Thereโs always one… โ
Feb. 24, 2020 – The agreement took more than two years to reach and focused largely on the allegations that Simonds created a โhostile work environment.โ There was only a brief, undetailed section on allegations involving patient care. The prosecutor on the case, Jennifer Colin, described the agreement as โa very difficult and contentiousโ one to achieve and noted the โalleged facts are broad and the violations limited.โ
Colin told participants in the case by email: โThis was not my preference. I agreed to this solely to accomplish the ultimate outcome,โ that Simonds agreed to never practice in Vermont again. The agreement, Colin said, was โthe result of compromise to achieve this result, which is most protective of Vermonters.โ
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 โmass exodusโ 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.
