Jump to content

Elevations RTC

Coordinates: 41°04′34″N 112°04′35″W / 41.076003°N 112.076433°W / 41.076003; -112.076433
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 76.103.73.103 (talk) at 20:20, 1 February 2022 (cleaning up reverse chron section →‎Allegations of abuse and mistreatment). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Elevations RTC
Address
Map
2650 West 2700 South

, ,
84075
Information
Former nameIsland View Residential Treatment Center
School typeFor-profit program, residential treatment center for adolescents classified as emotionally disturbed
Founded1994; rebranded in 2014
FoundersDr. W. Dean Belnap, M.D., Lorin A. Broadbent, D.S.W., Jared U. Balmer, PhD., Steven Dale Lancaster, L.C.S.W. and W. Kimball DeLaMare, L.C.S.W.
DeanRyan Mortensen[2]
Age range13 to 18
Classes offeredSocial Studies, Mathematics, English, Science, Music and Art[3]
Campus typeSecured/Locked
AccreditationsCognia (education)[4]
Tuition$192,000 annually[5]
AffiliationNational Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)[6]
AlumniEmily Graeber; Misha Osherovich;[7] Parker Bagley;[8] Bryn Woznicki;[9] Lillian Lennon,[10] Mallory Richards[11]
OwnerFamily Help & Wellness, formerly Aspen Education and CRC Health Group[1]
Websitehttps://www.elevationsrtc.com/


Elevations RTC is a residential treatment center in Syracuse, Utah for teens ages 13–18.[12] The facility was formerly known as Island View Residential Treatment Center until 2014, when it was acquired by Syracuse RTC, LLC, which does business as Elevations RTC.[13] The Elevations campus is shared with Seven Stars and ViewPoint Center.[14]

Background

Opening of Syracuse Campus

The Syracuse campus initially opened in 1994 as the Island View Residential Treatment Center.[15] Its founders were Lorin Broadbent, DSW; Jared Balmer, PhD; and W. Kimball DeLaMare, LCSW.[16] They created their center after leaving other failed "tough love" treatment programs.[17][18][19]

In 2004, Aspen Education Group acquired Island View.[16] CRC Health Group, a company owned by Bain Capital,[20] purchased Aspen Education for $300 million in 2006.[21] Aspen and CRC Health Group owned and operated the Syracuse campus until 2014.

Rebranding to Elevations RTC

In April 2014, Syracuse RTC, LLC acquired Island View and changed the name to Elevations RTC.[22][23][13] Elevations' applications, policies, and procedures are largely the same as those at Island View.[24][25][unreliable source?]

Many Elevations employees also worked at Island View.[25][26] These include Elevations' executive director Judi Jacques, MEd; clinical director Jennifer Wilde, LCSW; medical director Dr. Michael Connolly; admissions director Laura Burt; program director Eric Flores; and dean of students Jen Capellen.[25][26]

Elevations has branded itself as a "residential treatment center that works with students of all genders".[27] The facility today caters to a large population of transgender and gender non-conforming teens, partially caused by the lack of other treatment centers that accept transgender students into their programs.[28]

Partnership with Family Help and Wellness

Elevations is partnered with Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC, an Oregon-based company doing business as Family Help & Wellness.[29][30] The company was founded by Tim Dupell,[29] who was the executive vice president and CFO of Aspen Education from 1999 until 2004.[25] Family Help & Wellness provides management, financial, and marketing support to Elevations’ ownership team.[29]

Leadership at Island View and Elevations have since branched into partnerships with several other troubled teen programs owned by Family Help & Wellness,[31] including Solstice RTC, Solstice East,[32] Equinox RTC, and Trails Carolina.[33]

Programming

The program at Elevations includes individual, family, and group therapy, an educational program, and recreation activities.[12] The Elevations School is accredited by Cognia.[4] Most classes at Elevations meet college entrance requirements.[34]

Elevations utilizes a level system consisting of five tiers.[34][35] Students in higher levels have additional privileges.[34][35][25]

