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The Crossroads Community Services Board (CSB) voted to direct its executive committee to find an independent party to investigate any current allegations against the CSB.

The action came after an hour-and-45-minute closed session Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Crossroads facility on Lucas Drive in Farmville.

The move follows recent allegations made by former Case Manager Thomas Woodall. Woodall has alleged a patient in a group home in Amelia County may have died due to a lack of proper medical treatment and poor management while in Crossroads’ care, among other charges.

The board has held four meetings and had hours of closed session discussions but has not issued a response to Woodall’s allegations, a fact Nancy Kelsey, a former Crossroads case manager herself for 24 years, says speaks for itself.

“One thing that concerns me is that there hasn’t been a response from Crossroads,” Kelsey said before the board went into Wednesday’s closed session. “So, your silence speaks volumes to me and I feel you owe the community the responsibility to address the concerns that have been brought to light by Thomas Woodall.”

In addition to authorizing an investigation into any current allegations against Crossroads, Board Chairperson Helen Simmons announced that the board would evaluate the organization’s Executive Director Dr. Susan Baker Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m.

The board agreed to forego any other business on the agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting until the investigation and evaluation was completed.

Woodall, a nine-year employee at Crossroads as a case manager, resigned from his position shortly after sending a letter to the board in September alleging poor management and improper medical treatment related to the death of a group home resident in Amelia County and the physical abuse of two other Crossroads patients.

The deliberations of the board since the allegations were made public have been extensive and loud at times, with some members questioning the actions of the Crossroads administration, while other employees have defended Baker.