Officials Eye Safety Fence at Westwood Lodge, Field to Remain Closed

A recent patient escape from has prompted officials to consider installing an additional fence at the hospital among ongoing safety evaluations. 

, when Westwood Police were notified by the hospital that a patient, who had exited the building for a break, fled from the property. Two of the on-duty officers at the time responded to the area, and even  but became unruly when questioned about his identify. 

After that person was detained, police later found the actual patient under the deck of a home at Chase Estates, where the resident found the patient hiding. He was detained with the assistance of a police K-9 dog.

"Since that incident on Saturday, we have met with the management of the hospital, along with the representatives of the Department of Mental Health," Westwood Police Chief William Chase told the Westwood Board of Selectmen Monday night. 

Chase, along with Westwood Fire Chief William Scoble, plans to meet with hospital administrators on Tuesday to discuss the proposed fence, which would be incorporated into ongoing safety evaluations being conducted at the hospital by officials and Liability Consultants, Inc., a consultant firm hired by Westwood Lodge. 

"We don't have a full plan on the fencing yet, and what's involved with that, and I don't know at this point exactly where the fence will be installed," Chase said. "Nor do we have any way of telling how effective that will be."

But the fence, he clarified, would serve to allow for patients at the hospital to exit the building for various exercises and breaks without being able to escape the property, as was the case with the incident on Jan. 21. 

Enforcing the stability and safety of the fence, though, would most likely require a police detail on hand, which could pose a problem at times, Chase said. 

"We discussed with management of the hospital and with the consultant, and our concern with always being able to staff a police officer," he said. "We may not have officers available to assign."

As to how soon that evaluation could be done, however, raised concern among the Board of Selectmen as to when at the onset of the safety evaluations, would reopen. 

"Obviously it would be great if they could have something that would accomplish both purposes, prevent the patients from escaping and also make the field more secure," Selectmen Third Member Phil Shapiro said. 

Added Selectmen Clerk Nancy Hyde, "I'm concerned about hearing as soon as possible, because if we're not going to continue to use that field, we shouldn't be using town dollars to maintain it."

The lack of the field, meanwhile, also has a direct effect on the Westwood Recreation Department, which does not have its own athletic field but utilizes fields at Westwood's schools. 

"The fields are limited," said Recreation Director David Burnes Monday night.. "We are at the mercy of each school. The middle school and high school will use those fields up to 6:30 p.m. at times, so it does have an impact on us not having a field we call our own. We'll make do."

Still, Chase said that the fields should remain off limits until it's clear that the area is safe enough for youth athletes to use. 

"Until we've reached a comfort level in knowing that we've minimized the possibility of a patient escaping from the hospital, my recommendation would be that the field not be used, at least until the fencing issue is addressed, and we have some opportunity to evaluate its effectiveness," Chase said.