Acadia Healthcare pressured staff to find ways to fill beds at a troubled Illinois facility, former employees alleged in a report published by The New York Times.
The newspaper published an investigation April 22 into a series of incidents at Timberline Knolls, an Acadia-owned residential treatment center in Lemont, Ill. The facility, which cared for women and girls with eating disorders and mental health and substance use disorders, closed earlier this year.
According to the Times, two former patients at the facility sued Timerline Knolls in 2024, alleging an aide at the facility had raped them. During 2023 and 2024 two patients at the facility died by suicide after being left unsupervised, according to the Times.
In a statement shared with Becker’s, Acadia said the Times investigation “includes material inaccuracies and cherry picks and conflates historical incidents to paint a false and inaccurate picture of the safety and quality of the care our facilities provide.”
According to the statement, Acadia decided to close the facility “after a comprehensive review determined the landscape for the specialized programs and services offered by the facility had changed since Acadia acquired the facility 13 years ago.”
Eight former employees told the Times Acadia pressured them to fill beds at the facility. In 2018, enrollment at Timberline Knolls fell after a therapist was arrested for sexually abusing patients, according to the outlet. A former aide at the Timberline Knolls told the Times the facility was “extremely understaffed” and the patient deaths that occurred there were “entirely preventable.”
In its statement, Acadia Healthcare said Timberline Knolls always maintained its license and independent accreditation during the 13 years Acadia operated the facility.
“To be clear: Acadia and its facilities do not tolerate assault, abuse and neglect, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for behavior that could endanger our patients and staff,” the company said. “Additionally, the vast majority of patients receiving care in our facilities across service lines — including patients who were admitted involuntarily — experience significant clinical improvement and also report high patient satisfaction scores.”
The Times has published two other investigations into Acadia facilities in the past year. A report published in September 2024 alleged Acadia delayed discharging patients to maximize their insurance benefits. A later investigation alleged Acadia-owned methadone clinics billed Medicaid and other insurers for services that were not provided to patients.
In September 2024, Acadia reached a nearly $20 million settlement with the federal government and states to settle allegations it falsely billed Medicare and other government programs.
Acadia is being investigated by Justice Department offices in Missouri and New York related to its admissions, length-of-stay and billing practices. The company is also being investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs on allegations of fraud, according to the Times.
In a statement on its website, Acadia said characterizations of its facilities are inappropriately staffed. The company invests hundreds of millions in high-quality mental healthcare services, according to the news release.
