By Rebecca Gaunt

Two former employees of Highland Rivers Behavioral Health filed a lawsuit against the agency and its CEO, Melanie Dallas, alleging widespread mismanagement that contributed to the death of a patient and retaliation against them for speaking up.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2024 in the United States District Court of Northern Georgia by the attorney for Melissa O’Brien and Trevino Snowden.

According to legal documents, O’Brien and Snowden allege that they were fired for whistleblowing after they spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the December 2023 article Whistleblowers: Woman’s death in rehab shows public agency’s mismanagement.

The lawsuit states that both plaintiffs approached Dallas with their concerns that the residential addiction center failed to meet standards prior to the death of 42-year-old Kimberly Ellis Loy. It further alleges no improvements were made even after Loy’s death.

Highland Rivers is one of Georgia’s largest behavioral healthcare providers serving a 13-county region, including Cobb County, following the 2022 merger with the Cobb County Community Services Board. Services are provided via ten outpatient centers, four crisis stabilization/detox units, men’s and women’s residential treatment programs, youth clubhouses, and other community-based services. It serves people with addiction, mental health issues, and developmental disabilities.

The AJC reported that the state found Highland Rivers neglectful in an investigation following Loy’s death from a heroin and fentanyl overdose at Mothers Making A Change, a residential substance use treatment program. Staff lacked proper supervision and training, and failed to properly search and drug test Loy when she returned from a trip to the grocery store.

O’Brien joined the public relations team of the Cobb County Community Services Board in 2019, prior to the merger with Highland Rivers. She was promoted to director of marketing in 2022 and appointed to the executive leadership team. 

Snowden was hired in 2020 as a human resources training coordinator. In the lawsuit she said that she was told by human resources director Erica Collins to certify healthcare providers’ training records that had not been properly completed. She refused to do so.

The lawsuit alleges that under Dallas’ leadership, the number of people served has been reduced by half since the consolidation and that the Highland Rivers Foundation is being mismanaged. Additionally, Highland Rivers contracted with a startup company called Ascend Community Staffing Partners, which failed to fill hundreds of positions, yet was paid $250,000 from October 2022 through January 2023. There are additional claims of inaccurate billing, a lack of qualified therapists and clinicians, mold, structural issues, and roaches, including an incident of a roach crawling on the face of one of the patient’s babies.

O’Brien alerted state Rep. Mary Frances Williams (D-Marietta) to the issues in November 2022. Williams reached out to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). Loy died in December, the same month the DBHDD launched an investigation and audit of Highland Rivers.

Williams did not respond to a request for comment.

Following a meeting in June 2023 between DBHDD and several Cobb County state representatives to address the audit, O’Brien and Snowden allege Dallas still took no steps to remedy the situation. They approached Flynn Broady, who was Cobb’s district attorney at the time, but he told them the matter was in the jurisdiction of DBHDD. It was then that the two plaintiffs contacted the AJC.

Following the state’s investigation, Snowden said she was denied access to software required for her job, denied requested personal disability leave, not given a raise she should have received, and was passed over for a promotion.

O’Brien’s work computer was taken and her work responsibilities reduced. She continued to voice her concerns and was terminated in March 2024 with the explanation that Highland Rivers was going in a different direction.

Michael Mullet, the Highland Rivers community relations director, provided the Courier with the following statement: “We are aware of the allegations but cannot comment on pending litigation. Highland Rivers remains committed to operating with integrity, transparency and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We take any concerns raised by employees seriously and have established processes in place to address them appropriately.”

Plaintiffs Snowden and O’Brien are seeking back pay and lost economic benefits of employment, compensatory  damages for emotional pain and suffering, punitive damages against Dallas, reinstatement or promotion, attorney fees and court costs. 

Brian Sutherland, an attorney at Beal Sutherland Berlin & Brown, is representing Snowden and O’Brien. He told the Courier that he has represented many whistleblowers throughout his career and that the Georgia Whistleblower Act is extremely important in protecting citizens from retaliation when they see something concerning in the workplace.

“Ms. O’Brien and Ms. Snowden feel very strongly about the issues that they raised. We are looking forward to proving their allegations and pursuing full relief for them in court,” he said.