Winnebago Mental Health Institute, the state’s psychiatric hospital, is short more than 100 staff as it seeks another new director – Milwaukee Journal…

The Winnebago Mental Health Institute can be seen in this aerial photo from 2009.(Photo: File / Oshkosh Northwestern Medi, File / Oshkosh Northwestern Medi)

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Milwaukee County is the only Wisconsin county that has its own public mental health hospital. Other counties also have such hospitals.

Two years after a patient death brought a flood of attention, state inspectors have left Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh, but staff shortages have gotten worse.

At the state's only facility required to accept anyone having a mental health crisis, the staff hasbeen forced to work significant overtime while officials address safety hazards and gaps in care. The facility draws patients from every county in Wisconsin.

There's widespread agreement that the emergency care model for mental health crises is broken. At an October summit on the topic hosted by Attorney General Josh Kaul, there was a consensus among law enforcement, patient advocates and health officials that the facility should not be the only option for so many people in crisis.

"The entire emergency detention experience is difficult for those patients who we see at some of the most difficult periods of their lives," said Rose Kleman, administrator of the stateDivision of Care and Treatment Services, noting it's best to keep patients as close to home as possible.

The Oshkosh facilityhas long struggled to attract and retain staff while dealing with growing admissions numbers and higher-needs patients. Patients are often brought inby police, detained involuntarily becausethey've been deemed actively suicidal.

So far this year, the hospital has had more than 2,840admissions.Milwaukee County hasits own public mental health hospital, though some Milwaukee residents also go to Winnebago.

The hospital also serves some female patients who are in court-ordered treatment, including teenagers Morgan Geyser andAnissa Weier, who were charged as adults in the 2014"Slender Man" stabbing case.

A sign identifies Petersik Hall outside the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh.(Photo: Joe Sienkiewicz, Joe Sienkiewicz/USA TODAY NETWOR)

The state-run hospital drew heightened scrutinyafter a patientdied in December 2017. Inspectors found staff had waited 14 hours to get the man to a hospital after a bad fall, despite alarming symptoms. The patient had a brain bleed and died at the hospital.

Inspectors found staff shortages were endangering patients. Though officials said recruitment has recently improved, due in part to an 80-cent per hour raise to one classification of employees,shortages persist.

Hospital officials reported about 155 full-time vacancies in November about a fifth of the total positions. They said there are 64people in training to fill some of those positions.

In addition, the hospitals director left in July.A former state employee, Tim Lundquist,came out of retirement to run the facility temporarily but planned to retire again last week. The director of a neighboring facility has been asked to keep a handle on things while officials try to fill the post.

While short-staffed, the facility isworking to eliminate hazards that made it too easy for patients to attempt suicide, based on an August inspection by the Joint Commission, a private accreditor. Officials said to allow fixes to be made,they moved a unit of 20 patients in September to Mendota Mental Health Institute, which primarily detains patients who are involved in criminal court proceedings.

Inspectors had pointed out many of these hazards in a previous report but the facility had failed to fix them, according to the commission.

The Joint Commission also noted staff shortages were affecting patients. Many forms tracking patient health and treatmentwere incomplete. One patient complained: "Due to nursingstaff's being too busy... they wereunable to open the door for her to go to thebathroom, or access other needs."

As of Nov. 7, there were 133 adults and 38 minors atWinnebago.

The offices of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, 4100 Treffert Drive, in Oshkosh.(Photo: Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Some of the staff vacancies reported this month included:

The hospital reported 95 more vacancies than it did in September, the last time the Journal Sentinel requested numbers. Part of that, officials said, is due to the Legislature providing funding for 51 new positions most of which have not been filled.

The budget, which took effect in July, called for 12 new psychiatric care supervisors to address staffing needs. None of those positions have been filled.

The budget bump was a response to "issues that have been the subject of growing concern" stemming in part from short staffing. A consultant's report last year found heavy reliance on overtime hadcaused staff to quit and increased risk of harm to patients.

Overtime is still common. Workers are currently logging about 35-50 overtime shifts each day at the hospital, Lundquist said. Some people volunteer for overtime shifts, while others are forced to work overtime.

"Patients dont feel the effect of our staffing issues," Lundquist said."Patients have not suffered in the least."'

Rory Linnane reports on public health and works to make information accessible so readers can improve their lives and hold officials accountable.ContactRory at (414) 801-1525orrory.linnane@jrn.com. Followher on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.

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Winnebago Mental Health Institute, the state's psychiatric hospital, is short more than 100 staff as it seeks another new director - Milwaukee Journal...