Report prompts changes at state mental hospital

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Faced with the threat of losing federal money after a devastating evaluation in October, the state's mental hospital in Las Vegas has made a major turnaround.

After the hospital was reinspected Monday and Tuesday by the same team, state officials learned Wednesday that the hospital had passed.

"We hit a home run," said Dr. Jonna Triggs, administrator of the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services.

She said the inspectors - a social worker, a nurse and a psychiatrist - had made a "monumental effort" to correct the deficiencies.

The October inspection by a team from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found a staffing shortage and a lack of therapy for patients. Inspectors said patients watched TV instead of being involved in treatment programs.

The staffing shortage, which included 11 vacant registered nursing positions, contributed to many of the problems, including patients attacking staff members. Inspectors also reported that two deaths at the hospital might have been prevented with proper staffing.

That has changed, state officials said.

"The staff did a tremendous effort in turning the program around," said Carlos Brandenburg, director of the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services.

But he cautioned, "This is a race with no finish line."

After the October inspection, federal officials threatened to cut off funds totaling $4.3 million this fiscal year if corrections were not made.

By retaining the federal money, the state will be able to open a new mental health clinic in downtown Las Vegas, Brandenburg said.

Triggs said the first inspection "gave us the leverage to make the changes we had to make."

She said the patient-staff ratio had to be reduced. The hospital did that by cutting the number of beds by 10, and the hospital contracted with three agencies to hire temporary nurses.

The hospital now has a "full complement" of nurses with two at every unit, Triggs said.

Brandenburg said the Legislative Interim Finance Committee also permitted the hiring of some staff for the new hospital scheduled to open in May adjacent to the Las Vegas facility.

The hospital will get a full-time medical director in May when the new facility opens.

Triggs said 3,000 people go through observation at the hospital and 1,500 enter the hospital. Its budget of $73.2 million this fiscal year jumps to $97.2 million next fiscal year with the new hospital.

If the state did not improve conditions, it could have lost its national accreditation, potentially resulting in a loss of other financial grants to the hospital, including one for a psychiatric residency.

Cy Ryan may be reached at (775) 687 5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.