PUEBLO — Sue Ure has worked at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo for nearly two decades, and for the last four months she's been on paid administrative leave.
"I’m being paid, I'm still getting paid." Ure said, she's a nurse at the hospital and is anxiously awaiting if she'll ever be working at the hospital again.
"Honestly, I don't want to go back. They've ruined it for me," Ure said.
Ure is among several employees at the hospital on paid administrative leave. Ure said she was initially placed on leave for a patient abuse complaint, it was later changed to work place violence. Ure said the violence complaint stems from a meeting she had with managers when she found out she was being placed on administrative leave.
"I lost my cool," Ure said, "I was, bellingerent, no I was. I'm very vocal."
News5Investigates spoke with the Colorado Mental Health Hospital last month where CEO Jill Marshall reported there were 12 employees throughout the month of September on paid administrative leave for an investigation.
The hospital also has increasingly relied on contract employees to staff the hospital, causing the hospital to go more than $13 million over budget in the most recent fiscal year.
"As a hospital, we have to ensure the safety of our patients and our staff, and we have to make sure that we follow all of the requirements and regulations. And for anybody who has, like a family member who's here as a patient or knows that we're providing patient care, they need to make sure that we're doing the very best by our patients and our staff and ensuring their safety" Marshall said.
Employees say they feel it's a way to get them to leave their jobs and describe a difficult working culture.
"Their silence is deafening. Their lack of communication is very intimidating," Ure said.
Have a story you'd like News5 Investigates to look into? Send an email to News5Investigates@KOAA.com.
Related: Overspent: Pueblo Mental Health Hospital goes $13M over budget on temp employees
Related: CMHHIP employees placed on administrative leave for months at a time
Related: Mental health hospital operating with half of its psychologist positions
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