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Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Katie Thomas spent months looking into a psychiatric hospital chain that held some people against their will for financial reasons, not medical ones.
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Last week, a New York Times investigation revealed a pattern of unsettling practices by one of America’s largest chains of psychiatric hospitals.
The chain, Acadia Healthcare, had drawn patients to its facilities and held them against their will, even when it was not medically necessary, The Times investigation found. Unless lawyers intervened, Acadia often held these patients — some for nearly a week — until their insurance ran out, maximizing payouts for the hospital.
After receiving a tip last year, Katie Thomas and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, Times reporters who have collaborated on several investigations, began looking into Acadia. This year they reached out to dozens of patients and their families, as well as current and former Acadia executives. For months, they pored over court files, police reports, complaints to state authorities and health inspections to learn what was taking place.
When asked for comment, an Acadia spokesman said the patient examples cited by The Times were not representative of many patients with positive experiences, adding that “quality care and medical necessity drives every patient-related decision at Acadia.”
In an interview, the journalists discussed how they approach reporting as a team, the challenges of a monthslong investigation and what the article means for the health care system in general. These are edited excerpts.
How did you find out about this situation, and what made you decide to pursue an investigation?
KATIE THOMAS While we were reporting last year on unnecessary medical procedures, someone told us: You should take a look at this company, Acadia Healthcare. They have had a lot of issues with quality.