The base level is the Orientation Phase and the status is referred to as "Community Break", which is designed for students who have violated rules and are significantly disrupting the community.[34][35] While on Community Break, students may not communicate with peers or make phone calls and at night are required to sleep in the hallway under its fluorescent lights. Students may be on Community Break for considerable lengths of time, often with other restrictions or sanctions. Sleep deprivation has been reported by students on community break and individual focus.[34][35][36]

Front of a building at Elevations

Phone use at Elevations is restricted and mail is closely monitored.[34][35] Elevations prohibits students from accessing email, but does allow them to communicate with their families electronically through a system called Family Bridge.[34][35] Students are permitted to write letters to family. At Elevations, all residential buildings have locked doors.[37]

Tuition at Elevations costs approximately $16,000 per month or $192,000 per year.[5] According to Elevations, the average stay is eight to ten months, although students often stay there much longer[34] Insurance companies have often denied coverage on the grounds that long-term care at Elevations is not medically necessary.[38]

Elevations provides parents a list of typical things that kids new to the program may say to manipulate their parents into letting them come home.[39][40][34] Common statements include "I feel unsafe, they treat us like we are in prison, the faculty are trying to brainwash us, and they lied to you about what this place is, it is nothing like they said."[40][34] Parents are told these statements are either exaggerations or lies[39][41] and to avoid such "parenting traps".[40][34][42]

Controversy

Allegations of abuse and mistreatment

Many former residents at Elevations and Island View have alleged experiencing some form of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse at the Syracuse facility.[25][36] They describe staff tormenting and abusing them, and leaving the program with more trauma than they came in with.[25] Many former residents have also reported that sedatives were given at Island View to quell disobedience.[43] A petition exists with almost 2,500 signatures to shut Elevations down.[44]

A September 2020 incident at Elevations, in which a student was rendered unconscious after hitting his head while being restrained, prompted an investigation by the Utah Department of Human Services Office of Licensing.[36] The case is still open.[45]

In 2018, a former resident filed a lawsuit against Elevations RTC, alleging that a staff member threw her to the floor.[46] The girl alleged that as a result she sustained traumatic brain and nerve damage resulting in permanent disfigurement of her eye and impaired vision.[46] Despite her headaches, nausea, vomiting, and double vision, the former resident alleged that Elevations failed to provide medical assistance for six days.[46] Elevations settled the case in September 2019, and the court dismissed it with prejudice.[47]

A teen held at Elevations from 2018 to 2019 told one news source that he was overmedicated and that he broke his hand while there and staff did not bring him to the nurse.[48] Consistent with other reports, the former resident also said that he was kept in a hallway for 14 days.[48] In response, Elevations explained that this type of treatment is “more of an art than a science."[48]

Inspection reports of the facility from 2015 through 2019 show 35 violations, including insufficient documentation pertaining to seclusion methods, repeated citations for missing paperwork related to staff training, and mildew or mold in the bathrooms.[36]

Elevations has also been accused of practicing conversion therapy.[10] Transgender activist Lillian Lennon told Mashable that while in the residential treatment center, she was shuttled between a boys' dorm and an isolation quarter.[10] She says staff refused to call her by her pronouns and dismissed her gender identity as an "excuse to be promiscuous."[10] Transgender students were barred from rooming with cisgender students on the dorms and during group trips.

In 2014, the Utah Department of Human Services detailed students' claims that staff at Elevations were mistreating them, including using restraint on them too often when unwarranted and belittling them.[25]

Around the time the facility was renamed Elevations RTC, Island View was at the center of two highly publicized lawsuits in 2014, one with Dr. Phil, alleging that the center "maintained a prison-like environment where physical and psychological torture were used against students",[49][50][51][52] which were subsequently dismissed.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59] The lawsuit which included Dr. Phil alleged that a teenage girl's arm was broken and its main nerve severely damaged during an incident with staff at Island View after Dr. Phil had offered to pay for the girl's treatment there following a 2013 appearance on his TV show.[60][61]

Several former residents of the center claimed in 2012 that they had received inadequate medical care during their time there, and that they had been subjected to solitary confinement and other harsh physical and psychological treatment.[62]

In 2007, the disappearance of a then 15-year-old resident, Emily Graeber, made headlines after she escaped from the facility. Emily stayed on a Southwest airlines flight that was headed to Utah. Instead of deplaning in Utah, the teen remained onboard during it's connecting flight to San Francisco, where she hid for 18 days in the suburb of San Leandro. [63] [64] She was punished for running away by being put in isolation for 58 days, which included not being allowed to speak or even make eye contact with the other detainees.[25] Her dramatic disappearance and continued outspoken activism has played a major role in exposing the abuses at Island View, Elevations, and the troubled teen industry as a whole. [65][66] [67] [68].

