. “Our legal team will determine next steps.”
The patient in the case has been held in a general hospital since April because there are not enough beds at Western State. The practice is referred to as “psychiatric boarding” and “single-bed certification.” The Washington Supreme Court ruled in August 2014 that warehousing mentally ill patients in hospital emergency rooms because there’s a lack of space at treatment facilities violates the state’s Involuntary Treatment Act.
