MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) – A mental hospital that Gov. Terry Branstad wants to close has fired three workers and made changes after a patient’s attempted suicide revealed major safety gaps. Administrators at the Mental Health Institute in Mount Pleasant say three workers walked past a psychiatric patient who’d tied a bedsheet around his neck to a bathroom doorknob Oct. 19. They say all three should have stopped immediately to help the patient, who had a history of assaulting employees.

But the workers dispute that the patient, who ultimately wasn’t harmed, was in immediate danger or that they did anything wrong. They say they weren’t given training on responding to suicide attempts.
An investigation by the Department of Inspections and Appeals concluded that “systemic failures and deficient practices” led to an unsafe environment for patents.