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State report details allegations against Rainier Recovery

Rainier Recovery, a Pierce County agency offering outpatient substance use treatment, has engaged in a flurry of unethical practices motivated by financial gain, according to a report released late last month by the Washington State Department of Health.

Multiple current and former employees interviewed as part of the 25-page report describe a chaotic environment at the agency. They accuse its leadership of providing little oversight, hiring unqualified staff and frequently asking them to alter clients treatment plans and falsify records. 

“Rainier Recovery management’s corrupt practices are motivated by financial considerations instead of the clinical needs of the patients,” the report says, describing “systematic failures” that have put clients in immediate jeopardy.

Suspensions are rare

The state suspended Rainier’s license last week and ordered it to immediately close its offices at 3214 50th Street Ct. Suite 30 in Gig Harbor, as well as in Puyallup and Lakewood. The agency has a little less than a month to request a hearing to dispute the allegations.

DOH rarely suspends an agency’s license, department spokesperson Frank Ameduri wrote in an email Tuesday. Rainier is responsible for transitioning its patients to other providers and is doing so, Ameduri said. The provider also requested a hearing to appeal the suspension.

On Monday, a paper taped on the window of the agency’s Gig Harbor office said Rainier had suspended all services until further notice and redirected clients to other providers. It is unclear how many clients were impacted by the closure.

“Our clinical team is working diligently to ensure proper care coverage during this transition,” a message on Rainier’s website read. “Your care and well-being remain our highest priorities and we are actively working with our legal team to resolve this matter as quickly as possible to resume services.”

Rainier’s response

Rainier founder and CEO Jeremiah Dunlap denied all of the allegations, telling Gig Harbor Now last week that they were “all unfounded.”

“We believe the administrative process will find the allegations unfounded,” Seth Rosenberg, Rainier’s attorney, wrote in an email Tuesday.

Dunlap said in a previous interview with GHN he was 15 years sober after spending over a decade in an active addiction. His substance use started as a teenager living in Gig Harbor, he said, motivating him to open a Rainier office there in January 2023.

“Most of my addiction was in Gig Harbor and the police all knew me and I was arrested many times,” he said, “So [the office] it’s kind of my way of giving back to the community.”

The state’s report does not identify Dunlap by name. But multiple employees told state investigators that the CEO engaged in unethical practices and altered documents.

Allegations from employees

Employees say that Substance Use Disorder Professionals Trainees, a role for those still working toward a degree, often provided care to clients without proper supervision. Several staff members told DOH they were working as trainees but were not receiving proper training. One said Rainier had a location fully staffed by trainees.

Rainier classified the substance use of one patient, who was arrested after a car crash while under the influence, as not severe, a review of records found.  The report notes this is not consistent with the client’s history of alcohol use.

About an hour after the collision, the client had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit and later reported driving under the influence a dozen times in the last year. The clients’ treatment plans were also incomplete and did not contain measurable goals, the report notes.

Staff also said that Dunlap had an ongoing  relationship with an unnamed law firm representing clients with substance use disorders. They alleged the CEO had an agreement with them where he would frequently alter clients’ records at the attorney’s request.

“Sometimes the level of care would be changed according to what [the CEO] wanted to make the attorney happy,” one employee said, adding that they were told they “had to keep the attorneys happy.”

Motivated by revenue

Another employee said Dunlap ran the agency to maximize revenue and had “deal” with a law firm. They alleged the arrangement would give the firm better success rates and make them popular with patients, while ensuring staff had a guaranteed revenue through patient admissions.

The same employee said they would falsify urinalysis tests and change patients’ clinical records. They alleged staff would remove positive tests from the fridge so that they could not be sent out for further testing. They would get in trouble for trying to accurately report the tests, the employee said.

“Management has directed staff to misrepresent information in client treatment records and allow staff members to provide [substance use disorder] treatment services when they lack the necessary education and oversight,” the report says. “These deficiencies have created an agency that has and will continue to operate in a manner that puts financial considerations before patient care.”