>>State inspects Tacoma psychiatric hospital after workers complain of violence, lice

A union representing workers at Tacoma’s Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital has filed a complaint with the state over the site’s working conditions.

The action comes more than year after employees voted to unionize under the SEIU Healthcare 1199NW banner. Union members have been negotiating for their first contract with the hospital for months. Union representatives say the two sides remain far apart on issues.

The union, in paperwork filed Jan. 24, requested an investigation by state Labor & Industries over a reported rise in workplace violence. According to union media representative Kenia Escobar, employees “report that they went from no violent incidents January 2022 to seven in February 2022, increasing to dozens each month for the remainder of the year.”

The incidents include “most recently a serious choking incident,” according to the union.

Workers told The News Tribune that L&I inspectors visited the site Feb. 10.

Wellfound, in an emailed statement to The News Tribune, said that it is “committed to providing access to critical behavioral health services to our community. We take seriously the responsibilities we have to our patients, families and staff.”

It added, “Wellfound understands and follows all regulatory and legal requirements. We value feedback and take seriously the opportunity to improve.”

Case details

The union shared a copy of its L&I filing with The News Tribune.

The complaints in the report focused on workplace safety, violence prevention and unsanitary conditions, including:

▪ Insufficient security staffing.

▪ Staff member injuries from incorrectly administered flu vaccines.

▪ A wide range of psychiatric patients receiving care in the same units “and sometimes the same rooms, while individual rooms that offer more safety for patient and staffs are left unused.”

Wellfound registered nurse Laura Hammer described it to The News Tribune as “units that are mixed too big with people who are anxious and patients who are psychotic and violent.”

▪ Lack of employee-elected members on the hospital’s safety committee. It also states the committee “records the number of workplace violent events each month but does not identify the causes for and consequences of the events, consider any emerging issues that contribute to workplace violence, or conduct any analysis despite the frequent and increasing workplace violence events.”

▪ Workers unaware of a “Code Lavender” program, which is “available for workers to help them cope with a workplace violence event.”

It also contended training was inadequate to reduce workplace violence and that the site “has deteriorated due to lack of environmental services staff, resulting in disorderly and unsanitary conditions.”

The union complaint also said the facility had ignored demands to step up efforts to stop the spread of lice.

Wellfound, in its emailed statement to The News Tribune, said, “The items listed in the complaint are allegations. L&I’s review began (Feb. 10) and we will await the completion of their process.”

History of site issues

The hospital, 3402 S. 19th St., opened in May 2019 as a joint venture between two Tacoma health systems, MultiCare and CHI Franciscan (now Virginia Mason Franciscan Health).

It has faced a rocky operational road, with its first CEO leaving a month after opening and its second one leaving in 2021. It’s also faced multiple state investigations over an array of health, safety and staffing concerns.

Not long after it opened, Kevan Carter Jr., who was denied admission to Wellfound twice in a 24-hour period, stepped in front of a train near his childhood home of Titlow Beach, taking his own life. The hospital temporarily halted admissions at that time and paused its safety accreditation process.

The hospital ultimately gained accreditation from the independent, nonprofit Joint Commission in December 2019.

Wellfound is also at the center of a lawsuit filed in 2021 involving a patient contending he was sexually assaulted by another patient on site.

Early on, the $41 million, 120-bed hospital did not operate at full capacity as it sought accreditation. The union, in its complaint with L&I, states the site’s ”actual patient census has never been more than about 70 since its opening.”

Marce Edwards Olson, media representative for MultiCare, told The News Tribune via email in response to the patient limit, “We have capped the census at 72 to ensure we have adequate staffing.”

She added, “We plan to open more beds this year as we have enough staff.”

Erik Snider is a mental health technician at Wellfound. Mental health techs provide care and assistance to patients. He told The News Tribune that he routinely sees job ads for the hospital online.

“It’s not a lack of recruitment. It’s an inability to maintain the workers that they do hire,” Snider said.

Hammer, discussing the site’s CEO turnovers, pointed to lack of onsite engagement from management. She described Wellfound as experiencing years of leadership “failure,” saying she’d told management the same thing.

“I said, ‘We’re not your adversaries. We’re here to make Wellfound a success,” Hammer said, adding she told management, “Please listen to us. You’re not on the floors. … We can help; we’re not your enemy.’”

Hammer said when workers voted to unionize, “it was mainly for safety and staffing. It really wasn’t about wages.”

L&I representatives said that while an inspection was recently opened, they noted “it can take some time to complete.”

Agency representatives told The News Tribune via email that L&I has up to six months “to gather information, make a decision involving any potential safety and health violations, and notify the employer.”

News Tribune archives contributed to this report.