PORT ANGELES — Bruce Rowan, the former emergency room doctor who brutally killed his wife and was committed to a state mental hospital, is being cleared to leave the hospital campus and live independently.
Western State Hospital’s Risk Review Board unanimously supports Rowan’s transfer into the community, and Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood agreed Thursday to sign an order that will allow Rowan to make the move.
“Bruce has done extremely well at the hospital,” Rowan’s attorney, David Allen of Seattle, said via conference call during Thursday’s hearing at the Clallam County Courthouse.
“It’s time, they feel, for him to take the next step.”
Wood will sign the order by a Feb. 23 court date, and Rowan will begin a 30-day transition into a Lakewood/Tacoma-area apartment near the hospital.
Rowan has been approved to collect $1,400 a month for Social Security Disability Insurance, and he plans to seek either volunteer or paid employment, according to a letter from his treatment providers.
Owns, drives a car
His attorney said Rowan owns a car and was approved to drive several months ago.
His past has already brought obstacles for Rowan outside the confines of the hospital, according to the letter — he was barred by church members from attending services without an escort, and a Tacoma law firm dismissed him after he was hired as a paralegal.
But hospital staff say Rowan’s mental health has remained stable.
Rowan was also on the phone Thursday during the court hearing, but said only “yes” when asked if he was there.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Erickson said there is nothing either prosecutors or the judge can do to block Rowan’s move into the community because it comes at the unanimous recommendation of state psychiatrists.
“There’s no contradicting evidence that he should be released,” Erickson said.
“That being true, the judge has no choice.”