My mother was admitted to their adult in-patient program 4 weeks ago. At the time of her admission she was majorly depressed, going through a divorce, attempted suicide and was emotionally weak. The only positive thing I can say about La Amistad is that they presented a very nice picture on their website and in their brochure.\r
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My mother (in her early 60's) was placed in a setting that was overrun with 20 and 30 something’s, who would consistently use LOUD foul language, had little or no manners and showed little respect to others. This was brought to the staff’s attention and they said they can't do anything about it. This was unacceptable in my opinion.\r
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My mother (an ex smoker) could not use any of their outside recreational areas as the residents took over it with their non stop smoking. Further more, their staff degraded my mother numerous times (I witnessed this on two occasions during my weekly visits). The facility is kept at 68 degrees (although they raise the temp during visiting hours) and most residents wear sweatshirts, jackets and warm pants to deal with this.\r
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My mother also was only seen by a psychiatrist one time a week (maybe for 10 minutes) and then met with a counselor one time a week. Everything else was in groups, which were overrun by the younger residents and my mother got very little out of the groups due to the consistent interruptions from the younger residents. Their staff did NOTHING to keep the group focused and in control.\r
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I initially had very high hopes that I found the right facility for my mother. I had to pay out of pocket (over $15,000), which was tough to do, but I only wanted the best for my mother. Sadly I and my mother feel we were lied to and misguided. If I had to give a dollar value for what their services are worth, I would say $500 (for the month) and not a penny more. Unfortunately I am now back to having to find another facility/program for my mother and am out over $15,000 and little to show for it.
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