New chief to review State Hospital's security

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Security will be a top concern for the new administrator of Hawai'i State Hospital, which has suffered a rash of escapes by potentially violent psychiatric patients.

"That will be one of the first areas to look at," said Paul Guggenheim, who is scheduled to begin at the hospital Sept. 17. "I am concerned about patients being secure, protected and cared for."

Gov. Ben Cayetano said the hospital must improve security soon, and state health director Bruce Anderson said he may hire experts to perform a thorough security assessment of the 160-patient facility in Kane'ohe.

Many of the hospital's patients have been sent there after having been charged with crimes and found unfit to stand trial.

Guggenheim said he did not want to turn the facility into a prison, but would make the safety of its patients, workers and neighbors a priority.

"Injuries to patients are unacceptable, whether self-inflicted or inflicted by others," he said.

A man who escaped June 14 suffered a broken leg and wrist after he allegedly jumped from a freeway overpass. The escape was the patient's second in two months, and it underscored the state's exposure to lawsuits that could result if escaped patients injure themselves or others.

Since then, two more patients have left the hospital without permission, the latest on Saturday. All three had histories of violence; one was committed to the hospital after he was charged with strangling a man 30 years ago.

All the patients have since been returned to the hospital or sent to jail while charges are pending.

Guggenheim, who heads the Core Behavioral Health Centers in Cincinnati, said it would be inappropriate for him to suggest specific security improvements at Hawai'i State Hospital without first meeting with its staff and his new superiors at the Department of Health.

"There are a lot of good people there who know what's going on," he said. "I was very impressed with most of the staff I talked to, and I'm very much looking forward to getting there."

Guggenheim said another key goal will be to comply with the terms of a 10-year-old federal consent decree, which resulted after the U.S. Justice Department sued the hospital to challenge poor conditions and substandard patient care.

He said he hoped to work closely with U.S. Magistrate Kevin Chang, assigned in May as special master for the case, and to remove the hospital from court oversight.

Guggenheim will replace Barbara Peterson, who was appointed hospital administrator in November and did not seek renewal of her one-year contract.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.