LAKEWOOD, Wash. — Workers exposed to the novel coronavirus at a troubled psychiatric hospital in Washington state told The Associated Press that a flawed testing process likely produced inaccurate results and exposed them to the virus again.
Employees at Western State Hospital said they were crowded into a small space where few wore masks and told to swirl a swab inside their noses. The method is meant only for people showing symptoms, and the staffers said none of them did. They said it's another failure to protect staff and patients.
The facility, which is the state’s largest psychiatric hospital, has a pattern of attacks and lost its federal funding after multiple investigations. Officials defend the test as accurate and said they’re working to regain employees’ trust.
It was reported that a patient tested positive for coronavirus in mid-March. Workers then feared that the number would increase due to lack of protective gear.
Sean Murphy, Behavioral Health Assistant Secretary, told the Associated Press at the time they took steps to protect the hospital's 2,500 staff members and 770 patients against a spread of the highly contagious disease.
By the end of March, more than a dozen cases were detected at the hospital, with at least 12 workers and four patients testing positive. One patient, an 85-year-old, died from the disease.