In 2004, a 16-year-old boy hung himself in a bathroom at Island View.[69] The staff were unsuccessful in reviving him.[70] Island View was cited for providing inadequate medical care to the child, placed on probation, and required to submit a plan of corrective action.[70]

In 2002, a former resident filed a $135 million lawsuit against her father in part for having her admitted to Island View where she says she was traumatized.[71]

The local Syracuse Police Department has responded to 219 emergency calls at the facility's address between January 2005 and October 2020.[72][36] Many of the calls have been related to abuse, sex offenses, or suicide attempts.[72][36]

Breaking Code Silence

Former Island View and Elevations residents, including Island View alumnus Emily Graeber, artist Jennifer Korsen, and actor Misha Osherovich, attended a rally held by Paris Hilton in protest of alleged abuse at Provo Canyon School and programs for at-risk youth, where they spoke out about the abuse that occurred.[73] [74]

Elevation's clinical director, Jordan Killpack, is a former therapist at UHS's Provo Canyon School.[75]

Freaky star Osherovich described their experience at Island View on the website Them.[76] Osherovich likened what the facility did to conversion therapy.[76] The American Bar Association hosted a panel with Osherovich, Hilton, Senator Sara Gelser, and the mother of a former Island View resident, which explored youth being funneled into prison-like "behavior modification" centers under the guise of treatment and conversion therapy.[77]

Other alumni have come forward alleging abuse as part of the Breaking Code Silence movement.[78] The former students describe being held in seclusion rooms, sleep deprivation, attack therapy, and being drugged with psychotropics, amongst other things.[78][79]

The alumni association has an in memoriam for over fifty former residents of Island View and Elevations who have died in their teens, twenties, and early thirties, the majority of them due to suicide, overdose, and violence. One mother published a book about losing her daughter to suicide within months of the teen leaving Island View.[11]

COVID-19 Cases

Multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among the students at Elevations RTC in December 2020. Although Elevations RTC shared the information with parents on a private site the facility uses to communicate with families, some parents felt that Elevations' communication with families was poor throughout the outbreak.[80]

