Living Hope Institute

After suffering years of PTSD i tried to commit suicide by O'Ding back in 2006. As soon as i took the pills i called 911 because i knew what i did was bad. I was taken to a local hospital and put on suicide watch in ICU. The hospitals psychiatric Dr. was a young middle easterner who forced me into Living Hope in Little Rock. That being said i seem to have the worst experiences with these young foreign dr's in the US. I thought well atleast i'll get help for my depression, but i quickly learned differently. It was like sane people mixed with people talking out of their heads mixed with patients that probably belonged in jail. The nurses were very rude and the staff talked to you like you were less than a dog. I thought this place was suppose to help people, but instead it was to punish people, you'd be treated nicer in a jail. I remember how the staff would shout at the patients ""SHUT YOUR MOUTH""! I was very quiet and stayed off to myself. I was only in this facility for 22 hours because the 3 Dr's that evaluated me didn't think i really belonged in the place. When the final Dr. i seen told me i was going to get to go home, i remember going to the front desk because the nurse hollered my name and said i had a phone call. I told my parents that the dr. said they could come get me and the top nurse shouted ""Who told you that, oh no, nobody leaves this place less than being here 30 days."" The dr. happened to walk up to the nurses station and the nurse questioned him and he said that he and the other 2 dr's agreed i could go home. I was surprised that the nurse actually scolded him and said out loud ""What is this a drive through!"" I can say this, a facility like this would make a suicidal patient go all the way before they'd want to be sent to a place like that again. It was horrible! I pleaded with the governor and Sen. Lincoln to check the place out because if Dateline had a hidden camera in that place and seen how patients were treated it would be on the national news. Needless to say no action was taken, i guess it doesn't matter unless it's the govt's family. more

Spending days and nights here is a nightmare. It has a ""contract"" staff, not St. Vincent employees. Their goal is profit for the hospital. The program is designed specifically for substance abusers, however they don't admit to that. They present the program as being suitable for ""general psychiatric"" patients. Don't hurt yourself, waste your time and money. Don't even consider going to Doctor's Hospital and the ""Living Will Institute"". It's a (bad) joke. Pros: Provides jobs for inept staff, physicians included. Cons: It's a living lie. more

As a medically diagnosed, clinically depressed adult male and healthcare professional myself (physical therapist), looking for professional help, I turned to the ""Living Hope Institute"". It was one of the single worst and most expensive (emotionally, psychiatrically and financially) mistakes of my life. The ""professional staff"" are Bachelor's level or less people who are just looking for a job. The nurses are, basically, lazy. They carry out their duties as if they are doing patients a favor. One ""therapist"", a Bachelor''s level social worker, charged me and my insurance company $285 for an ""individual psychotherapy"" session during which the therapist told me that I must ""relax"". I was charged for ""speech pathology"" services, when none were rendered. Medications (type and dosage) were dispensed incorrectly, and nurses became anywhere between defensive and vindictive when this was brought to their attention. I was seen by a psychiatrist twice, and I told him which medications I wanted. He didn't give a damn. It didn't matter to him. Untrained, unskilled, inexperienced young individuals conducted many ""recreational therapy sessions"" during which we played games and drawings of male and female genitalia were drawn on the chalkboard. One ""therapist"" gave a full hour's lecture on the DSM-IV. While that may have been interesting to mental health care workers, it had absolutely no therapeutic value to the patients in attendance. He didn't care. It was ""filler"". The booklet describing the program is literally laughable. As it turned out, the program was, in reality, executed by a contract agency, designed to maximize profits and minimize expenses. However, patients were never told this. They were led to believe the the ""Living Hope Institute"" was a program operated by St. Vincent's Doctors' Hospital with St. Vincent's staff members. Avoid this program at all costs, regardless of how much you are hurting. Pros: Absolutely none, unless you derive pleasure from throwing your money away. Cons: A program that seems designed to add psychopathology to already distressed patients. more