Universal Health Services: Utah Revokes License of Provo Canyon School following Repeated Safety Violations

July 7, 2026

Utah regulators have revoked the license of the Springville campus of Provo Canyon School, ordering the residential treatment program to cease operations by August 6th after determining it repeatedly failed to protect the health and safety of the children in its care.

Provo Canyon is owned by Universal Health Services, a national chain of for-profit psych facilities infamous for putting profits ahead of patient care and safety.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services announced that the license revocation followed numerous violations documented over the past year. State officials cited chronic staffing shortages, inappropriate use of physical restraints, aggressive staff interactions with residents, inadequate medical care, and failures to complete required employee background checks and verify personnel information. The school has been directed to close the campus by early August unless it successfully appeals the decision through the administrative hearing process.

The action marks the latest escalation in the state's oversight of the troubled youth treatment facility, which has faced growing scrutiny in recent months. Earlier this year, regulators imposed strict operating conditions after investigators found staff failed to adequately protect a resident during a violent assault and delayed emergency medical treatment by arranging non-emergency transportation instead of calling 911. The state also required the facility to stop accepting new admissions, strengthen emergency response procedures, report all client safety concerns to regulators, and submit to increased unannounced inspections.

Additional concerns surfaced after Utah's Disability Law Center conducted monitoring visits to the Provo and Springville campuses. According to the advocacy organization, investigators observed frequent violence between residents, chronic understaffing, inadequate medical attention, delayed responses to emergencies, and excessive reliance on physical restraints. The organization urged state officials to take stronger action, including closing the facility, arguing that residents continued to face unacceptable safety risks.

Provo Canyon School has long been one of the nation's most recognizable residential treatment centers for youth, in part because of longstanding allegations of abuse. Media personality Paris Hilton, who attended the school in the late 1990s, has publicly alleged that she experienced abuse while enrolled there. In recent years, Hilton has become a leading advocate for increased oversight of the troubled-teen industry, helping promote reforms in Utah and several other states. She recently returned to Utah to support former residents and families pursuing legal action against the school. Current ownership has stated that today's operators differ from those in place during Hilton's time at the facility and has generally declined to comment on historical allegations.

State officials said the license revocation reflects an ongoing pattern of noncompliance rather than a single incident. Regulators emphasized that facilities serving vulnerable youth are expected to meet strict standards for safety, staffing, medical care, and supervision, and that enforcement actions will continue when those standards are not met. Unless the school prevails on appeal, the Springville campus will be required to shut down, ending operations at one of Utah's most controversial residential treatment programs.

Source: "DHHS revokes license of Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus amid lawsuit over misconduct, neglect," ABC http://4.com, July 6, 2026.