References

  1. ^ "New Status and Name Changes at Syracuse Campus". strugglingteens.com. May 5, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Our Experienced Team - Elevations RTC". elevationsrtc.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "Elevations – Curriculum". elevationsrtc.com. Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Cognia – Institution Summary". advanc-ed.org/. Cognia. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Berkeley Unified School District Approval of Master Contract for Residential Treatment Centers for 2020–2021 SY". agendaonline.net/. Berkeley Unified School District. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Accreditation & Expertise at Elevations RTC". elevationsrtc.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Fuchs, David (February 15, 2021). "Actor, advocate Misha Osherovich on how the 'troubled-teen' industry affects families". KUER News. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "Parker Bagley - IMDB". www.imdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "Bryn Woznicki - IMDB". www.imdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Neela-Stock, Siobhan (December 10, 2020). "This transgender activist went through hell. Here's how she got to the other side". Mashable. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Richards, Lisa (January 1, 2012). Dear Mallory: Letters to a Teenage Girl Who Killed Herself. New Middle Press. ISBN 978-0985318901.
  12. ^ a b "Elevations RTC homepage". Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Asset Purchase Agreement by and among Turn-About Ranch, Inc., Island View Residential Treatment Center, Copper Canyon Academy, LLC, Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment, LLC, Aspen Education Group, Inc. and Lake Montezuma RTC, LLC, Escalante RTC, LLC, Syracuse RTC, LLC, Syracuse Institute, LLC, Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC, March 7, 2014
  14. ^ "Residential Treatment". Discover Seven Stars. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "ISLAND VIEW RTC
    Visit Reports"
    .
  16. ^ a b "Aspen Education Group Acquires Island View & Oakley School". Woodbury Reports, Inc. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  17. ^ Hayes, Kristen (December 11, 2008). "Vardell Part Of Island View Future". strugglingteens.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Carter, Mike (November 7, 1989). "apnews.com". Associated Press. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  19. ^ Leibovich, Lori (October 3, 1997). "mental hell How the American health-care system killed a 13-year-old girl". Salon. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  20. ^ CRC Heath Group. Form 10-k filed April 2013 (Report). Securities and Exchange Commission.
  21. ^ Jonny Bonner (December 17, 2009). "Parents Say Dr. Phil Exploited Troubled Teen". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  22. ^ Hans, David (May 5, 2014). "New Status And Name Changes at Syracuse Campus" (Press release). Woodbury Reports, Inc. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  23. ^ Murdock, Sebastian (August 23, 2016). "'The Troubled-Teen Industry Has Been A Disaster For Decades and It's Still Not Fixed". HuffPost. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "These Rehab Schools Beat, Raped, And Even Killed Their Students For Years Before Being Stopped". Ranker. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i Murdock, Sebastian (August 23, 2016). "The Troubled Teen Industry Has Been A Disaster For Decades". HuffPost. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)"Our Experienced Team – Elevations RTC". elevationsrtc.com. Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  27. ^ "Why All Gender Inclusive? Elevations RTC". elevationsrtc.com. Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  28. ^ "Elevations RTC – A New Beginning for Troubled Teens". Entrepreneur Mindz. March 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  29. ^ a b c "Tim Dupell Partner Letter – Elevations RTC". elevationsrtc.com. Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  30. ^ Scott v. Wingate Wilderness Therapy, LLC (United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit June 10, 2019), Text.
  31. ^ "Programs". Family Help & Wellness. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  32. ^ "Solstice East Teen Abuse Allegations Arise State Former Clients". WLOS. March 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ Ochser, Nick (May 25, 2021). "'It's beyond cruel': Inside an N.C. wilderness therapy program for teens". WBTV. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Elevations RTC Parent Manual. Elevations RTC. 2020.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Elevations RTC Student Manual. Elevations RTC. 2020.
  36. ^ a b c d e f Fuchs, David (December 17, 2020). "Utah Has Seen Abuse In 'Troubled Teen' Programs For Decades. Now, Momentum Slowly Builds For Change". KUER 90.1. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  37. ^ "A Safe, Secure and Inviting Environment for your Teen". elevationsrtc.com. Elevations RTC. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  38. ^ Meyers v. Kaiser Found. Health Plan, Inc., 807 Fed. Appx. 651 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit March 26, 2020).
  39. ^ a b Gillan, Eileen (October 14, 2020). "My Daughter Was a Victim of the 'Troubled Teen' Industry & It Haunts Me to This Day". CafeMom. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  40. ^ a b c Elevations RTC (2020). Stages of Treatment & Common Resident Statements. New Parent Orientation. Elevations RTC.
