Staff at a North Carolina naturopathic camp failed to check to see if a 12-year-old boy was breathing during his first night at the facility, a state report released Tuesday found.
The boy, identified in law enforcement records only by the initials CJH, was found unresponsive at Trails Carolina, a camp for troubled youth in the western part of the state, around 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 3. was found in the condition.
He was required to sleep in a tubular tent known as a bivy, surrounded by hard plastic sheets. The report states that the zipper on CJH's bivy was found broken and “staff had to remove a zip tie from a tool bag,” but it does not explain how the zip tie was used. is not specified.
According to the report, officials told law enforcement they believed sleeping arrangements “had a significant role” in the boy's death and that “there is always the possibility of suffocation if the equipment is used incorrectly.” . Another employee, also anonymous, told law enforcement he believed CJH died of asphyxiation and that the camp was the cause of his death, according to the report.
A “statement of deficiencies” report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services concluded that staff failed to provide adequate supervision to CJH, who was physically well when he arrived on the afternoon of Feb. 2.
In a response sent Wednesday, a Trails Carolina spokesperson said the state's report was “inaccurate and misleading on many counts” and noted that the boy's cause of death has not yet been released. “Any statements made by anyone other than those with authority and direct access to the details of the autopsy are mere speculation,” she said.
In a “remediation plan” included in the report, the camp said the state had previously approved the children's sleeping arrangements. The state did not respond to questions about its regulations regarding sleeping arrangements or whether it plans to change any rules.
The coroner's report has not yet been submitted, but preliminary results indicate the boy's death was unnatural, the report said. A spokesperson for Trails Carolina said the death appeared to be an accident.
The state health department has suspended admissions to Trails Carolina and last month announced plans to revoke the camp's license, which would force it to close. The program was also fined $18,000. Trails Carolina filed a remediation plan this month detailing how it will comply with state regulations set out in the report in order to maintain its license. The department has not yet made a final decision on the training camp license.
Founded in 2008, Trails Carolina treats children with diagnoses such as autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as those suffering from depression and unruly behavior. This is a for-profit nature camp.
The report reveals new details about the deaths that prompted the state to order all children removed from the camps in mid-February.
At Trails Carolina, when children first arrive, they are placed overnight in a sealed bivy with an alarm on the zipper until the therapist determines it is safe for them to sleep without an alarm. I put the kids to bed regularly. However, the therapist and the camp's executive director were unfamiliar with Bibby's sleeping arrangements. A report was found. Two parents told state inspectors they were unaware that their children were required to sleep in bivvies. The camp previously required children to sleep in “burritos” (sleeping bags zipped up and covered with tarpaulins), but last year it changed to bivvies, he told NBC News.
The department's licensing inspectors concluded that the sleeping arrangement did not provide the child with “dignity or respect” and violated state regulations. The state also said Trails Carolina did not properly document payments for medical supplies, restricted communication with campers and parents, and violated customer rights by inspecting all mail sent and received. It was recognized that it did.
The report said the boy who died requested to call his mother upon arrival, but camp policy did not allow him to do so.
Trails Carolina told the state in its report that allowing students to receive mail that is not read by camp staff “could cause harm” to children. The campaign noted that there can be problems communicating with parents about their children's prescriptions, and said improved documentation and communication protocols would address medication management issues.
According to the report, staff told law enforcement they heard CJH's “heavy breathing” around 3 a.m., but “we were unable to physically see inside the bivy as it was not transparent.” Told. The employee, who is not named in the report, then heard mumbling and “shallow breathing” coming from Bibby's direction, but was unsure whether it came from CJH or another employee. He said he didn't understand.
Trails Carolina conducted an internal investigation into the death. The report said they declined to share details with the state health department.
A law enforcement investigation led by the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office is ongoing.