Utah orders last Provo Canyon School teen treatment center to shut down 

After years of negligence allegations, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services revoked the license of the last active campus of Provo Canyon School, a Utah teen treatment institution made infamous by celebrity Paris Hilton saying she was abused while staying at one of its campuses as a teen.

Now, the school’s Provo campus for boys has to shut down by Aug. 16, following a similar action the state took to close down the institution’s Springville campus for girls.  

“No child should be hurt in a program that is meant to protect them; particularly programs that require the authorization of the state to operate,” Shannon Thoman-Black, director of Utah’s Division of Licensing and Background Checks, said in a prepared statement. 

The residential teen treatment facility had been the center of multiple reports of violence and poor medical care, including but not limited to the accusations from Hilton.

Utah revokes Springville license of teen treatment center criticized by Paris Hilton

Hilton visited Utah last month to show support for parents suing the center after violence incidents allegations, including one in which a 13-year-old boy “was slammed onto his head” by the other student, breaking his jaw and causing a brain bleed. But instead of calling 911, employees tried to manage his injuries on their own before bringing him to a hospital, according to a lawsuit filed by a parent.

The Provo campus’s license was under new conditions for a month — including increased monitoring — before state officials decided to revoke it altogether because of the “provider’s chronic, ongoing noncompliance with applicable rules, statutes, or requirements,” the revocation letter says. 

In the letter, state officials reported multiple incidents starting in March of this year in which the school was cited for violating rules, including failing to protect clients from potential harm or acts of violence, as well as staff members not following behavior management policies and safe practices.

However, most incidents that led to the decision were recorded on Friday, and include “using a cruel, unusual, or unnecessary practice on a child by withholding personal interaction, emotional response, or stimulation,” as well as “depriving clients of water, rest, and the opportunity for toileting,” according to the revocation letter.

In addition to the license revocation, the state can still pursue other actions, the agency said in the letter, including issuing sanctions. However, the school is also able to appeal the decision. 

Provo Canyon School did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday. However, when the state revoked the license for its Springville campus earlier this month, Tim Marshall, chief executive officer at the institution, said in a statement that the school disagreed with the decision and was exploring available legal and administrative actions, including an appeal.