Timberlawn's last stand? State moves to close Dallas psychiatric hospital over safety

Texas health officials are taking steps to close Timberlawn psychiatric hospital after a child said she was raped there.

The state's move to revoke Timberlawn's license, announced Friday, is one of the strongest steps it can take against health care facilities. The unusual effort speaks to Timberlawn’s long history of safety problems: It was already the only psychiatric hospital on probation with the state.

The Dallas Morning News reported in October that police were investigating the sexual assault of a 13-year-old by another patient. Government safety inspectors then swarmed the hospital.

“Moving toward license revocation is absolutely warranted here,” said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees psychiatric hospitals.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2018/01/12/texas-moves-shut-timberlawn-psych-hospital-patient-safety