Facility Housing VI’s Severely Disabled Patients In Florida Has Purchased Plane Tickets To Send Patients Back To Territory After A Year Of Nonpayment

The Department of Human Services (D.H.S.) is once again in the spotlight for failing to make timely payments to companies providing critical services to the territory’s most vulnerable residents. Earlier this year, Behavioral Services of the Virgin Islands, owed $4.8 million by the Government of the Virgin Islands through D.H.S., decided to shut its operations in the territory.

In June, D.H.S. Commissioner Felicia Blyden told The Consortium that the department would pay in full the amount owed to V.I.B.S. in one week. Ms. Blyden said D.H.S. had the funds to pay all along, but that a contract dispute had forced delays. And she said the agreement to pay, though it did not secure V.I.B.S.’s services in the long-term, would keep V.I.B.S.’s doors open beyond its closure date — the end of June — perhaps for a transitional period.

But D.H.S. knew of V.I.B.S.’s plan to shutter operations because of nonpayment for over a year. “Essentially, it took a court action for Human Services to expedite payment,” Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly said in June. “There was no serious attempt by the leadership of the department to engage V.I.B.S. in a robust discussion about extending services.”

Now the department is facing another urgent problem. Devereux Florida, an advanced behavioral health facility housing Virgin Islanders, has purchased airline tickets to send back to the USVI the patients it has been serving, as D.H.S. has failed to make payments to the company for over a year.

The Consortium has obtained an email communication that Ms. Blyden sent to Gwen Skinner, vice president of operations at Devereux, pleading with the executive that Devereux hold off on sending the patients back to the territory, while promising to make a payment as early as today.

“Good afternoon Ms. Skinner, this email serves as an update on the outstanding payment due to Devereux Florida by the Department of Human Services, Government of the Virgin Islands,” wrote Ms. Blyden in the email, dated Oct. 1 2018. “I am actively working with P&P [Property and Procurement] and the Dept. of Finance to confirm payment in our next check run on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018. I understand that this is a very sensitive issue and we are working diligently to ensure that our clients are not placed in a situation that is not in their best interest, which we are not prepared to address at this time. As discussed with Lindsey [Phillips, director of external affairs] on Friday, I am willing to pay for expenses that are incurred by Devereux for travel, once payment is confirmed and reservations cancelled (I am optimistic that this will be resolved favorably and the residents will be able to remain at Devereux).”

The email, a screenshot of which can be seen here, also said that D.H.S. would provide an update to Devereux on the status of payment by Monday afternoon. It remains unknown as to whether D.H.S. and Devereux were able to settle the matter. Ms. Blyden told The Consortium this morning that she was not ready to speak on the situation, and that a statement from the department would be provided to The Consortium today.

The email lays bare another embarrassing episode for Ms. Blyden and the department she leads. During a Senate hearing in July, it was revealed that D.H.S. had lost $1.5 million in Headstart funding because the funds were not used on time. The grant expired on June 28, and Office of Management and Budget Director Julio Rhymer concurred that a request for extension from the federal government by D.H.S. was most likely not sought. Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly said $1.5 million in Headstart dollars “going back to the federal government is not anything this community can accept.” Mr. Rhymer responded by stating, “That’s correct.”

Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly, who chairs the Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services, expressed disappointment in the finding when approached by The Consortium for comment. “Frankly, the commissioner has personally ceased to communicate with our office. The governor directed the commissioner to execute all pending contracts by March 2018. However, D.H.S. continues to be challenged with the contracting process leaving many service providers practically pleading for payment. It appears from my research that documents sent to property and procurement continue to be bounced back for lack of documentation or proper execution.”

“The department continues to perform on reactionary mode. My question is whether the family of these patients are aware of the impending crisis,” Ms. Rivera-O’Reilly added.

She said Juel T.R. Molloy, a former D.H.S. commissioner and a policy advisor of Governor Mapp, was assigned to D.H.S. to help the department meet its objectives. “Obviously the problems are too huge for those tasked with tackling them. I doubt the governor has been made fully aware of these lagging vendor payments and threats of returning patients to the VI. Since the problems are mainly due to procurement, I recommend an intensive training for supervisors and employees on the basics of procurement,” Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly said.

According to a description on its website, Devereux Florida “offers a professional therapeutic environment for children and adolescents facing significant emotional, behavioral and developmental challenges. Located in Brevard County, in the town of Viera approximately 45 minutes east of the Orlando International Airport and west of the Melbourne International Airport. Our beautiful 55 acre campus offers a serene setting with tropical landscaping, lakefront views, a swimming pool and playground – all in a climate suitable to enjoy plenty of outdoor activities.”