Oregon State Hospital warns capacity and federal restoration limits keep facility at or near full

Dr. Sarah Walker, chief medical officer and interim superintendent of the Oregon State Hospital, told the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health on Feb. 4 that the hospital is full and operating under pressure from a federal court restoration order and rising criminal forensic referrals.

Walker said the hospital admits about 94 people a month under so‑called aid-and-assist commitments and discharges roughly the same number, leaving little room for additional orders. “We are at 98% capacity, so to admit a patient requires discharge of a patient,” Walker said, describing months in 2024 when incoming orders exceeded the hospital’s ability to admit and the state fell out of compliance with the federal restoration timeline.

The hospital’s population is now largely forensic: Walker described roughly 55% of patients as admitted under aid-and-assist commitments for restoration to competency, roughly 35% as individuals found guilty except for…