The state Department of Health suspended the license of a Pierce County substance use disorder clinic last week, alleging widespread problems including misconduct by the facility’s director, staff falsifying patient records, and a patient dying from a drug overdose following an early release from treatment.
A state report filed Tuesday alleges the problems were consistent across Rainier Recovery Center’s three locations in Lakewood, Puyallup and Gig Harbor. The report detailed several “systematic failures.” The suspended license means the center cannot accept new patients at this time and must find alternate treatment options for all existing patients.
The report also accuses CEO Jeremiah Dunlap — who is not identified by name in the documents — of encouraging staff to inaccurately report the conditions of certain patients to the courts in order to keep receiving funding. It also alleges Dunlap hired staff members who didn’t have the necessary qualifications.
In a phone call Monday, Dunlap denied all of the allegations, and said he hopes the case gets resolved quickly so that patients can get help.
“At the end of the day, I would never do anything I believed was unethical, illegal or for financial gain,” Dunlap said.
Seth Rosenberg, an attorney representing Rainier, which he called RRC, said he hopes the administrative process will vindicate the center.
“RRC is surprised by the sudden action of the Department of Health given that it was cooperating with a prolonged investigation,” Rosenberg wrote in an email. “RRC does not believe its clients were at risk of any harm, immediate or otherwise. RRC is deeply concerned about the welfare of its 450 clients given the dramatic action of the Department of Health.”
Shelby Anderson, a Department of Health spokesperson, said the agency began investigating Rainier Recovery Centers after receiving a complaint. She declined to provide additional information about the nature of that complaint.
Frank Ameduri, another spokesperson for the Health Department, said the agency has compiled a list of providers in Pierce and Kitsap counties where Rainier can send its existing patients. All of Rainier’s patients were receiving outpatient services, meaning they were not living at the facilities.
The 25-page report details repeated incidents where staff or administrators omitted or changed information in patient records due to fear of losing funding or being fired. It also describes consistent failures to follow up with patients or follow through with treatment plans.
The report states that in one case staff did not gather enough information to determine the right level of treatment for a patient who had a history of alcohol abuse and was taking medication for depression. The assessment “contained one-word answers to questions that required narrative responses,” the report said.
The patient’s clinical record contained no documentation of treatment for nine months immediately following the patient’s arrest for driving under the influence.
The report also states the patient was confused about what they needed to do to complete treatment, and the patient had a stated goal of getting on medication so they did not have to self-medicate.
The patient attended two of three scheduled sessions in February. Records show the person was discharged in March for an “unspecified reason.” In April, the patient died from a fentanyl overdose.
The report also says a patient accused the facility’s CEO of sexually abusing the patient’s ex-girlfriend. Dunlap has not been charged with a crime.
While there is a record of an employee reporting the allegation to another state agency, the employee did not put the information in the patient’s clinical record out of fear they would be fired, the state report said.
The report also alleges some staff members would change assessment results for patients.
The report describes an assessment with a patient who disclosed they had an open court case for rape of a minor. A supervisor requested the staff member exclude that information. The staff member refused, and, according to the report, the supervisor later removed the original assessment from the patient’s health record and completed a second one. The patient was billed for a second assessment.
According to the state report, a staff member alleged the owner and CEO, Dunlap, “ran the agency in a way that generated maximum revenue,” and that “accurate reporting to the courts about noncompliance or relapse would compromise the revenue the agency could generate from those patients.”
The same staff member told the state the owner had a “deal” with a law firm, and those attorneys would send their clients to the clinic as long as the owner “ensured that those clients met all their conditions and were compliant.”
The report alleges staff would falsify urinalysis test results, removing positive ones from the refrigerator so they wouldn’t be sent out for further testing. Others reported some staff would not require patients to do urinalysis testing.
A news release from the Department of Health stated the organization now has 28 days to respond to the charges and ask for a “show cause” hearing, which will determine whether the suspension will be upheld or lifted.
Ameduri, the department spokesperson, said the department doesn’t typically inspect facilities unless it receives complaints. If it does investigate and find violations at a facility, it could schedule inspections for a period of time, or allow a facility to continue to operate but do random inspections.
