State mental hospital in Pueblo found in “immediate jeopardy” of patient safety, could lose federal funds
Colorado’s 449-bed mental health hospital in Pueblo has a staffing shortage so severe it poses an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients, say federal authorities who have given the hospital a little more than three weeks to improve before funds are cut off.
The hospital for people who are committed by courts or found innocent by reason of insanity was placed on a 23-day “termination track” for failing to comply with federal regulations, the Colorado Department of Human Services said Friday. Investigators who inspected the psychiatric hospital Monday found it did not meet conditions of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, which includes geriatric and adolescent units, has suffered for years from staffing shortages, operating at times without the minimum number of staff needed to cover shifts and group therapy. The hospital has 97 vacant positions, out of a full staff of 723.
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Colorado’s 449-bed mental health hospital in Pueblo has a staffing shortage so severe it poses an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients, say federal authorities DENVER POST STAFF PHOTO BY GLENN ASAKAWA
Colorado’s 449-bed mental health hospital in Pueblo has a staffing shortage so severe it poses an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients, say federal authorities DENVER POST STAFF PHOTO BY GLENN ASAKAWA