Gov. Ducey calls for state’s attorney general to investigate Hacienda Healthcare.

Gov. Doug Ducey called for aninvestigation into patient care, financial fraud and sexual-harassment claims at Hacienda HealthCare, which operates the Phoenix facility where an incapacitated patient was raped and gave birth.

The nonprofit company is also in trouble with two state agencies for not hiring an independent thirdparty manager as they ordered — an issue Ducey mentions in the letter he sent to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Tuesday.

“Hacienda announced publicly that they were contracting with Benchmark, an Indiana company,” Ducey wrote in a letter obtained by

“It has come to my attention over the weekend that Hacienda claims it cannot afford the cost of Benchmark, with anticipated costs of $500,000, even though according to tax documents, it paid the prior CEO an almost $600,000 salary. These facts do not add up.”

The company had agreed to an order from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and the Arizona Department of Economic Security to have an independent third-party manager by Jan. 30.

But the nonprofit company “has not met the directive given to them by state agencies to ensure the ongoing safety of all patients,” according to a joint statement from two Arizona agencies.

Benchmark Human Services of Fort Wayne, Indiana, last week told that it had assumed oversight of the facility, that its employees would begin assessing operations, and that Hacienda officials had assured Benchmark of “their full cooperation and support.”

In an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon, Hacienda HealthCare officials said they were unable to reach a final contract with Benchmark, “in the short time frame imposed,” but that they would be doing everything in their power to keep patients safe and comply with state directives.

Two third-party administrators who had been approved earlier by Hacienda, Benchmark and the state are currently in charge of the intermediate-care facility, the statement says.

Officials with Benchmark and Hacienda were not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon, when DES and AHCCCS issued the joint statement.

“It is our understanding that Benchmark is not on site,” at Hacienda’s intermediate-care and skillednursing facilities at its 1402 E. South Mountain Ave. campus, the joint statement said.

That campus includes both a 74-bed skilled-nursing facility, and a 60-bed intermediate-care facility for people with intellectual disabilities.

In his letter to Brnovich, Ducey wrote that Hacienda HealthCare’s “lack of cooperation with the state to assure the care of this vulnerable population is concerning and must be addressed.”

Vulnerable woman unexpectedly gives birth

The 29-year-old patient who was sexually assaulted had been living at the intermediate- care facility since she was 3. She was taken to a hospital after giving birth to a boy on Dec. 29 and was not expected to return to Hacienda.

The 112-pound woman is described in court documents as “incapacitated” and “unable to make any decisions or give consent due to her disability.” She is described as needing a “maximum level of care.” Her lawyer has said she has a seizure disorder.

One of the patient’s caregivers, Nathan Sutherland, on Jan. 23 was arrested in connection with the rape. Sutherland, 36, is charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable-adult abuse.

A 911 call indicates staff members at Hacienda were unaware the patient was pregnant until she began to give birth.

State agencies demand compliance plan

AHCCCS and DES demanded that Hacienda give the agencies a detailed compliance plan no later than the end of this week.

Their officials, as well as officials with long-term health-care plans in Arizona, are monitoring the health and safety of patients in the facilities and are on site at Hacienda daily, the statement said.

“Patient care and safety remain the number one priority,” state officials wrote.

In his letter to Brnovich, Ducey asks for the state to initiate a complaint against Hacienda HealthCare and its governing body, “for their actions or lack thereof in relation to the rape of a patient, its staff ’s failure to notice that the patient became pregnant prior to the birth of her child and any other actions that constitute violations” of state law.

He also asks that Hacienda HealthCare be reorganized “to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

The state on Jan. 3 suspended new-patient admissions to Hacienda.

Ducey previously called for the removal of Hacienda HealthCare’s board of directors, saying he had no confidence in the leadership. Ducey’s comments came after an investigation detailed how Hacienda’s former CEO kept his job despite years of sexual-harassment and bullying complaints.

Board members also were unaware the state had launched a criminal investigation into Hacienda and had attempted to remove patients from the facility in 2016 over allegations that it fraudulently billed the state more than $4 million, according to reports.

Longtime Hacienda CEO William Timmons stepped down Dec. 31 and left the company altogether Jan. 7.

‘An environment of silence’ alleged

Community advocates, outraged by the sexual assault, said during a public meeting last month that the Hacienda case highlights the ongoing risk of abuse faced by vulnerable adults and children. A report issued after that meeting makes numerous recommendations, including protecting mandatory reporters from retaliation.

“Anecdotal reports indicate this may have contributed to an environment of silence at Hacienda — an environment in which employees feared for their jobs and their livelihoods if they shared what they knew of abuses and neglect at the facility,” the report says.

A bill targeting Hacienda HealthCare’s regulation is scheduled for a hearing by the state Senate’s health and human services committee on Wednesday.