State's psychiatric hospitals still without chief
After almost two years of active recruitment, the Oregon Health Authority still hasn’t found a new superintendent for the state’s psychiatric hospitals, triggering growing concerns among advocates for people who are mentally ill.
The superintendent is a top state government post leading Oregon’s two psychiatric hospitals, the 610-bed facility in Salem and the 174-bed one in Junction City. Those hospitals employ 1,900 people and have a combined annual budget of $275 million — almost all of it state funds.
But that key post has been unfilled since April 1, when then-Superintendent Greg Roberts retired. Roberts previously delayed his retirement by three months after the initial recruitment process sputtered in 2016.
After months of more searching and interviews, the state found itself back at square one this fall, after its most recently chosen candidate leveraged the interest from Oregon into a pay raise to stay in their current job.
Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36183762-75/two-year-search-yields-no-one-to-oversee-oregons-two-state-psychiatric-hospitals.html.csp