FBI agents surprised employees and patients of Westbury Community Hospital on Hornwood Thursday. And it looks like they were after the company's records.
The entrances to the parking lot here have been sealed off. Federal agents spent much of the day there. Stunned employees and patients were turned away Thursday morning, and they left with a lot of questions.
The doors of the Westbury Community Hospital outpatient facility may be open, but the hospital is not open for business.
"I showed up for work and the place was surrounded and it caught me off guard," said Jeanette Tingle, who has served as Director of Intake at Westbury Hospital since 2006.
She watched in disbelief as federal agents loaded boxes and boxes of what appeared to be files onto a truck parked near the hospital's entrance.
"I don't know what they are being accused of. Nobody has told me anything. I think they are just investigating to see if we are doing what we're supposed to be doing," Tingle said.
Several doctors work at the hospital, which offers same-day outpatient therapy to patients with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and then bills Medicare for it. Tingle not only stands by the quality of the services provided here, she says everything is done by the book.
"We're so thorough and we go backwards and forwards. We have a large medical records department and they make sure that every note for every group is documented," Tingle told Eyewitness News.
The FBI stopped short of calling this an investigation with a spokesperson telling us, "We are lawfully and legally present at the location conducting law enforcement activity. No arrests have been made."
"Places like this are all these people have," said Tingle.
And she says she's committed to helping those who need it and dedicated to her employer, no matter what happens.
"It is ethical because it's a Christian-oriented company. I wouldn't be with any other company," Tingle said.
Westbury has another clinic in Baytown. We contacted the hospital administrator and are awaiting a response.
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