On June 8, fed up with negative publicity brought on by the Utah Boys Ranch Network and the article,
Trapped In A Mormon Gulag, West Ridge Academy chose Wikipedia.org as their new venue to libel Eric Norwood. A staff member using the screen name "WestRidgeAuthorized" edited the existing West Ridge Academy wikipedia article to the following
version. Specifically targeting Eric Norwood, one notable change to the article included the following edit:
On January 2, 2009, Eric Norwood, a former Boys Ranch resident who refuses to make public his record and files from his attendance at West Ridge Academy and who is actively seeking to recruit others who did not successfully complete the program at West Ridge, published an article detailing abuses and controversial ranch practices.
After reverting the edit - which other editors deemed inappropriate and "un-enclycopedic" - several times, West Ridge Academy was asked to substantiate the claim.
The following question was posed in response to the claim by an editor using the screen name "Descartes1979":
Perhaps you can suggest a specific edit on this one? Do you have a news article or source explaining what you are saying? If so, I will gladly add that info to the controversy section as a rebuttal.
West Ridge Academy responded:
It would be against HIPPA for me to discuss any details of Mr. Norwood's stay at West Ridge...I will simply ask here, publicly, if Mr. Norwood and his associates are willing to allow West Ridge Academy to open their personal treatment files to the public so that the public can see all of the information leading up to and including his stay. If he refuses here, you have citation.
In response to the intentionally false claims by West Ridge Academy, Eric Norwood, along with Chris Wade and Danny Livingston, walked onto West Ridge Academy's campus to hand deliver an official request to review and copy their medical records.
Watch this film to see footage of us making this demand.
To preserve the truth, the entire process was recorded. The following is the transcript of the recorded conversation.
(Chris, Danny, and Eric are greeted and led into Ken Allen's office where the director of admissions, Jared Hamner, and the director of marketing, John Stohlton, are waiting. We all sit down at the conference table. I am sitting across from Ken; Danny is to my right at the head of the table, and Chris Wade is at my left seated across from John and next to Jared.)
Ken Allen: Hey gentlemen.
Danny: Are you Mr. Allen?
Ken Allen: I am.
(shuffling, shaking hands and sitting down)
Ken Allen: Let me get your names... (writing on pad of paper)
Danny: Danny Livingston
Eric Norwood: Eric Norwood
Ken Allen: N-O-R...
Eric Norwood: W-O-O-D
Chris W: Chris Wade.
Ken Allen: Chris Wade... Alright guys. And I'm Ken. Ken Allen, the executive director. Uh... tell me again. What were you trying to do today?
Eric Norwood: We are trying to get a copy of our theraupitic records.
Ken Allen: Okay.
Eric Norwood: So... I'm not sure what the process is for obtaining therauputic records. We know...
Danny: You didn't have anything on your website, uh.. an official request form. So I drafted a form that was based on several hospitals in the area, so I believe it conforms with Utah law.
Ken Allen: So... records... help me understand what your thinking is. What are you trying to just get a copy of?
Danny: We would at least like our discharge summary. We would also like the opportunity to review our entire records and make copies of anything we see fit and that is cleared by a therapist.
Ken Allen: It's interesting... I've been here... gosh... five years, were all you guys residents here? Okay. When were you here?
Danny: From October 2002 until August 2003.
Ken Allen: Eric...
Eric Norwood: From February 2000, to...
Chris W: We put them on our request forms...
Ken Allen: Just so I got it... February 2000 until...
Eric Norwood: Until October 2002.
Ken Allen: Okay.
Chris W: October 17, '02 until April something '03
Ken Allen: (writing)
Chris W: (inaudible) before my birthday, I remember I got to this place... (laughter)
Ken Allen:yeah...definitely. So... you know, what I was going to say is, since the time I've been here, I've not had anyone request their records before.
Chris W: Okay
Ken Allen:So I'll check and see what the policy is on that.
Danny: Okay
Ken Allen: So let me find out and see what that is...
Danny: Well, according to HIPPA and federal statutes, you are required to keep all of our medical records for a minimum of ten years.
Ken Allen: That is correct.
Danny: And uh... It's recommended that you hold them for 25.
Ken Allen: Yeah... and so... with those, um talk a little bit about, because I know you guys... I've heard about some of the... someone was at Scarecrow Festival. I don't... I think...
Eric Norwood: All of us were.
Danny: All of us. All of us operate the Utah Boys Ranch Network.
Ken Allen: Okay. What's the Utah Boys Ranch Network?
Chris W: The Utah Boys Ranch Network, we're a group of alumni. Former staff, and other boys - and a few girls -
Danny: and members of the community...
