PARC accused of improper employee activities
Management accused of inadequate employee training, supervision, patient care and
reporting
MOSES LAKE — Just over five months following an investigation of the Grant County Prevention and Recovery Center by the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, investigators are finishing up their inquiry into allegations made against the agency.
PARC is a publicly funded agency that is operated through Grant County to offer substance abuse treatment services to adolescents, people with mental and substance abuse disorders, pregnant and postpartum women and criminal justice clients.
PARC came under investigation in April after an anonymous complaint was filed by a former employee of the agency.
In an on-site complaint investigation report released since the April investigation, three allegations were made by the complainant that include inadequate employee training and supervision for trainees, inadequate patient care and lack of timely reporting of patient status to courts.
All three allegations were supported by DASA investigators, who reviewed staff rosters, patient records, and interviewed Chemical Dependency Professional Trainees (CDPT) and clinicians.
Some of the findings from the report state that there has been a high turnover of employees at PARC, with four different CDPTs in the last 18 months and found insufficient recording of CDPT hours and supervision of employees.
Other findings revealed misdiagnosis of patients and treatments prescribed, as well as the wrong number of medications recorded on patient assessments than what were actually prescribed. In addition, the report states that completion of court-ordered treatments were often not received by the courts in a timely manner.
In a letter dated June 13 from the Department of Social and Health Services, DASA requested that PARC submit a corrective action plan with a schedule of implementation for each of the deficiencies named in the report.
PARC initially had 30 days to respond, but has requested several extensions and now has until Sept. 16 to submit a corrective action plan, said DASA certification section supervisor David Curts.
However, Anthony Menke, management attorney for Grant County who is representing PARC, has not concluded his report of the allegations, but said he has found evidence that some of the allegations appear to be unfounded.
"There isn't any need for a corrective plan as there wasn't any problem in the first place," Menke said.
In support of his claim, Menke said he has found significant documentation with recorded trainee and supervisor hours.
Menke said it would take another week or so for him to determine whether or not allegations of improper patient care appear to be founded.
This is not the first time allegations have been made against PARC.
Since January of 2004, 11 complaints have been filed with problems similar to the latest reported allegations, Curts said.
If PARC does not comply with the recommendations, it could face suspension of services or be required to have an on-site consultant to oversee that changes are made.
As to what causes mismanagement in organizations, Curts attributes it to a lack of knowledge, skills or the ability of employees to carry out job duties.
Attorney George Ahrend is representing the anonymous complainant who launched the April investigation of PARC.
Ahrend's client has notified PARC with a 60-day notice that expires Sept. 28 of the intent to go to court to sue the agency for $94,000.
That is a calculated estimate for two years of lost wages and $7,500 for emotional distress, Ahrend said.
PARC has yet to respond to the notice.