SALEM, Ore. — Oregon's embattled public psychiatric hospital stands to lose $14 million in federal funding after regulators identified ongoing problems with security and safety procedures at the facility.
According to investigators, 39-year-old Christopher Pray escaped Oregon State Hospital custody in August after commandeering a state-owned van — evading police for two days. He turned up neck-deep in the mud of a North Portland slough when firefighters responded to report of a "body," finding the escapee alive but very much in need of rescue.
Pray's escape prompted an investigation from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). In a report detailing their findings, regulators said that the Oregon State Hospital would losing funding in March if it did not develop sufficient security procedures, particularly for transporting patients.
The report says that the hospital failed to "develop and implement clearly written, effective policies, procedures and staff training that ensured patient safety and security and safety of others."
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Pray had made statements about escaping before, the report found, and was originally committed to OSH custody after being charged with attempted murder, robbery and assault.
CMS investigators said that Pray was left in the van, shackled on his legs and arms with a connecting belly chain, when the two OSH staff members accompanying him stepped out. They'd left the van keys in the ignition, but couldn't recall if it was left running. Pray managed to unbuckle himself, jump into the front seat and drive away, hitting one of the staffers as they tried to intervene — eventually reaching speeds over 100 miles an hour as he eluded capture.
Hospital staff later told investigators that they "don't have a procedure or protocol" for managing vehicle keys.
Both staff members who'd been involved in transporting Pray revealed a complete lack of training in how to transport potentially dangerous patients, the report noted — in fact, both of them said that they did not normally do transports, and one of them said that it was their first time taking someone in a hospital vehicle.
The investigation couldn't determine whether Pray's restraints had been properly secured. By the time he resurfaced in the Portland pond, the restraints were gone.
Until 2022, the Marion County Sheriff's Office conducted this kind of transport for OSH patients, investigators noted. But sometime last year, the county informed OSH that they could no longer provide transport due to staffing shortages, stopping entirely by mid-September.
While Pray's escape makes up the core of the CMS report, investigators looked at a range of incidents involving patients and OSH staff, noting several issues with protection of patients' rights, the use of restraints, and training or procedure.
The Oregon State Hospital has until Dec. 21 to submit a plan detailing their efforts to correct those issues. In a statement, the OSH superintendent said they are "taking immediate measures" to ensure they meet CMS requirements and keep patients, staff and the public safe.
OSH said back in September that it had developed a corrective action plan in the wake of Pray's escape, but that was before CMS had issued its final report. According to the hospital's statement, many of the findings are already being addressed.
Funding from Medicare, estimated at $14 million, represents less than 5% of the Oregon State Hospital's annual budget, a hospital spokesperson told KGW. They receive funding of roughly $794 billion every two years.