After 3 deaths in a week, St. Joseph County police ask state to shut down Landmark Recovery center
The St. Joseph County Police Department is asking state officials to revoke the license of an addiction treatment center south of Mishawaka after three patient deaths and two more overdoses this month.
Praxis, an all-male drug and alcohol rehabilitation center run by Landmark Recovery, has endangered its residents and put an undue strain on law enforcement since the facility opened last August, according to a letter shared Thursday on behalf of St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman.
The sheriff wants the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction to investigate the 160-bed facility and determine whether to shut it down.
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"The facility is a large drain on our county first responder resources and is harmful to its patients and our community," county police spokesman Troy Warner wrote to Jay Chaudhary, director of the state agency.
A spokeswoman for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which oversees Chaudhary's division, said facilities like Praxis must report all deaths or serious injuries to the FSSA within one working day. The agency will "review all reports received from Landmark and consider next steps."
So far in 2023, Praxis has been the cause of more than 200 calls to police and fire departments, according to Warner. Of those, about 110 were made to the county police department and resulted in more than two dozen incident reports.
The incidents include nine overdoses, two rapes, a sexual assault and a stabbing, according to Warner. Still, county police believe issues are underreported.
"There are reports that staff will not let patients call police and prohibit and discourage reporting," Warner wrote in the release.
The request for a state crackdown comes as county police are investigating three deaths and two suspected overdoses in the past two weeks at Praxis, located at 60257 Bodnar Blvd., south of Mishawaka.
Another overdose occurred at the facility Thursday morning, police say. The victim was revived and conscious after one dose of naloxone.
Two men — Seth M. Jones, 19, of Montpelier and William Breda, 46, of Griffith — were found dead by police on July 3 and July 4, respectively.
Later on July 4, police went to Praxis and used three doses of naloxone, which rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, to revive a 22-year-old man. He survived after being hospitalized.
Days later, on July 9, first responders received reports of a triggered smoke alarm at the center. When they arrived, they found a 28-year-old man who apparently died by suicide.
An additional overdose death occurred Nov. 9, police say.
In a statement to The Tribune Thursday night, a Landmark spokeswoman said leaders are "saddened" by the three deaths and are working closely with authorities. Adding that "patient care and safety are our top priorities," the company said it's doing an internal investigation.
Issues plague St. Joseph County facility for months, police say
Police have met repeatedly with Landmark, which has been led by four different directors since opening last August, according to Warner. Conditions tend to improve for a short period before worsening dramatically, he said.
Police believe the facility is understaffed, with about 15 employees on site at a time to care for an estimated 125-160 patients. In a press release announcing its opening, Praxis said it would bring 120 health care jobs to the area.
Detectives say Praxis staff members consistently interfere with crime investigations by refusing to allow police to speak with victims and witnesses.
"They have also refused to provide any security video of a stabbing, reported rapes and even now these overdose deaths," Warner wrote.
Police also say the building lacks security measures. People come and go without being checked for possession of drugs or weapons, police claim.
In a separate press release Thursday, Redman said patients have left the treatment center and walked to nearby businesses and neighborhoods. Grissom Middle School is just south of the Praxis facility, which is a 15,000-square-foot building near U.S. 20.
"Other treatment facilities do not have the issues and problems at the severity that Praxis does," Redman said.
Kelsey Farver, a former employee of Landmark Recovery, told WNDU how angry she is that the treatment center accepts money from addicts only to apparently neglect to give them proper care.
"I’m livid that people who are seeking out help for their addictions and mental health are treated worse than people in prison," Farver said.
When it opened in August, Praxis advertised itself as the largest treatment center in Indiana that accepts Medicaid insurance for low-income patients. The facility was to provide medical detox, residential and outpatient treatment.
Landmark officials believed the center could help more than 1,900 low-income people recover from substance abuse each year. They advertised a full spectrum of treatment, including "twice the industry standard for therapy hours" and "alumni services to help sustain recovery."
“The influx of fentanyl and opioids in Indiana has increased the demand for addiction treatment services," Xavier Batty, then the executive director of Praxis, said in an August press release. "Our new treatment center will save lives.”
Founded in 2016, Landmark runs three other addiction treatment centers in Indiana. It also runs facilities in Kentucky and Ohio.
The Louisville facility was ranked the No. 1 addiction treatment center in Kentucky by Newsweek for the past two years, Landmark says.
Email city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County Police want Landmark Recovery center closed
