Politics & Government

Police Chief: Westwood Lodge Security Improving

Reports of patient escapes have decreased dramatically this year, officials said.

Five months after Westwood officials chose to , Westwood Police Chief William Chase said conditions at the facility are improving.

"The hospital administration has taken the initiative to make a number of improvements, and we have started to see some results of those improvements," Chase told the in an update Monday night.

Last year at this time, Westwood Police received reports of about 20 patients that had fled or walked away from the facility. This year to date, only about five reports have been received, Chase said.

"Five is still too many," he said, "and we are still looking for improvements."

The update comes nearly six months after Chase recommended to close off the athletic field next to the hospital after accumulating reports of escaped patients, notably a patient that escaped from the grounds of the hospital, and subsequently broke into two houses in the area.

The Board of Selectmen approved for the measure, and Chase has since been meeting with a task force at the hospital as well as Westwood Lodge CEO Gregory Brownstein to evaluate how to improve security at the facility.

As such, Westwood Lodge has hired Liability Consultants, Inc. to conduct the evaluations of the area; Chase said he expects a draft form of an evaluation report to be completed by mid-October.

Despite a number of improvements to security, Chase expressed anxiety over the thoroughness of the forthcoming report.

"I don't want to prejudge the report, having not seen it, yet I am somewhat concerned about the scope of the report, and whether or not it's going to cover all the areas we've expressed some concern about," Chase said Monday night. "I do know the consultant is focused on the escape of patients from the facility, and we've also asked them to include a study of the use of the grounds of the hospital for soccer and lacrosse teams."

Another notable improvement that has been made, he said, is that telephones in the hospital that are accessible to patients will no longer be able to dial 9-1-1. In the past, hundreds of calls have been made to the from those phones, Chase said. Staff at the hospital will still be able to call 9-1-1 with their phones, he added.

Meanwhile, Westwood Fire Chief William Scoble said the department has also asked the consultant ton conduct a study of internal security to evaluate safety for any fire or police officials when responding to the area. He said that management at the facility has been receptive to the request.

A spokesperson for Westwood Lodge could not be reached for comment as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Selectmen expressed gratitude to Chase and Scoble Monday night for their efforts in making sure the area is as safe as possible.

"I appreciate the diligence in the task force and you are putting forth," Selectmen Clerk Nancy Hyde said. "I'm glad that progress is being made."

Added Selectmen Chair Pat Ahearn, "I think we've come a long way since the beginning. I think they're trying to be good neighbors. We hope that continues and we solve all the problems."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here