Seymour Rehab Facility Abruptly Closes, Leaving Patients and Staffers in the Lurch

SEYMOUR, Tenn. (WATE) - An East Tennessee rehab facility abruptly closing its doors this week, leaving both employees and patients in the lurch.

Brookhaven Retreat, which is a private-pay treatment center in Seymour, shared the closure with staff and patients via email.

The email from Brookhaven's owner, Jacqueline Dawes, notifying everyone of the closure was shared with the WATE 6 On Your Side newroom. The email says the facility was closing immediately Tuesday March 5th due to circumstances beyond their control.

Staff and clients were told in the email they must vacate the property on Tuesday by 5 p.m.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health telling us there were five women currently at the treatment center at the time of the closure. The state said they were notified the same day as the closure.

Brookhaven Retreat was a residential rehabilitation, crisis stabilization, residential detox and adult residential treatment facility. The state confirmed all licenses were up to date and that the facility has always been in substantial compliance with state regulations.

We're told the state completed its annual inspection last month on Feb. 25th and no communication of Brookhaven's closure was shared with them at that time.

The state says each resident was asked to work with their primary therapist on their discharge plan, along with Brookhaven Retreat's clinical director.

Employees we spoke with say they've worked tirelessly the last few days banding together to care for their patients, adding it's essentially been "all hands on deck" to help.

Many employees we spoke with say they're shocked, it's something that hasn't sunk in and they say they're trying to understand how things went downhill so fast.

Staffers say on Friday of last week, they were notified they would not be receiving checks for the last pay period. We're told they kept working.

They say while they're incredibly worried, as of Wednesday employees say they're at 28 days worth of pay they're hoping to receive.

We reached out to Brookhaven Retreat's owner, Jacqueline Dawes, but she has not returned our messages.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Brookhaven Retreat's website was no longer up and accessible.

We also heard from Metro Drug Coalition's Executive Director, Karen Pershing, who says it's unfortunate to have a provider suddenly close. Pershing says she hopes patients find placement in similar facilities either in East Tennessee or other parts of the country.

"It’s always unfortunate when there’s an interruption in the treatment process," Pershing said.

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