TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Katherine McKenzie was in a Pasco County psychiatric hospital, but she said it was for financial reasons, not medical reasons.
MacKenzie said she needed to adjust her medication, but a trip to a local emergency room ended up in a seven-day stay at North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital in Wesley Chapel.
The company that owns the hospital told 8 On Your Side they never make decisions based on money.
Mackenzie doesn’t believe it.
She said just seeing the North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital on State Route 56 brings back horrific memories.
“From the outside it looks like a resort, but inside it’s the complete opposite,” MacKenzie said.
In August 2020, the veteran social worker had just moved to Tampa Bay for a new job.
MacKenzie has bipolar disorder, but said her symptoms had been well-controlled for years with the right prescription medication. She said she went to a Pasco County emergency room seeking help because she was having problems with the medication and there was no local psychiatrist she could turn to.
Staff instead referred her to another local facility.
“I was told multiple times that it wasn’t Baker’s doing, and then I was put into a transport vehicle and taken to another facility,” she said.
McKenzie was taken to North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital. She was admitted despite telling hospital receptionists that she was not suicidal and had reported to work earlier that day without issue. Her stay quickly extended to seven days, and McKenzie said she was being held at the hospital against her will.
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“I strongly feel that the main purpose of my continued stay was insurance,” she said.
The hospital billed MacKenzie’s insurance company $2,300 per day, records show, and while the insurer paid the bill, MacKenzie also paid a cost: She was four weeks away from becoming eligible for Florida’s retirement system, but lost her job because of her week at the hospital, she said.
“In the end, what they got that week was over 13,000,” MacKenzie said.
MacKenzie was released after her family hired an attorney, and the judge who heard her case ordered the hospital to discharge her immediately, according to court records.
North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital is owned by Acadia Healthcare, and a recent investigation by The New York Times found that the Tennessee-based company runs 54 psychiatric hospitals across the U.S., raising questions about why patients were being held there.
The for-profit mental health chain is currently valued at $7 billion.
Mackenzie later sued Acadia University for false imprisonment and although the case was confidentially settled last year, she says the memories of her time in detention continue to haunt her.
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8 On Your Side sought to ask Acadia about MacKenzie’s allegations. Acadia Healthcare spokesman Tim Blair said the company doesn’t comment on patient care due to privacy regulations, but provided us with the following statement:
The assertions that have come to your attention in recent reports are inaccurate. Decisions about patient care, such as how long treatment should last, are never business decisions. They are medical decisions made by qualified physicians and care clinicians in licensed and regulated medical facilities based on medical necessity and relevant legal requirements. Moreover, the characteristics of some of the historical cases cited do not represent all of the facts that influence complex medical decisions made by multidisciplinary teams led by psychiatrists.
To be clear, at every step, our treatment programs are driven by medical necessity, rooted in data from over 50 years in behavioral health care. To demonstrate our commitment to the highest quality care, over the past several years we have significantly enhanced our already meaningful investments in quality, clinical programs, technology, training and talent, all to drive positive outcomes for the patients and communities we serve. Acadia Healthcare has expanded its leadership team to include new roles and expertise essential to delivering the highest quality care: Chief Quality Officer for Inpatient Services, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Information Officer and most recently, Chief Medical Officer. These have occurred in tandem with investments in new leadership, technology, providers and clinical treatment programs at North Tampa Behavioral Health.
Behavioral health and substance abuse services are needed more than ever in the United States. We take our responsibility in caring for these seriously patients and their families seriously and are proud of the care our team at North Tampa Behavioral Health provides.
Mackenzie disagrees.
“I think they were doing their best to make it seem like there was a need that didn’t exist,” she said.
Acadia University has posted information on its website about the process for involuntary admission to the school’s psychiatric hospital.
Investigator Brittany Mueller asked MacKenzie if she thought the facility should still be operating, to which she replied, “Absolutely not.”
Mackenzie said she is and always will be scared to ask for help, and she is aware that there is still a stigma around seeking mental health help.
“By sharing her story, she hopes to help combat the problem. Mackenzie says having bipolar disorder doesn’t make her any less capable of working and living a great life. She’s a mother of two, raising two amazing kids, and says she wouldn’t trade her life for anyone else’s.”
If you would like to share your experience at North Tampa Behavioral Health Hospital or any other Acadia facility, please email researcher Brittany Muller at bmuller@wfla.com. She would love to hear your story.
