Dante’s seminal work, “The Divine Comedy,” is regarded as one of greatest writings in Western Literature. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.
This literary masterpiece discusses “the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward” as it describes Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. There are nine circles of the Inferno, or Hell, followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom.
We now know there is a tenth level not addressed by Dante. This level is Timberline Knolls in Lemont, Illinois.
On August 21, 2018, Michael Jacksa, then a counselor at Timberline Knolls was arrested and charged with assaulting a 29 year old patient at Timberline Knolls during two counseling sessions between May and June of 2018.
Jacksa was accused by patients of digitally penetrating their vaginas and buttocks, putting his hands beneath their clothing, fondling their breasts and forcing them to give him oral sex. During his first bond hearing on Aug. 21, Jacksa reportedly admitted to police that he “probably went too far.”
This “probably went too far” conduct manifested itself by him being indicted for his reprehensible conduct directed toward a second victim. According to those charges, between Dec. 1, 2017 and Jan. 10, 2018, Jacksa was treating an out-of-state woman for eating disorders, anxiety and past sexual abuse. The patient alleges that Jacksa sexually assaulted her during four therapy sessions at Timberline Knolls. The prosecutor said the second woman came forward after seeing media reports.
According to the prosecutor, at least six other former patients of Jacksa’s from across the country have contacted the Lemont Police Department stating that Jacksa allegedly engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior” during their respective therapy sessions.
But that is not the end of Timberline Knolls and Acadia’s problems. Not nearly.
On September 1, 2024, a New York Times report published a scathing article about Acadia Healthcare, the publicly traded company which owns Timberline Knolls. The article and its follow up can be found here:
In short, the New York Times report indicated that Acadia Healthcare allegedly held patients longer than was necessary and often against their will at certain facilities. The report also claims Acadia trumped up patient symptoms in reports to payers to extract more reimbursement. The Report stated: “Acadia has exaggerated patients’ symptoms. It has tweaked medication dosages, then claimed patients needed to stay longer because of the adjustment. And it has argued that patients are not well enough to leave because they did not finish a meal,” the New York Times alleged. “Unless the patients or their families hire lawyers, Acadia often holds them until their insurance runs out.”
This Report allegedly included at least 12 of the 19 states where Acadia operates psychiatric hospitals. Dozens of patients, employees and police officers notified authorities that the company was detaining people in ways that broke the law, the report stated, citing records. It is unknown whether Timberline Knolls is part of that conduct.
Acadia stated the assertions are inaccurate.
But that is not the end of Timberline Knolls and Acadia’s problems. Not nearly.
The United States Committee on Finance conducted a two-year study of four major companies providing mental health services to children and adolescents. One of the four companies? Acadia Healthcare.
The findings of that study were released on June 12, 2024. The study can be found here:
The testimony before the Committee and the Exhibits supporting the study can be found here:
The study’s findings can be summarized as follows:
- Children suffer routine harm inside Residential Treatment Facilities (“RTF”). The risk of harm to children in RTFs is endemic to the operating model.
- Children inside RTFs often do not get the treatment they need for mental and behavioral health needs, despite RTFs being reimbursed with federal dollars to provide intensive services.
- Horrific instances of sexual abuse persist unremediated inside RTFs.
- The use of restraint and seclusion in RTFs allows for unchecked abuse. RTF staff have too often ignored federal restraint and seclusion regulations, resulting in daily use of restraint and seclusion in some instances.
- RTFs often employ unqualified or inadequately trained staff and that staff routinely fail to discharge their duties. RTF staffing failures have led to tragic incidents, including child fatalities, and childrens’ repeated exposure to risk.
- RTFs are often non-homelike environments, exposing children to unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
- RTFs often fail to effectively maintain connections between children and their communities and to plan for childrens’ discharge to the community for ongoing care.
- RTFs often employ carceral technology to monitor children, creating environments that feel more like detention facilities than therapeutic settings.
- State and federal oversight authorities fail to effectively identify and address harm to children in RTFs. When RTFs correct deficiencies, their efforts are remedial rather than company-wide.
- Exploiting corporate structures can enable RTF operators to evade oversight.
Surely, this scathing report must have had an immediate and severe impact on Acadia Healthcare with far fewer referrals and a commitment to investigate and improve. Uh … no.
In an August 5, 2024 call with investors, Chris Hunter, CEO of Acadia Healthcare, said the behavioral health provider had not seen any negative effects from the report.
Hunter stated: “Residential treatment centers comprise around 11% of Acadia’s revenue… We believe that the people that deal with this patient population every day, and that certainly includes our referral sources, as well as the various regulatory oversight bodies that are routinely in these facilities, understand that this is just a really difficult population.”
That a boy Chris! Don’t address the damning evidence in the Committee’s Report but do insinuate blame on your patient population. Profits, profits uber alles! Well played, sirrah.
But that is not the end of Timberline Knolls and Acadia’s problems. Not nearly.
In August 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Timberline alleging staff member Erick Hampton sexually assaulted a 24-year-old patient, Jane Doe, three times in May 2024.
Doe, who has bipolar and borderline personality disorder, was seeking treatment at the facility for suicidal thoughts. Despite reporting the assaults to a staff member via her roommate, no prompt action was taken, allowing Jane Doe to be raped a third time.
The lawsuit also alleges that Doe was falsely accused of having a secret affair with a staff member and was forced to leave the facility, after less than two weeks, out of fear. The lawsuit claims the assaults worsened her mental health condition, yet Hampton faces no criminal charges.
Worsened her mental health conditions. Rape will certainly do that.
So, in the past four months, Acadia, the parent company of Timberline Knolls:
- Was the subject of a scathing Senate Finance Committee Report on systemic abuse of children and adolescents;
- Was the subject of a scathing New York Times Report alleging system abuse of children and adolescents;
- Was the subject of a scathing lawsuit alleging one of Timberline Knolls employees raped a patient three times while under their so-called care.
Timberline Knolls should have still been reeling from the Jacksa incidents and implemented wholesale changes and improvements to prevent instances of abuse from happening again. Instead?
It is business as usual. According to Acadia’s CEO, its bottom line has not been impacted and families are still referring their loved ones to Timberline Knolls. Acadia marketers are drumming up business with no thought about the possible harm nor consequences.
So, what can be done? For one, complaints with all of this information can be sent to the Attorney General of Tennessee (where Acadia is based); the Attorney General of Illinois (where Timberline Knolls is based); to the Joint Commission; to the REDC and published widely on social media. Attempted collaboration can be undertaken with the law firms representing the latest victims at Timberline Knolls. Those things can certainly be done. But the question remains …
What are you prepared to do?
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