Mold won’t force children out of state-run hospital

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, June 29, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

Children at a state-run residential psychiatric program in Las Vegas won't have to be relocated while a potentially-hazardous black mold is removed, according to officials at the Division of Child and Family Services.

The mold was discovered in several buildings on the campus of the Desert Willow Hospital in the 6000 block of West Charleston Boulevard. The campus is home to Oasis, a treatment program for emotionally troubled children ages 6 to 18, who live in cottages along with caretakers.

The state's psychiatric programs are ranked between Level 1 and Level 5, with the top level reserved for facilities with the most supervision, such as a psychiatric ward. The Oasis program is the only Level 4 facility in the state that offers a home-like environment. If the mold removal required the patients to be moved, the children would have to be relocated to a more traditional institutional setting.

Concerns were raised that the 21 children in the program would have to be relocated during the mold removal.

Several varieties of mold were found in some of the buildings throughout the Desert Willow campus, including stachybotrys, which has been linked to illness in the elderly and children, said Sue Dunt, risk manager for the state Department of Administration.

Some traces of mold were also found in the main psychiatric hospital and a further epidemiological study has been ordered to determine the extent of the problem in that facility, Dunt said.

Mold flourishes when building materials, such as sheetrock, are continually wet. Workers have already removed mold-covered ceiling tiles and are busy fixing the sources of the leaks, Dunt said. The renovations are expected to be completed in about three months.

Not all molds release dangerous toxins, said microbiologist Linda Stetzenbach,director of the microbiology division at the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at UNLV. Symptoms of exposure to hazardous molds can include headaches, nausea and a sore throat.

There was no indication that any of the children had shown signs of mold-related health problems, said Christa Peterson, deputy administrator of the southern region of the Division of Child and Family Services. Their conditions will continue to be closely monitored during the renovations, she said.

About 100 employees of the campus's social service programs will have to relocate while the black mold is removed from some offices, Peterson said. The plan is to bring in modular offices so that services are not interrupted, Peterson said.

The state Legislature approved $1.4 million in funding for renovating the campus.