Last July, a KVPR investigation revealed that an alarmingly high number of patients had died at Coalinga State Hospital (CSH), a state-run psychiatric hospital in western Fresno County. In 2020, the facility had the highest death rate of any state hospital or state prison, with the exception of a medical facility that takes on the state’s sickest prison inmates. Many at CSH pointed to inadequate medical care as a major culprit, which was confirmed by medical records and state documents.
Now, state data reveal that although fewer CSH patients died in 2021 than in 2020, the death rate still remains the highest of almost any state-run facility in California. In this interview, KVPR’s Kerry Klein spoke about the hospital’s medical and psychiatric care with Michael St. Martin, a patient there who argues not much has changed in the last year.