Chris W: -members of the local community who are either at West Ridge Academy or have now joined with our network. And essentially what we're trying to do is to get some more government oversight into youth residential treatment facilities so the abuse that we endured - as well as... we have reports that it is still going on in this facility - can stop. Because essentially, the issue is, at least when I was here as well as I think everyone else, we not once ever talked to anyone that was from the state or any other outside agency and there was no way to report the abuse going on. What we're trying to do, essentially is stop the abuse that happened to us from happening to anyone else, whatever way we need to do so.
Danny: We want to increase transparency...
Eric Norwood: On both sides. That's why we want our records, so we can publish our records. Because apparently there's people out there who think we should publish our records to show both sides of our story... I guess. So we definitely want to do that.
Danny: We have been receiving ad hominem attacks; that we did not complete the program, that we were problematic in the program, even allegations that Eric might have been abusive to other boys while he was in the program. So we want to set the record straight. Because that is... so far from the truth, I mean we all graduated from the program... Eric graduated twice. (laughter)
Ken Allen: So... So you'd like to make all your records public then...
Danny: well...
Chris W: I mean...
Eric Norwood: Under our own terms.
Danny: Of course under our terms.
Ken Allen: Okay.
Eric Norwood: We would like to do what we see fit with our records..
Chris W: I don't think that...
Eric Norwood: We're not going to authorize someone to release them...
Chris W: We're not going to authorize someone else to make them public, but we don't have a problem making most things public. I haven't read them, so I don't know. I mean, I would assume that their is very little in them that would be cause for any concern for me, so I don't have much of an issue with-
Ken Allen: so not having any legal advice with this and knowing what the policy is for that, you can understand that'd be kind of challenging wouldn't it? To give you all your records and you pick just the things out that you want to share...
Danny: no, no no...
Eric Norwood: That's ultimately our prerogative.
Chris W: They're our records and we are able to do with them what we like.
Danny: The way that every health treatment facility... you guys are a health treatment facility right? I mean, you consider yourself a medical treatment facility?
Ken Allen: We are licensed as a residential treatment facility.
Danny: Okay. Which is covered under HIPPA. Under this act, we are able to examine our records - under supervision - and make copies as we see fit. Now those copies can have redacted information, because there is going to be a third party in the room, another pyshcologist, who is going through and is making sure that what is being released is conforming to privacy laws. So, I mean, what we have here...(points to request form) We at least want a discharge summary. Because I
believe that... I'm sure that you have one...
Ken Allen: I'm happy to look into it. I was just trying to understand what the intent was. And my first reaction is, like you say, if you want to take some of it, and make some of it public and not all of it -- what happens with that is you change the context.
Chris W: But we're legally allowed to do whatever we want with them.
Ken Allen: sure, sure...
Danny: We're not trying to distort or misrepresent them, we are trying to set the record straight...
Chris W: We're trying to set the record straight. I don't know what's on the record, and to be honest, I don't know what you guys have on there...
Eric Norwood: I'm sure some things aren't appropriate to share publicly...
Chris W: I'm sure some things aren't appropriate to share publicly...
Eric Norwood: involving third parties, involving other boys...
Danny: Yeah
Chris W: Other boys... who aren't...
Ken Allen: Hence the exact question... that if you've got other, if you've got names, or even some of your own backgrounds before you came here...
Danny: But that is prohibited by federal law...
Ken Allen: those kinds of things...
Danny: that can't be released.
Ken Allen: Yeah. That's why as an organization, we definitely follow all of the HIPPA standards. That's why I'm trying to understand the context of it. Yeah.
Eric Norwood: And I think legally you are allowed to censor certain things.
Danny: Of course. They are actually required to censor... if there is anything in my file that mentions anything about another resident while I was there, it is not allowed to be released. So... that's not what we're going for.
Ken Allen: Well, that along with some due diligence and we'll figure out, we can certainly get back with you when we decide what makes sense. Who should I chat with? Does it matter who?
Danny: All three of us...
Ken Allen: But who should I contact?
Eric Norwood: You can contact me.
Ken Allen: Okay Eric, what's the best way to reach you.
Eric Norwood: 661 - *** ****,
Ken Allen: What's 661? Where is that area code?
Eric Norwood: San Fernando Valley, California
Ken Allen: Is that where you are living currently then?
Eric Norwood: Yes.
Ken Allen: You're in San Fernando. You guys?
Danny: Salt Lake City. We're both in Salt Lake City.
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* The above is only the first nine minutes of the hour long conversation. Before I post the rest, I am wondering if I am within my rights to publish the recorded conversation online. Does anyone know the law regarding secretly recorded conversations in Utah?*
