The Disability Law Center argues in a new complaint to federal regulators that Utah agencies that oversee long-term care facilities are prioritizing helping troubled programs stay afloat, rather than closing facilities after vulnerable people are harmed.
The nonprofit, which was tasked by the federal government to investigate how Utah’s disability care facilities are run, said it has been sounding the alarm for more than a decade and calling on the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to address systemic flaws in how the facilities are regulated.
But the Disability Law Center says this continues to be a pattern of allowing unsafe programs, and the nonprofit filed a complaint Tuesday with the National Health Law Program, calling on the federal government to step in and investigate.
Nate Cripps, executive director of communications for the Disability Law Center, said the center has been reporting cases of sexual abuse and death to state licensing agencies since 2014.
“Unfortunately, the state has not taken the necessary steps to prevent these harms,” he said in a statement, “which is why we are calling on federal regulators to step in and ensure the safety of Utahns with disabilities.”
The complaint was sent to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of Inspector General and the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The complaint calls on the Medicaid Department to terminate contracts with problematic facilities in Utah that receive Medicaid funding but don’t meet minimum safety standards. It also asks the inspector general to investigate the use of federal funds to monitor and pay for facilities that Utah officials know are unsafe. It also asks the Office for Civil Rights to investigate whether Utah licensees are effectively communicating with people with disabilities who complain.
In its lawsuit, the Disability Law Center cited several deaths that have occurred in Utah long-term care facilities in recent years:
A 48-year-old man named Chien Nguyen lived in a Midvale facility until local health officials shut it down after it overflowed with raw sewage, was infested with bedbugs, and lacked smoke detectors or proper fire extinguishers. He later committed suicide at another nursing home. The second facility was allowed to stay open until criminal charges were filed against its owners in connection with Nguyen’s death.
At another facility, a 12-year-old girl died of sepsis due to a kidney infection in November 2021. Three months later, at the same facility, a 64-year-old woman who was supposed to be supervised while eating was left unattended and choked to death a few days before her death. State licensing agencies fined the facility $200 following her death. The facility was allowed to continue operating for more than a year, but voluntarily relinquished its license.
Last October, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by police after stealing a car. The report said the boy had autism and a history of stealing cars, and the facility was supposed to hire staff to monitor him, but never did, and never installed locks on the doors and windows, as required by the boy’s treatment plan.
The lawsuit says that given these deaths and other allegations of abuse, it’s unclear what kind of misconduct would warrant the facility’s license being revoked.
The Disability Law Center also pointed to the state’s treatment of Highland Ridge Hospital, a psychiatric hospital whose accreditation agency documented mismanagement of sexual assaults and inappropriate drug restraints and seclusion. Despite state regulators threatening to revoke its accreditation three times, Highland Ridge remained open until its decision in April to give up its license.
The nonprofit has released reports critical of state licensing agencies in the past. In response to the 2023 report, which focused primarily on Nguyen’s death, Department of Health Executive Director Tracy Gruber called the Disability Law Center report “important, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.” In an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune, Gruber said the state “must strike a balance between making sure people have safe places to receive care and making sure there are enough private programs left to make sure those people can get by.”
“If the agency fails to strike that balance, it risks taking the quick action of closing programs without also providing a safe place for people in the programs to live,” she wrote. “In many cases, they cannot just go home. Who will care for these people? Where will they go? That’s why the agency works with providers whenever possible to resolve issues. Closure of facilities occurs when corrective action plans are not implemented effectively.”
Department of Health spokesman Joe Dougherty said in a statement Wednesday that the department agrees with some of the points raised by the Disability Law Center.
“We agree that individuals should receive the services they need in a safe and healthy environment,” he said. “We agree that providers who fail to adequately care for individuals in their services should improve their care or have their licenses revoked.”
He noted that the Department of Health terminated its contract with a program that served a boy killed in a police shooting and later revoked the program’s license, and said Highland Ridge decided to close rather than comply with the tough sanctions handed down by the Department of Health earlier this year.
Dougherty said that if a program wants to improve and comply with rules and standards, DHHS will help them do that, but if the program isn’t willing to comply, “we will impose penalties, restrictions and revoke licenses,” he said.
Dougherty noted that the Department of Health has undergone transformation over the past two years, when the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services were consolidated to become more efficient. He said implementing new processes takes time and that the Department of Health needs to ensure that it is protecting Utahns and making sure they have access to services.
“That’s why it’s of serious concern that Utah has so few facilities providing necessary services to vulnerable populations,” he said. “The Utah Department of Health is collaborating and engaging with partners at all levels to help advance efforts to maintain and protect the health of our population.”