Restrictions placed on Discovery Ranch’s license after teenager’s death

Editor’s note • This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24-hour support.

Utah regulators restricted the license of a Utah County youth treatment center three weeks after the death of a 17-year-old boy who was staying there.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ licensing office issued a notice Tuesday placing Discovery Ranch Academy in Mapleton under a conditional license. The notice, published Wednesday on the department’s website, said the center failed to comply with state administrative rules by failing to protect and supervise “a client who expressed suicidal thoughts and intentions.”

The agency inspected Discovery Ranch on Nov. 6, a day after Biruk Silvers, a teenager living in a youth housing program, died there. Officials reported Silvers died by suicide.

A conditional license allows a maintenance program to continue operating as long as the licensing division’s conditions are adhered to, a DHHS spokesman said. According to the notice filed Tuesday, Discovery Ranch must:

• Comply with increased oversight by the licensing department. Each inspection would cost Discovery Ranch $393.37, the notice stated.

• Notify existing customers or their legal guardians and government agencies that place these customers on the property that Discovery Ranch is subject to a conditional license. Discovery Ranch has five days to notify everyone.

• Do not accept new customers while the conditional license is in effect.

• Increasing staff training, including sessions on suicide risk prevention. Discovery Ranch must provide proof of training within 15 days of notification.

• Provide a detailed plan that demonstrates that all staff can “provide immediate and effective communication” when a client expresses suicidal thoughts or intent to harm himself.

• Ensure staff complies with all Utah Administrative Rules and laws.

If Discovery Ranch fails to meet these conditions, licensing authorities may impose fines or deny renewal of the facility’s license, the notice states.

The notification was sent to Discovery Ranch general manager Clinton Dorny and signaled the end of DHHS’s investigation into the death of Biruk Silvers, the spokesman said.

Dorny did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Biruk’s parents, Kathryn and Joshua Silvers, said through their attorneys that they were “verified” by DHHS’s license application.

“This conditional license is a step toward accountability,” attorney Alan Mortensen said in an email Wednesday. “But it also underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in the oversight of residential treatment centers.”

Family, In two legal notices filed on November 19She claimed medical malpractice and staff negligence at Discovery Ranch led to the preventable death of her sons. According to the notice of claim — a required step before taking legal action against a government agency in Utah — a belt “provided or authorized” by staff contributed to the child’s death.

The notice of claim prompted legal action against Discovery Ranch and its employees, including staff psychiatrist Jonathan Birnkrant, who worked at the University of Utah. The university is also listed as a responder.

Mortensen’s statement continued: “No family should endure the pain of losing a child due to the preventable failures of those who claim to provide care and protection.” “The Silvers are committed to achieving justice for Biruk and advocating for systemic changes to ensure other families do not suffer similar tragedies.”

The DHHS notice cited three specific sections of the state’s Supplier Code of Conduct that it said Discovery Ranch did not comply with. The notice said Discovery Ranch “failed to protect the client from harm,” “failed to provide service and supervision” to an at-risk client, and failed to comply with the resort’s suicide prevention policy.