PROVO, Utah — What are being labeled "strict conditions" have been placed on the license of a Provo school following a Utah Department of Health and Human Services investigation into an assault at the facility.
Staff at the Provo Canyon School were found to have failed to call for emergency help after a minor was left unconscious following an incident on May 18. Instead of calling 911, the school's staff transported the minor to an emergency room on their own, delaying treatment for about one hour.
One of the conditions set by the agency prohibits the school from accepting new clients or readmitting previous clients.
"No child should ever be harmed in programs meant to protect them," said Director Shannon Thoman-Black. "Our role is to hold providers to the highest standards of safety, and we will use every regulatory tool available to ensure vulnerable youth are protected."
The family of the injured minor, who is recovering, filed a lawsuit against the school earlier this week and offered insight into what occurred while at a news conference attended by reality television star Paris Hilton, who was a former client at the school.
Paris Hilton lends support to families who filed lawsuits against Provo Canyon School:
Following its investigation into the assault, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) also accused Provo Canyon School administrators of failing to act on previously documented safety concerns and transfer requests submitted by the victim before the assault.
In the weeks following the incident, DHHS imposed similar actions that were set to expire on Thursday. The new conditions are now permanent.
- School may not accept new clients or readmit previous clients.
- School must maintain the required staffing ratio to ensure the health, safety and needs of clients are met.
- School must cooperate with increased Department monitoring visits.
- School must pay $393.37 charge for each Department monitoring inspection.
- School must immediately notify clients and their legal guardians of these license conditions. Licensee must submit proof of compliance with this requirement to the
Department no later than five calendar days from receipt of these conditions. - Within five business days, School must post the NAA on-site, and on the homepage of each of its websites, where it can be easily reviewed by all clients, guardians of clients and visitors.
- School must report each safety concern reported by a client, parent, or guardian to the Department via email.
- School must notify all staff of the process to report each licensing rule compliance violation including but not limited to each safety violation, staff misconduct, physical harm, incident, and complaint to the Department.
- School must revise their Emergency Medical Response policy to ensure that staff members are permitted to seek immediate professional medical assistance (calling
911 for EMS response) when a client’s health or safety is at risk. The policy must include that staff shall not be penalized for requesting EMS in good faith, even if the situation is later determined to be non-emergent, and that staff shall bypass internal notification chains that delay medical care. - School must create a Threat Assessment and Violence Prevention Policy that outlines the mandatory requirements for staff regarding the identification, reporting, and immediate response to threats of violence.