  41. ^ Youth in Congregate Care: Far from Home, Far from Safe. The Troubled Teen Industry, a Multi-series Webinar Event. American Bar Association.
  42. ^ Island View Parent Manual. Island View. 2004. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  43. ^ Rosen, Kenneth (2021). Troubled. New York: Little A. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-5420-0788-7.
  44. ^ "Elevations RTC Alumni (@ElevationsRTC) / Twitter".
  45. ^ Syracuse Police Call Records. Syracuse Police Department.
  46. ^ a b c Zelda Hutcheon vs. Kenneth Sio and Syracuse RTC, LLC, d/b/a Elevations RTC (Second Judicial District Court – Farmington Davis County, Utah August 16, 2018), Text.
  47. ^ Zelda Hutcheon vs. Kenneth Sio and Syracuse RTC, LLC, d/b/a Elevations RTC (Second Judicial District Court – Farmington Davis County, Utah August 16, 2018).
  48. ^ a b c Varela, William Koblensky (July 19, 2021). "Thousands of children violently abused by troubled teen programs". Orato World Media. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  49. ^ Reavy, Pat (January 29, 2014). "Family sues Dr. Phil, Utah treatment center". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  50. ^ "Teen sex, Dr. Phil and Utah collide in federal lawsuit". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  51. ^ "Parents Say Dr. Phil Exploited Troubled Teen". Courthouse News Service. January 30, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  52. ^ "Dr. Phil Accused of 'Slavery,' 'Abuse,' 'False Imprisonment' of Underage Sex-Seeker in Explosive New Suit". The Wrap. January 30, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  53. ^ Nuszen v. Nuszen et al, 4:2015mc00864 (Texas Southern District Court March 30, 2015).
  54. ^ "Hinman v. Island View Academy et al". Justia Dockets & Filings.
  55. ^ Myers et al v. Dr. Phil Organization et al, 1:14-cv-00007, Reply Memorandum of Defendants CRC Health Group, Aspen Education Group, Island View Residential Treatment Center, and Ryan Mortenson (Utah District Court August 13, 2014).
  56. ^ "FindLaw's Court of Appeals of Texas case and opinions". Findlaw. NO. 01–13–01061–CV. Retrieved February 14, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  57. ^ Hinman v. Island View Academy et al, 1:2014cv00015 (Utah District Court February 18, 2014).
  58. ^ "Hinman v. Island View Academy et al, No. 1:2014cv00015 – Document 28 (D. Utah 2015)". Justia Law. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  59. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  60. ^ Bonner, Jonny (January 30, 2014). "Parents Say Dr. Phil Exploited Troubled Teen". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  61. ^ "Myers et al v. Dr. Phil Organization et al, No. 1:2014cv00007 - Document 77 (D. Utah 2015)". Justia Law. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  62. ^ "Dark side of a Bain success". Salon. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  63. ^ Palmer, Rebecca (November 9, 2007). "Police search for missing Missouri teen". Deseret News. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  64. ^ Winslow, Ben, Girl who disappeared on Utah flight is found aliveDeseret News, Nov 20, 2007,
  65. ^ "Ep.12: Emily Graeber - Second Nature & Island View by Inside The Program". Anchor. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  66. ^ "Utah Has Seen Abuse In 'Troubled Teen' Programs For Decades. Now, Momentum Slowly Builds For Change". KUER. December 17, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  67. ^ "- CHILD ABUSE AND DECEPTIVE MARKETING BY RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS FOR TEENS". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  68. ^ Levine, Art (August 15, 2017). Mental Health Inc: How Corruption, Lax Oversight and Failed Reforms Endanger Our Most Vulnerable Citizens. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4683-1531-8.
  69. ^ "Teen facility targets suicide prevention". Deseret News. July 30, 2004. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  70. ^ a b Stewart, Kirsten (October 13, 2007). "Four recent Utah deaths in treatment programs". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  71. ^ Yeung, Bernice (December 18, 2002). "Girl, Interrupted". SF Weekly. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  72. ^ a b Syracuse Police Department. Syracuse Police Call Log (Report). Syracuse Police Department.
  73. ^ "Paris Hilton holds rally in protest of alleged abuse at Provo Canyon School". MSN. October 10, 2020.
  74. ^ "Utah Has Seen Abuse In 'Troubled Teen' Programs For Decades. Now, Momentum Slowly Builds For Change". KUER. December 17, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  75. ^ Provo Canyon School
  76. ^ a b Kim, Michelle (December 22, 2020). "Misha Osherovich Is the Fearless Actor and Advocate Who Wants All Queer Kids to Be Okay". Them. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  77. ^ Youth in Congregate Care: Far from Home, Far from Safe. The Troubled Teen Industry, a Multi-series Webinar Event. American Bar Association.
  78. ^ a b "Anonymous' Story". breakingcodesilence.net.
  79. ^ "Brendan's Story". breakingcodesilence.net.
  80. ^ Fuchs, David (December 4, 2020). "Northern Utah Teen Treatment Center Reports First COVID-19 Cases". KUER 90.1. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

41°04′34″N 112°04′35″W / 41.076003°N 112.076433°W / 41.076003; -112.076433