There’s always one… –

Feb. 24, 2020 – The agreement took more than two years to reach and focused largely on the allegations that Simonds created a “hostile work environment.” There was only a brief, undetailed section on allegations involving patient care. The prosecutor on the case, Jennifer Colin, described the agreement as “a very difficult and contentious” one to achieve and noted the “alleged facts are broad and the violations limited.”

Colin told participants in the case by email: “This was not my preference. I agreed to this solely to accomplish the ultimate outcome,” that Simonds agreed to never practice in Vermont again. The agreement, Colin said, was “the result of compromise to achieve this result, which is most protective of Vermonters.”

Simonds worked at Maple Leaf from May 2016 until the facility, which opened in 1956, abruptly closed in February 2017 in part because of a “mass exodus” of staff. Maple Leaf, with a 41-bed facility in Underhill and outpatient facility in Colchester, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and has never reopened.

@VTDigger