Washington mental hospital staff call virus testing unsafe

SEATTLE (AP) — Workers who had been exposed to the coronavirus at Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital were herded into a small building to be tested. Inside, few wore masks. They were given test kits by people without gloves and told to swirl a swab inside their noses.

The method was designed only for people showing symptoms, but the staffers said none of them did. Many told The Associated Press that the flawed testing process this month likely produced inaccurate results and exposed them to the virus again.

“I absolutely feel it was a misuse of the testing materials,” said Dr. Lauren Smith, a forensic psychologist at the hospital. “In addition to that, the manner in which they did it put us all at risk.”

Employees say it’s another example of the state’s failure to protect staff and patients at Western State Hospital. The 850-bed facility south of Seattle has been the target of multiple state and federal investigations, including one launched when a man accused of torturing a woman to death escaped. There's a pattern of violent attacks by patients and a failure to meet health and safety requirements.

The violations led the facility to lose its accreditation and federal funding, and staffers say mismanagement during the pandemic could cost lives. They fear a repeat of the Seattle-area nursing home that became the first U.S. cluster of COVID-19 deaths, with 43.

“I’m afraid this could become another tragedy similar to what happened at Life Care Center of Kirkland,” said Justin Lee, a spokesman for the hospital employee union.

A 400-member nurses union is calling for top administrators at the Department of Social and Health Services, which oversees the hospital, to be removed over their handling of the outbreak.

Department Secretary...