'Warehouses of neglect:' US Senate report highlights allegations of neglect, abuse at Holly Hill Hospital's parent company
The owner of Holly Hill Hospital will have to answer to the U.S. Senate about how children are cared for at the Raleigh mental health facility.
A Senate report entitled “Warehouses of Neglect” called out four companies. It included Universal Health Services, which owns Holly Hill Hospital.
The findings in the report mirror stories WRAL News has heard after five teens escaped from Holly Hill.
The senators wrote, "the harms children experienced are the ... result of an operating model that incentivizes providers to optimize revenues and operating and profit margin."
They added children spend most of their time "supervised by general staff who may lack the training, experience and tools necessary to adequately meet the needs of the children in their care."
The Senate report came up with three key recommendations:
- Raise standards for the facilities
- Prioritize community-based services, which would include more scrutiny when placing children in for-profit facilities.
- More effective oversight by agencies in charge of routine and complaint inspections.
Both of North Carolina's U.S. senators, Ted Budd and Thom Tillis, are on the committees that put together the report.
WRAL Investigates contacted both of their offices for an interview, but neither was available.
The findings in the report are similar to what two former high-ranking employees of Holly Hill described to WRAL Investigates. They blame the profit-over-patient mentality and staffing woes for inadequate care and frequent escapes.
WRAL Investigates asked:
- Can Holly Hill provide more details on the continuing education/training it offers employees (as stated in your previous email)?
- Are employees ordered or encouraged to classify some elopements (escapes) as ‘found in unauthorized spaces’ as alleged by a former staff member?
- How do you respond to former employees' beliefs that Holly Hill prioritizes profit over patients?
WRAL Investigates submitted questions before 9 a.m. Wednesday and again around lunchtime, but never received a response.
