[U]NDERHILL — The Office of Professional Regulation and the Medicaid fraud unit in the attorney general’s office are both investigating complaints about Maple Leaf Treatment Center, according to two former employees at the facility.
Maple Leaf is a drug rehabilitation program with 41 inpatient beds. It accounts for 30 percent of inpatient beds at treatment centers in Vermont. Last month the facility was forced to close temporarily due to staff vacancies.
The company that operates it, Maple Leaf Associates Inc., also has an outpatient clinic in Colchester, which has remained open. Inpatient treatment is typically reserved for addiction recovery patients who also need medical or mental health services. Patients live at the facility for a period of time to detoxify.
Both former employees said they filed complaints with the Office of Professional Regulation about management at the facility and alleged inappropriate behavior by the company’s clinical director.
They said they are each aware of at least five other former employees who have been interviewed by the Office of Professional Regulation or the Medicaid fraud unit.
They asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation by their former employer.
Investigators with the Office of Professional Regulation appear to have passed complaints on to the attorney general’s office. Several former employees said they’ve been in contact with or were interviewed by the Medicaid fraud unit’s detectives.
Jason Turner, the assistant attorney general who leads the Medicaid fraud unit, confirmed that the unit operates on a referral system. Turner could not confirm or deny an investigation is underway at Maple Leaf.
Colin Benjamin, director of the Office of Professional Regulation, said he too was unable to confirm or deny an ongoing investigation. Benjamin’s office regulates individuals’ professional licenses, including psychologists and alcohol and drug abuse counselors.
Maple Leaf CEO Dr. Catey Iacuzzi did not return a call seeking comment. Spokesman Ken Liatsos said Iacuzzi and the center’s board were not aware of investigations by the Office of Professional Regulation or the attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit.
Medicaid fraud investigation
The former employees interviewed by VTDigger both said other former employees have upcoming meetings with either OPR or the Medicaid fraud unit.
One former employee said detectives working for the fraud unit focused their questioning on the billing practices and staffing at Maple Leaf, specifically how money from the Blueprint for Health was being used.
The Blueprint for Health is widely credited with reducing health care costs in Vermont. The program created a network of multidisciplinary health teams that use doctors, social workers, dietitians and addiction treatment providers, among others, to keep patients healthy.
“They didn’t have enough staff for what we were billing for, that’s the bottom line,” the former employee said.
Complaints with Office of Professional Regulation
The state Division of Licensing and Protection, which regulates certification for health care facilities, recently completed an investigation of problems at Maple Leaf Treatment Center, finding that allegations of clients being verbally abused went unreported in violation of state regulations.
Current and former employees have told VTDigger the unreported complaints center on the alleged behavior of the clinical director, Dr. Charles Sprague Simonds, who was hired in May. Reports of unprofessional and abusive behavior began at that time, according to a report from the Division of Licensing and Protection.
Iacuzzi, the CEO, and the board are working to address the problems identified in the DLP report and to implement the changes identified in a plan of correction, Liatsos said. No one at Maple Leaf had been disciplined as a result of the violations identified in the report, he said.
The division report says Iacuzzi did nothing to address Simonds’ alleged inappropriate behavior and even threatened to fire employees who continued to complain about his actions.
One former employee, who was interviewed by an OPR investigator, said the investigator explained that when the office receives one or two complaints of a similar nature, they sometimes turn out to be disgruntled former employees with an agenda.
In this case, the investigator told them that OPR has received as many as 14 complaints from current and former employees all making similar allegations about Simonds’ alleged inappropriate behavior with clients and staff.
Simonds is alleged to have made inappropriate sexual remarks to female clients, according to five current and former employees. The Division of Licensing and Protection report says complaints about similar behavior by an unidentified staff member were never reported to Adult Protective Services as required by state law.
Simonds’ psychology license in Vermont is regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation. Officials say Simonds’ license is currently in good standing.
After VTDigger made multiple attempts to reach Simonds over several weeks, Maple Leaf’s attorney, Thomas Somers, replied with the following statement: “Certain false and defamatory allegations have been made against Dr. Simonds by anonymous individuals concerning personnel matters at Maple Leaf Treatment Center. State agency investigations into Dr. Simonds’ conduct have been closed with the finding that the allegations were not substantiated based on the information gathered during the investigations.”
“Internal Maple Leaf Treatment Center investigations have reached similar conclusions. These allegations against Dr. Simonds have no basis in fact,” the statement concludes.
Somers declined to answer follow-up questions asking what state agencies he was referring to, or what documentation or evidence there is that the claims made by current and former employees are “false and defamatory.”
Neither the Division of Licensing and Protection nor the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs had provided the company with its findings at the time Somers sent his statement, according to officials.
Somers did not return a call Wednesday requesting comment in light of reports of investigations by OPR and the Medicaid fraud unit.
