PROVO, Utah — State officials are taking action against a Provo teen behavioral health facility after an incident left one client unconscious, and staff did not call for emergency help.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice of emergency agency action to the Provo Canyon School, a teen behavioral center, on May 19 after an assault occurred between two of the school’s clients a week earlier.
Despite one client being unconscious and bleeding from the mouth, the staff transported the injured client to the emergency room themselves. DHHS said the staff’s actions resulted in about a one-hour delay in treatment for the patient who had suffered a jaw injury and brain bleed.
The department has placed conditions on the school’s residential treatment license, including the inability to admit new clients during the 30-day action period. It also requires the school to immediately retrain staff on safe practices around emergency response and client supervision.
In a statement to FOX 13 News, school CEO Tim Marshall said that he couldn’t comment on specific patients or their treatment due to legal issues.
“Provo Canyon School maintains comprehensive safety procedures and ongoing monitoring practices designed to protect and support our residents,” Marshall said.
State Sen. Mike McKell (R-Spanish Fork) is familiar with the violent incident and troubled by it.
“Based on what I’ve been told, it was not a close call. It was a significant injury—it was obvious. It was not the type of injury where you do a private transport. It was not the type of injury that you would wait. Law enforcement should’ve been notified, and EMS should be notified immediately,” McKell said.
McKell sponsored and passed a bill last year to put more regulations on troubled teen facilities. It established an advisory board to ensure that standards are being followed, and an ombudsman’s office for families to reach out to if there’s a problem.
Given that some facilities across the state have an accumulation of violations, McKell added that parents who are searching for care options for a loved one should do so very carefully.
Paris Hilton has previously claimed she suffered abuse while attending Provo Canyon School as a teen.
