This is the History of and Reporting Guide for Eating Recovery Center in Denver, CO
On this page you will find incomplete staff and complaint histories with sources cited (i.e. Progress Report), the general advisory against segregated congregate care with sources cited, and a reporting guide for those unlawfully harmed or firsthand witnesses to unlawful harm by or at this location to report violations of the law to the proper authorities/law enforcement. The staff list itself will not be updated with additional names out of a sense of fairness where those providing the names ask for anonymity or confidentiality. And, this program will remain eligible for merciful release if all criteria are met and no guest sermon is provided by a qualifying sponsor by that time. In the meantime, it can graduate the COPE Conversion Program by meeting the Honesty In Marketing Standards (HIMS) or permanently close to be removed from the watch-list/released from the COPE Conversion Program. If permanently closed prior to graduation or merciful release, it will be buried in the virtual graveyard.
Name |
Unit/Position |
Additional Information |
Ken Weiner | CEO | |
Craig Johnson | Senior Consultant | |
Emmett Bishop Jr. | Founding Partner/Medical Director | |
Philip S. Mehler | President | |
Susan McLanahan | Chief Clinical Development Officer | |
Ovidio Bermudez | Sr. Medical Director/Adolescents | |
Anne Marie O'Melia | Chief Medical Officer | |
Carolyn Sanders | Chief Nursing Officer | |
Ralph Carson | Senior Clinical Research Advisor | |
Jeana Cost | Vice President | |
Bonnie Brennan | Regional Managing Director Clinical | |
Rebecca Steinfort | President | |
David Diekmann | CFO | |
Jerry Hartbager | Human Resources | |
Kathleen Reeves | VP of Facilities and Real Estate | |
Cyndi Eddington | VP of Revenue Cycle Management | |
Ellen Broxmeyer | Risk Assessment/Quality Assurance | |
Greg Nicholas | Information Officer | |
Kurt Koptish | COO | |
Karen Hjerleid | Chief Development Officer | |
HEAL Update: For a list of the reported incidents and complaints on file with the licensing authority for Eating Recovery Center in Denver, CO, see: http://www.hfemsd2.dphe.state.co.us/hfd2003/dtlocc06.aspx?id=01C959&ft=hospital This update was written July 28th, 2019. And, the number of incidents reported and investigated or under investigation from 2016-Present at times of this update are 32. Physical abuse alleged, "On 6/3/18 there was an allegation of a staff member utilizing an improper physical restraint technique on one of the patients. This female patient complained of pain and soreness in her left arm/shoulder and jaw." Source: http://www.hfemsd2.dphe.state.co.us/hfd2003/occreport.aspx?id=01C959&ft=hospital&occ=1801C959012 For more of the reports and allegations against this facility and how they were handled by state regulators, see the first link in this update. You can file complaints yourself with the licensing authority or regulatory body by visiting https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/health-facilities-complaint-and-occurrence-contacts and choosing a method of contact to make your report which could be the online form or an e-mail. You should report crimes to law enforcement. Crimes include physical abuse, fraud, rape, and any other crime on the books. Industry regulators are not equipped to investigate nor prosecute crimes. So, crimes need to be reported to the police in the local jurisdiction and in a timely fashion for best results. | ||
THE TRUTH: All segregated congregate care providers, including those on our watch-list, are welcome to contact us to correct any information or provide additional data that may assist with delivering the whole truth to the public. The HEAL Mission of COPE (HEAL) found in many cases where this offer has been abused or resulted in revealing additional basis for our concerns. For some examples see feedback. Now, we are willing to look at the facts and may have questions or require documentation backing up any claims. We do verify licensing, academic backgrounds, and other qualifications when investigating and researching programs on our watch-lis/enrolled in the Conversion Program to assist consumers seeking additional information on such programs or victims requiring assistance with getting corroborating evidence of their claims. We do that in order to make sure the information we provide is accurate and verified and cite our sources. In the event any information we've posted is in error, we're happy to make a correction. HEAL does not support segregated congregate care for many reasons which include that many such facilities are abusive, exploitative, fraudulent, and lack effective oversight often as a result of fraudulent misrepresentation coupled with the ignorance of those seeking to enroll loved ones in such facilities, programs, schools, or centers without a valid court order and involuntarily. In the United States such involuntary placements done without a court order are apparently illegal as they either violate the Americans with Disabilities Act community integration requirement or due process rights of those involuntarily placed. Now, in regards to parents, in the United States parents have the right to waive their own