St. Joseph Institute

Review: On August 1, 2013 I had an appointment at Laurel Wellness Center a satellite office in Dubois PA of St Josephs Institute for an alcohol and drug abuse evaluation required by P.N.A.P. for Pa State Board of Nursing at that appointment I paid $250.00 by a check made out to Laurel Wellness Center.The PNAP guidelines were that said evaluation was to be completed within 30days by Ms. Patterson. The evaluation was not completed in that time frame and when sent to PNAP was incomplete. Many voicemails and emails were sent to Ms [redacted] by [redacted] PNAP caseworker with no replies or contact ever made. Several voicemails made by myself also went unreturned. Calls were also placed to Laurel Wellness Center and to St Josephs Institute to which they replied that they would reach her to resolve these issues. As a result of the evaluation being incomplete I was further detained to return to work and was forced to seek a second evaluation by another agency. I am seeking a a refund for a service that was not provided in its completeness nor any attempt to resolve these issues were made by the named parties.Desired Settlement: Refund for incomplete service $250.00

Business

Response:

We have carefully investigated the information provided in your letter of 11-12-13.

Please appreciate that our response must be very limited as the transaction in question is governed by HIPAA and 42 CFR (Federal confidentiality regulations concerning substance abuse treatment.)

The described evaluation was undertaken by Laurel Wellness Centers on 8/1/13. Following completion, the professional association representing nurses (PNAP) was contacted by phone to confirm that the evaluation had been undertaken and the assessment faxed to them (as per their instructions). There was a delay in processing the evaluation at PNAP due to a clerical error.

Several revisions were made to the "plan of correction" at the request of PNAP - who desired a more demanding program than the one proposed by the Institute. These corrections were quickly made and resubmitted.

In regard to this assignment, the Institute completed its work to the satisfaction of the professional association for which it was undertaken.

Please note that publication of any information related to this matter is subject to the confidentiality provisions of 42 CFR Part 2.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Upon receiving the response I followed up with the assigned caseworker from PNAP and again was told that the only documentation that they received was the initial assessment via fax and that nothing further was ever remitted for the plan of corrections that were needed to complete said assessment. The caseworker further stated that repeated telephone calls were made to the business's personnel that performed the assessment in an attempt to obtain the required information. Calls were made on 8/22/13, 8/27/13, 9/3/13, 9/9/13, 9/11/13, 9/17/13 and 10/4/13 by the caseworker with return calls received from St Joseph's employee 8/27/13 and 9/9/13 with the latter being the last contact made. As the assessment was not acceptable and deemed incomplete and no response was made from St Joseph's I was required to undergo a second assessment at another approved facility and endure the cost as well. As I have been unable to work until this evaluation was complete I have suffered prolonged loss of wages although I hold myself responsible for the loss of wages to begin with I do seek and feel it is fair and just that the $250.00 fee that I paid to St Joseph's Institute be refunded to me. I would like to see a copy of the plan of correction that was made and that is in question and documentation that supports how and when it was submitted to PNAP and that the professional organization (PNAP) was satisfied with the completion of the Institute's assignment. Regardless of what business is conducted it is poor practice to not return or respond to messages.

Regards,

Business

Response: