PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – When Alyssa Hertle, 15, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, entered Harbor Point Behavioral Health Center last August, neither she nor her mother, Rachelle, knew it had been cited in a congressional investigation for abuse.
Alyssa had experimented with drugs, but her primary diagnosis was elopement; she was a chronic runaway. Rachelle, the chief operating officer of a mental health practice, has experience in the mental health field. During her search for a suitable facility for Alyssa, Harbor Point emerged as an option.
However, Harbor Point was mentioned 10 times in the report “Warehouses of Neglect” from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, stemming from an investigation that began in July 2022.
According to the report, the findings included…
“Dragging or throwing of children”
“Rather than de-escalating a situation, a staffer hit the child”
Violence among children “including kicking and punching the child in the face” and “the child was kicked in the head”
A staffer telling a child “I will slap the sh*t out of you, I don’t care”
“Staff gave children incorrect and/or mislabeled medications”Harbor Point, operated by Universal Health Services, declined to respond on camera but provided an extensive response online.
Alyssa and Rachelle Hertle stated that while Alyssa was not physically abused, conditions at Harbor Point were often chaotic, leaving parents uninformed.
They highlighted issues related to lack of communication, insufficient attention to critical details, and what they believe to be violations of the patient’s bill of rights.
“We weren’t told about her daily activities. We weren’t told about what was going on,” Rachelle said. “They were giving her or attempting to give her medication that was not hers,” which Rachelle and Alyssa consider a violation of her rights. “Denying outgoing calls is actually a violation of their human rights,” Rachelle said.
Harbor Point CEO Freddie Anderson responded to concerns in an email to WAVY, stating:
FULL TEXT OF RESPONSE FROM HARBOR POINT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER
Monday, Feb 10, 2025
Chris,
I received your inquiry and am providing the below responses. Please confirm receipt.
Due to HIPAA patient privacy laws, I cannot offer comment on specific patients or their care.
As a matter of facility protocols here at Harbor Point Behavioral Health Care, I can confirm that family involvement in patient care is critical to a patient’s success. We engage with families and guardians to provide transparency and to elicit their full involvement in supporting their loved one during treatment. Engagement with families includes phone calls, zoom sessions, meetings, emails, and of course direct phone calls between patients and families. We seek to accommodate the schedules of family members as needed to ensure maximum participation. Our treatment plans are centered around the whole child.
Our therapy staff hold the necessary qualifications to treat and care for patients as required by the State licensing department and the VA Licensing Board.
As a matter of regulatory compliance, any medication error is promptly reported to the State via the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). Harbor Point Behavioral Health Care is in compliance with all local, state and federal regulatory reporting requirements. In addition, the facility takes all necessary remedial actions following each reported concern.
For additional information on the response to the Senate Finance Committee Report, please see: https://uhsthefacts.com/
Harbor Point Behavioral Health Care, located in Portsmouth, VA, provides inpatient, outpatient and specialty behavioral health programs for children and adolescents. Our compassionate clinical staff is committed to the delivery of evidence-based, individualized, high-quality care that support strong patient outcomes.
Freddie Anderson, Jr. | CEO
He emphasized that therapy staff possess the necessary qualifications to treat and care for patients as required by the state and noted that any medication error is promptly reported to the state. Anderson also highlighted that Harbor Point’s compassionate clinical staff is committed to achieving strong patient outcomes.
However, Rachelle Hertle claimed that a staff member who treated Alyssa was, at best, vague about her qualifications.
“She assured me that she was licensed as a therapist,” Rachelle said. “Later, I saw on a piece of paper that her title was actually ‘resident in counseling.’ Now her email signature says ‘licensed eligible clinician’ instead of therapist. I had never seen that title before.”
State regulators told WAVY that in 2024, they received 19 reports of abuse, neglect, or rights violations from Harbor Point.
Most of the reports involved peer-to-peer altercations, and regulators noted that conditions have improved since August. At that time, Alyssa entered Harbor Point and reported that staff turnover was an ongoing problem.
“We constantly had different staff, and we’d ask, ‘Who are you? Why are you here? If you can’t handle working with kids who clearly have issues, then you shouldn’t work there at all,'” Alyssa said.
As far as the development of any useful skills, Alyssa said she was taught by Harbor Point staff to crochet while she was there.
“Now when I try to do it, I get bored. I think that says a lot about everything we had to do at Harbor Point,” the speaker said.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., says improving the lives of adolescents and children requires action at both the state and federal levels.
“I’m glad that you guys are staying on this, and we’re going to stay on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to see what we can do in concert. These stories are horrific,” Warner said.
Both mother and daughter say even something as simple as more time outdoors would be a significant step forward. Alyssa said she went outside “maybe ten” times during her five-month stay.
The fights among residents mentioned in the Senate report do not surprise her mother.
“When you treat them like prisoners, they’re going to rage against the bars,” Rachelle added.
10 On Your Side wants to hear from you if you have had similar experiences at the Harbor Point Behavioral Center. Contact us here to share your story.