Ugh. WTH, Phoenix House?

~ Jason Schwartz

This is bad.

In November last year, OASAS suspended admissions to Belle Terre and four other Phoenix Houses of New York facilities. In a letter to Phoenix House’s then-chief executive in November 2014, OASAS said Phoenix House had “persistent regulatory violations and resident/patient care concerns dating back several years.”

An OASAS site report on the five facilities went into graphic detail. The regulator’s findings at some or all of the facilities included use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs; sexual activity among residents; reports of violence and sexual assault; insufficient, inadequately trained or abusive staff; dirty premises; and lax security, with residents coming and going as they wished.

Terrible for patients and their families. Even worse for patients who are unable to leave because they are court pressured/mandated. And, is sucks for treatment providers who are doing good work and have their reputations damaged by bad practitioners.

UPDATE: In the comments, Mark notes the similarity to bad care in TCs in the 70s. This is true and all the more reason to believe that their leadership knows better. If you can’t manage a program, for whatever reason, shut it down yourself.

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.

2 thoughts on “Ugh. WTH, Phoenix House?”

  1. Back to the future. Reminds me of the same behavior, conditions in TCs back in the 70s. Very unfortunate for absolutely everyone.

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  2. Although difficult and to some onerous – those working in the field should be willing to identify and as allowed, sanction those who are not meeting appropriate standards of care. Self regulation with the setting and enforcement of appropriate standards is one measure of a profession. There needs to be an accompanying involvement of regulatory agencies as well. The medical and legal professions do it with a reasonable degree of success.

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