Pittsburgh-based Southwood Psychiatric Hospital is facing multiple lawsuits claiming sexual and physical abuse of minor patients at its psychiatric facility, according to documents filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. The hospital is part of Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare.
The complaints, which were reviewed by Becker’s, name the hospital and current CEO Kim Lira in connection with alleged incidents involving patients between December 2014 and April 2024. Two complaints also name former CEO Steve Quigley. Plaintiffs claim the facility failed to protect children from assaults by staff members and other patients while under inpatient supervision.
One complaint alleges a patient who is a minor was sexually assaulted in October 2023 by another patient after being placed in a shared room despite the alleged assailant’s known history of sexually abusive behavior. Another claim alleges a Southwood staff member repeatedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old patient in September 2016. Additional complaints describe alleged patient-on-patient assaults involving children who were 10 years old at the time of the incidents.
Several complaints cite prior allegations involving staffing shortages and abuse at the facility, including a June 2023 television news report and a 2009 Justice Department settlement involving Medicaid billing requirements and staffing ratios. Plaintiffs allege Southwood failed to maintain adequate staffing, supervision, policies and procedures to protect patients.
Acadia Healthcare said in a statement shared with Becker’s, “For more than 40 years, Southwood Children’s Behavioral Healthcare has served children and adolescents facing complex and acute behavioral health challenges as the region’s only hospital dedicated exclusively to their care. As a fully licensed and independently accredited inpatient treatment center, we maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that compromises patient care and take any allegation of misconduct seriously. Any claims will be addressed through the appropriate legal process.”
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