The owner of the now shuttered Asheville Academy where two residents died by suicide in May faces penalties for violating health and safety regulations and failing to provide supervision and structure, a state investigation found.

Wilderness Training & Consulting, which runs the Weaverville residential mental health program, will be fined $45,000 for the violations, according to letters and a survey report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services obtained by Asheville Watchdog.

The company has 30 days to file an appeal, a June 16 letter said. “We would refer you to the Office of Administrative Hearings for information on appeals,” NCDHHS spokesperson Summer Tonizzo said when asked if the company had filed one.

Two girls died by suicide at Asheville Academy in less than a month – a 13-year-old on May 3 and a 12-year-old on May 29. In early June, Shawn Farrell, the facility’s executive editor, informed NCDHHS that it had voluntarily relinquished its license and permanently closed.

A NCDHHS investigation completed on June 5 cited Asheville Academy with three of the most serious violations related to competency and supervision of its staff, protection of residents from harm and residents’ rights. The state assessed a $15,000 penalty for each violation.

The investigation is the first official look into the circumstances of the back-to-back suicides at the facility, which charged $15,000 a month and offered treatment to children and adolescents with diagnoses including major depression, autism and anxiety disorders.

But it’s nearly impossible to decipher the findings of the state’s investigation because DHHS redacted a majority of the 103-page report, including interviews with staff and residents and key details surrounding the deaths.

When asked why the report was heavily redacted, a spokesperson cited the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects sensitive patient information, and said residents’ identities would have been easily recognizable.

One focus of the investigation appeared to be on the training and use of CPR. Farrell, the executive director, who is not named in the report, said in two interviews with investigators that he was “not aware of curriculum requirements for CPR certification for staff.”

“Don’t know who is CPR certified…great question…no way for staff in the moment on the floor to identify who is CPR certified,” he told them, the report said.

On May 13, ten days after the first suicide, investigators interviewed a staff member who said, “I just got recertified (in CPR) last Wednesday [redacted]/25) a few days after the incident.” 

The employee had “recently learned that there was an AED [defibrillator machine] here (in facility). It’s in the medical room downstairs and I’m not medication trained so I’m never in the (medication) room and if I knew, I would have used it.” 

Asheville Academy was licensed to treat 90 residents and had 29, according to the report.

The investigation also found: 

• Some staff members “failed to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by the population served.” 
• Some staff members “failed to demonstrate competency in CPR regarding” specific clients, whose identities were redacted.
• “[T]he facility failed to provide appropriate structure, adult supervision, and control consistent with the physical, emotional, and intellectual maturity level of the clients.”
• “The facility failed to implement written policies governing their response to [redacted].”

Asheville Academy conducted an internal review after the first death, Farrell told investigators.

“Overall as a team, there are things we could have done differently…” Farrell is quoted as saying in the interview May 20. Nine days later, the second child died.

The facility also conducted a “risk cause analysis,” the report said. “Corporate keeps the documentation (of the investigation) and I don’t have access to it,” the regional operations director is quoted as saying.

Investigators emailed the company risk management a request for the risk analysis on June 5 but did not receive it before the investigation ended. 

Wilderness Training & Consulting is part of Family Help & Wellness, which had experienced financial upheaval in the past few years, as The Watchdog previously reported. The company fired 80 employees at programs across the nation and at its headquarters in Salem, Oregon, in early 2024.

In February 2024, a 12-year-old boy died less than 24 hours after arriving at Family Help & Wellness’ Trails Carolina camp in Transylvania County. An autopsy determined he asphyxiated after being placed in a tent overnight, and his death was classified as a homicide. Ultimately, no criminal charges were filed, but the program was shuttered.

[Editor’s note: If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In addition, Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.]

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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