Disability Rights Arkansas

Perimeter Behavioral of the Ozarks / Woodridge of the Ozarks

*Photos taken by DRA staff during onsite monitoring visits. Photos reflect the most recent conditions observed by DRA staff but may not reflect the current conditions at the facility. If you are associated with a facility and have updated information or photos you would like to share, please contact DRA at [email protected]

Location: Springdale, AR                   Population Served: Adolescent girls ages 7-17

# of residents per unit: Up to 12 Residents per room: 2 Capacity: 32

Contact with family (Calls and visit schedule): Weekly calls up to 3x/week for 10 minutes, intervention call available 1x/week for 10 minutes. Visitation available 2x/week for 30 minutes if previously scheduled. Zoom available if in person is not possible.

Restraint utilized? Yes Chemical Restraint utilized? Yes Seclusion utilized? Yes 

Treatment Components:

Clinical Director: LCSW                    Therapists: 2 full-time therapists (1 LMSW, 1 LAC)

Treatment modalities offered: Facility declined to identify any specific modalities available.

# of individual therapy sessions/week: Varies by client, most clients receive one individual therapy session per month

# of group therapy sessions led by a licensed mental health professional/week: 3

 

DRA Monitoring/Investigations

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PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

  • Specialist discuss incident in which staff pushed resident during an altercation. Specialist reviewed camera footage which shows staff grabbing the resident by the arms and throwing her into a wall forcibly. The resident falls to the ground after hitting her face on the wall. Additional staff can be seen coming into the hallway and standing in the hallway while the resident and staff continued to argue.
  • The additional staff member did not report the incident and no other staff were made aware until staff member notified his supervisor. Staff member was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. After video was reviewed, it was decided staff would be terminated.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident

  • Maltreatment
    • Staff allegedly pushed resident in the hallway of her unit the night of 8/11/21. Child Abuse Hotline was called, accepted, but unsubstantiated.
    • Staff member was placed on administrative leave on 8/12/21 once staff were made aware of the incident. Specialist reviewed the camera footage on 8/20/21 in which staff can be seen grabbing the resident by both arms in the hallway of her unit and throwing her into a wall. The resident hits her face on the wall and falls to the ground. Specialist called to report the incident again and it was accepted for investigation.

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident

  • Maltreatment
    • During a verbal altercation, staff allegedly stated to resident “If you were my child, I would spank you”. Additionally, the resident claims the staff spanked her. Child Abuse Hotline was called, not accepted.
    • Staff was placed on suspension 8/13/21 and 8/14/21. Specialist visited facility to discuss incident with staff; The staff member has been retrained on the agency’s trauma informed behavior management policy, SAMA, and a copy of her corrective action has been placed in her personnel file. Video footage does not show the staff member ever spanking resident and staff denies hitting the resident. Staff does admit to making the statement that she would spank her.

PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

  • Completed facility walkthrough and reviewed 2 MARs; Specialist discussed incident between staff and resident and reviewed camera footage.
  • Regs out of compliance –
    • R912.4 – Ensure restrooms are kept clean; Correction date 7/9/21.
    • R911.6 – Inappropriate language wrote on the bathroom doors for Blue Unit, Orange Unit, and Green Unit.
  • Regs not correctable –
    • R905.9 – Staff did not use minimal force necessary when initiating a restraint hold on resident.
    • R905.12 – Staff placed resident in seclusion without orders by a physician.

PRLU or OLTC

Complaint Survey with POC, Revisit Survey, Workload Report

  • Complaint #AR00026825 substantiated.
  • Regs out of compliance –
    • N 126 – Facility failed to ensure seclusion was not used as a form of retaliation and/or discipline for 1 resident.
    • N 216 – Facility failed to ensure all staff were trained not to use restraint and/or seclusion for disciplines, retaliation, coercion or convenience after an incident with 1 client who was forcefully placed in seclusion.
  • Plan of Correction: Employee involved in restraint was terminated; Changes to policy for reviewing restraints, retraining for staff on restraint, seclusion, and de-escalation.
  • 08.16.21 Revisit, Facility in compliance with program requirements.
  • Survey Team Composition and Workload Report –
    • Surveyor 1 onsite 11 hours 8am – 6pm; 6.5 travel hours, 0.5 off-site report prep hours (07/07/21 – 07/08/21).
    • Surveyor 2 onsite 0.5 hours 8am – 6pm; 6 travel hours, 0.5 off-site report prep hours (07/08/21).
    • Surveyor 1 onsite 3.5 hours 8am – 6pm; 4 travel hours, 0.5 off-site report prep hours (08/16/21).
    • Surveyor 2 onsite 3.5 hours 8am – 6pm; 4.5 travel hours (08/16/21).

