I worked in the kitchen and on the wards. Many of the cooks in the kitchen regularly sexually harass the female staff there, including a 60+ year old man named John saying, in graphic detail in front of food service workers including myself, how he wanted to force sex on a teenager. Another cook named Wesley also sexually harassed female staff members as did a third cook, Willie, and a fourth cook named Sean decided sending photos of himself licking knives to a coworker was appropriate. Management was made aware of the issues repeatedly and decided to do nothing about it, forcing the victims of harassment in the same room with their harassers. HR and the union AFSCME council 28 also did nothing about this.
The kitchen isn't the only problem. On the wards, women are often targeted by other staff members and sexually harassed there too. One woman who was being harassed both at work and at home by another ward staff member was told stop gossiping when she reported it with proof of the harassment. Again, HR and the union did absolutely nothing.
Then there is the patient abuse. Patients on some wards are often under prescribed medications that keep them from becoming violent, which leads to innocent patients who are just trying to better themselves and rejoin their communities being assaulted at an alarming rate. Staff are also often assaulted by improperly medicated patients, then are blamed for not properly managing psychotic patients who are not receiving proper treatment, rather than the psychiatrists who neglect their patients.
The pay at Western State Hospital is also often not enough to live off of. $20 is not enough to afford an apartment. It is also not enough to risk getting permanently injured by an improperly medicated patient every day. The 3.25% pay increase doesn't not change any of this and neither does the small, one time bonus promised later this year.
These are the reasons Western State Hospital is hemorrhaging employees. It is an unsafe and underpaid workplace. It is also why so many patients are stuck there for years, and the ones that are discharged are likely to leave without the root causes of their mental troubles being properly treated. Employees without degrees in mental health are often expected to be counselors, which is too much to ask of someone who doesn't have that background. This is also unfair to the patients, most of whom need in-depth counseling.
Do not work here. If you have a loved one who is a patient here, do whatever you can to make sure they aren't being abused. Advocate for their care, hire a lawyer, but please keep a close watch on them.
I also wanted to add that there is so much more to this. I am happy to answer any questions.