Feds nearly pull funding from Arizona State Hospital

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The Arizona State Hospital nearly lost its funding this week.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, officials decided not to pull the hospital's funding on Tuesday. However, this is the second time in as many years that the state has avoided losing federal funding at the hospital.

In both cases, inspections uncovered many problems with staffing and patient security at the hospital. The Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found the Phoenix hospital was not in compliance with federal rules during a May inspection.

Some of these problems included allegations of sexually abused patients. A corrections plan was submitted in June and results of a July re-inspection were just received by the department.

The department put the hospital's top executive and a deputy director on leave in May, but both have left the hospital.