PRLU or OLTC

Notice of Incident

  • Maltreatment
    • Resident was grabbed from behind by staff member, picked up off the ground and swung into the seclusion room. Staff released the resident with excessive force and the resident hit the floor and slid into the wall. Staff then kicked the resident’s shoe into the room and closed the door.
    • Staff member was placed on immediate leave in which his keys and fob were obtained pending the results of the investigation. Resident was assessed by staff RN and found to have a wound to her forehead. RN stopped the bleeding, applied band-aid, and performed neuro checks with no negative outcomes. Child Abuse Hotline was called and accepted.

Police Report

911 Hang Up

No sounds of distress; Called back and spoke with individual at facility, who stated she was working and had to hang up.

Police Report

Citizen Assist

Caller stated no one would let her know if Juvenile made it to Perimeter where he was transferred. Officer spoke with employee at Perimeter, who stated Juvenile was there, safe, asleep, and in good health. Employee stated they had procedures to follow and not violate HIPAA laws.

PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

  • Regs out of compliance (2 personnel and 2 children’s records reviewed, walkthrough) –
    • P105.5.g – No functional job description was observed in employee’s file. Due date 5.12.21
    • R910.1 – A line of tiles was missing from the bathroom in Green Hall and a loose detached shower head with a sharp edge was observed in Daisy Hall.

PRLU or OLTC

Visit Compliance Report

  • Regs out of compliance –
    • R913.5 – Mattress in room 304 has a gash in vinyl measuring approx. 5 inches. (Staff stated they had brand new mattresses in storage, and he left to go get one)
  • TA –
    • R911.6 – Tile in shower floor of one room is missing. Edges are not sharp, but area should be patched with cement or retiled to prevent further deterioration.

PRLU or OLTC

Survey Composition and Workload Report

One surveyor onsite 1.5 hours 8am – 6pm; 4.5 travel hours, 1.5 off-sight report prep hours.

PRLU or OLTC

Licensing Compliance Record

  • R405.5 – Complaint of staff using inappropriate restraint on child is founded. Agency responded  appropriately and terminated the offending staff member.
  • Resident reported via grievance that staff member body slammed her on 01/08/21. Video Review confirmed. AO was previously suspended on 5/18/20 for telling a resident “I hope you break your neck.” He was put on 90-day probation then and successfully completed it.
  • Interim Corrective Action: AO terminated “due to body slamming of AV because this was inappropriate handling of child and was not SAMA…”
  • Accepted by hotline.

Police Report

Citizen Assist

Caller advised someone came into facility and left a very expensive radio there, and would like someone to pick it up. Officer picked up radio from facility.

Police Report

Sex Offenses

Fax received from CACD. Report filed and assigned; No other info.

Police Report

911 Hang Up

Open line silent, there was no response when dispatch called back.

Police Report

911 Hang Up

Call was short, not enough time to determine if call was an emergency. Staff spoke with Officer stated there was no emergency, the call was made by a Resident that thought it was funny.

Police Report

Endanger Welfare

Caller is wanting to report a neglect for Juvenile at facility; Caller is in Ohio and wants a full investigation about this stating that a welfare check would not be enough. From what Juvenile described, everything was consensual; There will be no report. The Mother was given her options in reference to having Juvenile possibly moved from the facility.

Police Report

Citizen Assist

Caller stated facility was not letting her in to see Juvenile. Issue resolved itself.

Police Report

911 Hang Up

Caller stating “Please help they are going to kill me”, then line disconnected.

Police Report

Suspicious Vehicle

Caller reported van parked in front of the facility and had been running for some time. Had been parked there for almost 5 hours.