Veterans across the country are scrambling after more than a dozen clinics that used to offer free ketamine treatment for severe depression, chronic pain, or post-traumatic stress disorder suddenly closed.
Patients and employees at the Ketamine Wellness Center (KWC) are one of the largest operators of ketamine clinics in the United States. Announced on website On March 10, we announced the closure of all 13 locations in nine states.
“I cried for days,” said Travis Zubik, a US Navy veteran who was a patient at the company’s Minnesota location. “They packed up and left town. That’s it.”
Zubik and about 50 other veterans relied on free ketamine treatment through a partnership between KWC and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Many people are now scrambling to find another facility where they can get veterans insurance before their last treatment wears off.
“Without therapy, you’re in your own psychological prison,” Zubick said. “And with that, you have freedom, so that means everything.”
Several studies have shown that ketamine, the most commonly used surgical anesthetic, can quickly and significantly reduce depression in people who have not seen improvement with other types of treatment. .
Without treatment, you are in your own psychological prison.
In such cases, Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 A nasal spray version of the drug taken with oral antidepressants.However, in 2022, the agency said that ketamine Not FDA approved Warned medical professionals about the potential risks of treating any mental disorder.
Zubick, 42, said years of counseling and medication didn’t make him feel any better, but his first dose of intravenous ketamine dramatically reduced physical pain and emotional distress. Reduced.
“It gave me hope for a different future,” Zubick said, adding that KWC’s closure had left him with the depression he’s been experiencing since surviving a jet crash on duty in 2007. said his chronic pain had worsened.
In a statement, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said: Officials do not expect the closure to affect their ability to provide care to veterans, and the VA is “proactively working to ensure that veterans affected by the closure receive the care they need.” There are,’ he said.
According to the VA, its network has more than 1 million providers offering ketamine treatment. However, there are some limitations. It’s unclear how many of these providers are offering his IV treatment that Zubick et al received at his KWC.
a A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders In 2021, we found that drops appeared to be more effective in treating depression than nasal drops, but previous studies showed that drops were more potent and had antidepressant effects. It has been shown to last longer.
Zubick said he struggled to find facilities in his network that could receive IV treatment. The VA contacted him about trying a nasal spray, he said, but Zubick said he has a 4- to 16-week wait.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, he paid out-of-pocket $250 (50% discount) for a one-time IV drip at another clinic that does not have his insurance.
“I feel completely abandoned,” Zubik said. “There are people in a worse situation than I am, and somewhere someone will not get over it.”
Rapid Expansion, and a “Disaster”
Groups of patients and employees may file class action lawsuits alleging that KWC medically waived patients because KWC did not give them sufficient notice or time to obtain medical records to find another provider. is under consideration.
“What they did is unethical and illegal,” said 39-year-old former patient Sharna Horn, who is organizing a lawsuit.
On March 10, an Arizona-based employee at headquarters was summoned to a room, according to digital marketing manager Jess Aumick, who was present at the meeting.
“It caught us off guard,” she said.
Aumick, 23, said the rest of the company learned of the closure through the KWC website or mass emails. Many patients, she said, noticed when they arrived for their appointments.
“It was really mishandled,” Ohmick said, adding that she and the other employees did not receive their final paychecks.
The company’s financial difficulties were apparent at least a week before management closed four clinics, Aumick said.
In a memo obtained by NBC News, CEO Kevin Nicholson told patients and staff that the closure was due to a failed business acquisition and a funding “did not materialize.”
In November 2021, Delic Holdings Corp. acquired KWC with plans for rapid expansion, according to a company news release at the time.
The newest KWC clinics will open in Utah and Nevada in early 2022. But later that year, “KWC became the funding arm of Delic, not the recipient,” Nicholson wrote in a note. “So now I can’t pay my staff and I’m forced to close all businesses.”
Nicholson was CEO of KWC, but was also COO of Delic before becoming CEO of another company in 2022 and joining its board of directors. news release Said.
Nicholson, KWC and Derrick did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s unclear how many patients KWC was treating when it closed.The company said in a news release that it had served nearly 100,000 patients since 2011.
The VA said it has made claims to about 50 veterans who have been treated at ketamine wellness centers so far this year.
An uninsured VA veteran, Horn began ketamine treatment in 2018 when he had suicidal thoughts.
She tried over 30 drugs before being introduced to ketamine and felt she had found a “miracle drug.”
“I felt like it was the beginning of my life,” Horn said, adding that many patients have made similar statements.
If you or someone you know is in danger, call 988 and contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Also call the network formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources can also do.
