At least six additional people have died over the past year and a half at a West Baltimore apartment complex linked to the operators of PHA Healthcare, the troubled addiction program that state regulators ordered to stop treating patients. The newly reported deaths, a mix of overdoses and natural causes, deepen questions about how private treatment programs, low-cost housing, and state oversight intersect for people in recovery.
Autopsies, Police Reports Reveal the Latest Deaths
Autopsy and police records obtained by The Baltimore Banner show six previously unreported deaths between November 2024 and February 2026 at a 36-unit building run as Ms. Ruby’s Place by Stephen Thomas, the founder of PHA Healthcare, and his mother, Ruby Thomas. Four deaths were ruled drug overdoses, and two were natural causes, and medical examiner reports indicate all but one person had used illicit drugs shortly before they died. Police records say five of the victims were found inside the complex, and one man was discovered on the grass outside, with investigators noting glass pipes and small vials near some bodies. When reached for comment, Stephen Thomas told a reporter he had “no reason to believe that anything you write will be fair and balanced,” and Ruby Thomas declined to answer follow-up questions.
How the Deaths Connect to a Wider Probe
The new deaths fold into a broader investigation into PHA Healthcare’s practices and where its patients were placed, which prompted state action. A fiscal and policy note for House Bill 722 from the Maryland General Assembly’s analysts states that the Maryland Department of Health issued a cease and desist order to PHA on December 23, 2024, and that the program ended its treatment services in January 2025, according to that legislative analysis. The episode has intensified scrutiny of whether current rules and the state’s oversight capacity are adequate to protect residents in provider-linked housing.
Regulatory Gaps Leave Some Houses Outside Direct Oversight
Maryland regulations require recovery residences that receive state funds or advertise as certified to hold a certificate of compliance, and the department publishes a list of certified homes. Many residences, however, operate without that credential, which limits the Maryland Department of Health’s automatic authority to inspect them. The state regulation spells out certification categories, inspection standards, and the credentialing process for recovery residences, and it also outlines what triggers a requirement to certify. Advocates say that the gap allows buildings to be used as housing for people in recovery to avoid the kind of routine inspections and staffing rules that licensed treatment programs must follow.
Lawmakers Press for Tighter Rules and Pauses on New Providers
Legislators have moved to force reforms. A Department of Legislative Services analysis of House Bill 722 says the Maryland Department of Health must report on revisions to COMAR 10.63 and on improving oversight of treatment programs and recovery residences by December 1, 2025, and again in 2026. The department has also used temporary enrollment pauses to limit new behavioral health providers in some jurisdictions while it strengthens rules.
Billing Shifts and Who Picked Up Patients
An analysis of Medicaid reimbursement data by The Baltimore Banner found that Holistic Change, a Baltimore treatment provider tied to some of the same sites, billed about $1.3 million for intensive outpatient care in the seven months after state payments to PHA Healthcare ended, a sharp increase in that category of billing. Another program, Journey Health Center, briefly took in several dozen PHA patients and hired some former PHA staff before most of those clients and employees left, according to reporting. The financial and referral shifts have heightened calls to track how public dollars flow to outpatient providers that also supply or recommend housing placements.
Legal and Regulatory Implications…