Congressman Rudy Yakym pushes for answers about Praxis rehab facility
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- Thursday is closing day for Praxis of South Bend, along with two other Indiana drug treatment facilities owned by Landmark Recovery.
For the past few weeks, former patients and employees have shared their testimonies about their experience at Praxis, the addiction treatment facility currently under investigation.
“I was there trying to get my life together and it just, it spiraled out of control very quickly,” recalls Maurice Washington, a former patient who left just after two weeks.
The facility also had its licenses revoked last week by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
It started with an investigation spearheaded by local law enforcement, triggering reaction by state administrators, and even causing Congressman Rudy Yakym to personally write a letter to the Indiana Attorney General, detailing concerns with the rehab center and strongly pushing for further scrutiny.
“The allegations that we heard were very broad, very serious, and we thought it was very appropriate for our office to send a letter to the Attorney General, calling for an investigation,” says Rudy Yakym, U.S. Congressman representing Indiana’s 2nd district.
The investigation follows reports of nine overdoses at the facility since its opening last August, two fatal overdoses last month, and more than a hundred 911 calls made to the rehab center since the beginning of this year.
“There are serious allegations that we believe the public deserves answers to, taxpayers deserve answers to, the families of those who died at the facility deserve answers to,” Yakym says.
Detailed in his letter to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita are the allegations of neglect, insufficient staffing, and financial mismanagement made by former patients.
“Drugs were being brought into that place; people were actively using,” Washington remembers. “I walked into the laundry room, and someone was smoking. It was not a cigarette, and it was not marijuana.”
Landmark Recovery says it's doing everything in its power to fight untrue narratives about its facilities and will appeal the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction's decision to shut down Landmark’s locations on August 3.
“The people that were supposed to receive services deserve answers, and the employees that have left there deserve answers,” assures Yakym.
“I think after the investigation, I hope that, my personal hope is that this organization never comes back,” says Washington.
Yakym says his office has been in contact with multiple agencies that are helping to safely relocate the patients to proper facilities. All patients must be moved out by Thursday at 5 p.m.