PROVO, Utah (AP) — Paris Hilton arrived in Utah in support of two families who filed lawsuits alleging medical neglect and malpractice at the same troubled teens facility she was at in her youth.
During the Monday conference, she called for Provo Canyon School to be permanently shut down, saying the state opened 341 investigations into this school in a 5-year period.
“This is not a facility with problems. This is a facility that is the problem,” Hilton said.
The lawsuits come after two incidents at Provo Canyon School, one in which a teen boy had a brain bleed and a broken jaw, and another in which a teen girl developed serious kidney complications. The families claim the teens received delayed medical care for their conditions.
In the first case, a 13-year-old boy and another teen got into a fight in front of staff, and the 13-year-old lost consciousness. The lawsuit claims law enforcement and medical was not immediately contacted.
“Instead, the response focused on handling the incident internally while a thirteen-year-old boy with serious injuries awaited medical care,” the lawsuit claims.
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The second lawsuit alleges medical malpractice, describing an incident where a teen experienced acute renal failure and was not taken to a hospital until nine days after becoming extremely ill. She had reported her pain as a 10 out of 10 to the nursing staff at the facility, as well as cramps, dizziness and severe vomiting.
The lawsuit says the teen had to be moved by wheelchair due to pain, and the staff still did not call 911, instead driving her to the hospital themselves a couple of hours later.
“A child begged for a doctor for 10 days inside a licensed treatment facility in the state of Utah while her condition became life-threatening,” Hilton said during a press conference.
Hilton listed multiple incidents in which Provo Canyon School allegedly failed to keep children safe, saying this incident is part of a pattern.
“That is not a lapse in judgment, that is certainly not treatment. To me, this is a pattern of neglect, and the state of Utah has known about these conditions at Provo Canyon School for years,” she said.
Paris Hilton arrived in Utah on Monday in support of two families who filed lawsuits alleging medical neglect and malpractice at the same troubled teens facility she was at in her youth. (Photo: Anneka Johns, KUTV)
Hilton has spent the last six years advocating for adolescents in what’s known as the “troubled teen industry.”
She said he experienced solitary confinement, restraint, sexual abuse and forced medication during her time at the treatment facilities.
Hilton has fought alongside other victims and advocates to pass multiple Utah laws requiring more frequent inspections and restrictions on the use of restraints. The laws also banned certain punishments at the facilities, such as hitting, spanking and shaking a teen.
“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside. Today is that day, and I am not backing down. Until you shut this facility down, I will keep showing up,” Hilton said.
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