AUGUSTA – An attack on a worker at the Riverview Psychiatric Center last winter is leading to a comprehensive review of security.

Former Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, who monitors the facility’s compliance with a 1990 court order, said he has contracted with a national expert to evaluate the Augusta hospital’s security from top to bottom.

Joseph Bevilacqua, who has led state mental health services in Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia, begins his review this summer, Wathen said.

In February, a hospital worker was nearly killed by Mark Murphy, a head-injured patient in Riverview’s forensic unit for the criminally insane. Murphy’s history shows that he sometimes erupts in violence, often unprovoked, against people.

But Wathen said he has concerns that go beyond that individual incident. The review will look at factors that might influence security, such as staffing levels in various parts of the hospital, as well as preventative measures, he said.

“Rather than operate on reports or rumors or whatever, he would objectively have a look at whether there is adequate security and training, and go from there,” Wathen said.

The 1990 consent decree resulted from a class action suit claiming that Maine had fallen short of its responsibility to provide adequate care for patients at the Augusta Mental Health Institute.

The new hospital, which opened in June 2004 to replace AMHI, remains under the control of the AMHI consent decree, which is monitored by Wathen.

Wathen said he expects Bevilacqua will visit the hospital this summer and provide his report in the fall. “We will reach out to the hospital in an independent and confidential manner to listen to any staff concerns and patient concerns,” he said.