rights, but, not the rights of their minor children. See https://www.cope.church/legalarguments.htm for more information. Now, most facilities on our watch list include waivers, indemnity clauses, and sworn statements legal guardians must sign assuring the program that the parents/legal guardians have the right to make the placement involuntarily and without due process in a segregated congregate care environment, however, California and federal prosecutors as well as settled law appears to suggest that is not the case. In fact, in the David Taylor case found at https://www.cope.church/provocases.htm , Taylor sued Provo Canyon School and his mother as co-defendants. His mother was found liable for 75% of the damages awarded to Taylor as a result of multiple complaints including false imprisonment, while the program was found only 25% liable because the mother owed a duty of due diligence to investigate anyone to which she would entrust care of her child and she failed to do so. Now, HEAL opposes segregated congregate care and we find most placements are happening illegally in the USA which if the youth understood their rights would result in unfortunate outcomes for the parents, particularly when they don't exercise good judgment and support the fraud and abuse rather than their own children when they need remedy and justice. And, HEAL supports all victims of fraud and abuse in seeking remedies at law for any crimes or torts committed against them. And, that's true whether or not the program or victims are in the USA. HEAL has a 5 point argument against segregated congregate care we'd like you to consider: a. Segregated care is unconstitutional and a civil rights violation. It is only permissible if a person is unable to survive independent of an institutional environment. For more on this, watch the HEAL Report at https://youtu.be/C4NzhZc4P0A. Or, see: http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/ which includes in part: "United States v. Florida – 1:12-cv-60460 – (S.D. Fla.) – On April 7, 2016, the United States filed an Opposition to the State of Florida’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. In the Motion, the State had asked the Court to rule, on a variety of grounds, that the United States could not recover damages for unnecessarily institutionalized children to whom the State had been deliberately indifferent." b. Institutionalization is always dehumanizing and coercive. Institutionalization always harms the institutionalized and deprives them of protected civil rights. Dr. David Straker, Psychiatry Professor at Columbia University's School of Medicine (Ivy League) explains this in detail at http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sociology/articles/institutionalization.htm. "Many institutions, from prisons to monasteries to asylums, deliberately want to control and manage their inmates such that they conform and do not cause problems. Even in less harsh environments, many of the institutionalization methods may be found, albeit in more moderated form (although the psychological effect can be equally devastating)." (See website linked in this paragraph for more info.) c. Institutionalization is not in the best interest of children. Institutions are not ever better for a child than living with a loving family. Source: http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/12681_23295.html d. Reform schools, residential treatment programs, and other segregated congregate care settings have been shown to be ineffective and harmful. Best source on this currently is: https://www.acgov.org/probation/documents/EndoftheReformSchoolbyVinny.doc e. Boarding Schools, even the "good ones", result in a form of social death, isolation, and cause both anxiety and depression. Therefore, it is clearly not in the best interest of the youth subjected to those environments. Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/08/boarding-school-syndrome-joy-schaverien-review and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/11662001/The-truth-about-boarding-school-syndrome.html Beyond the above arguments against segregated congregate care, we have reports from the NIH, Surgeon General, Yale University Studies, and much more showing the methodologies of behavior modification are damaging, harmful, and ineffective. You can request these documents via e-mail. In addition, for such programs offering academic services or claiming to offer diplomas, certifications, or the like, it is important to check to see if it is a diploma mill with no accredited academic services. Please see article: "Avoiding Scams: What You Need To Know" for important information on how to avoid education/training scams. If you'd like to see what HEAL suggests rather than segregated congregate care (i.e. committing a crime or tort against your child if done against their will without a court order), please see articles: "Fix Your Family, Help Your Teen" and "Emancipation Guide". |
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11/18/2020: CONVERSION PROGRAM PROGRESS REPORT: Eating Recovery Center | ||
REPORTING GUIDE FOR VICTIMS, SURVIVORS, AND WHISTLEBLOWERS: |
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Return to https://www.cope.church/conversion.htm