Summit Oaks Hospital

My adult daughter is being held involuntarily even though she is not a danger to self and should be transferred to a hospital with the specialized treatment she needs. I overheard a nurse verbally abuse a patient who asked for a hot dog! The psychiatrist committing my daughter never even asked my daughter if she had suicidal thoughts but still is holding her, probably because we have good insurance. My daughter is cooperative and motivated for help but they are preventing me from taking her to one of the top psych hospitals in the country. I am a Psychologist and have worked inpatient psych in private and public facilities. We will be taking them to civil court for personal injury AND federal court on Violation of Civil Rights. more

Was voluntary admitted in the early evening. The room smelled musty and the bathroom & shower was filthy. Was told that housekeeping comes in the morning only. The TV was blasting right outside the room at 8pm & was told rudely to deal with it until 10pm. The nurses on duty could care less. It went downhill everyday from there with so many issues during the stay. Most of the staff was inept & were not managed. The head nurse was the only person that knew what was going on. I saw a woman psychiatrist who was very nice, yet when I asked to see my file, I was adamantly told by a nurse that my Dr. was a man because that was on my chart? There were patients that reeked of cigarettes, along with heroin addicts & alcoholics that were thrown together with voluntary patients with anxiety that were there to get medications adjusted. I was also given someone else's prescription & file when discharged...unbelievable! STAY CLEAR OF THIS HOSPITAL!! more

I can’t express enough how awful this hospital is. I write this review in the hopes that anyone thinking about sending a loved one here for help reads these reviews. I had the unfortunate experience of being committed to this hospital. My family thought this facility was exceptional because they based it on its past reputation and the internet. I can only comparing it to being incarcerated. I was admitted to the dual diagnosis unit shortly after the New Year. The doctors and staff were downright abusive. It was over crowded which caused me to be exposed to heroine addicts and the mentally ill. In fact, I don’t know how anyone in their right mind could work there. I lost every bit of my dignity while committed to this hospital and now I have to deal with the thousands of dollars in bills between the ambulance and my 12 day stay there. In addition, during my stay I was exposed to the flu virus and despite having had the flu vaccine, I came down with bronchitis. As a result, I was brought to Overlook Hospital by ambulance where they ran a battery of tests. This caused me to incur the additional expense for an ambulance to and from the hospital and a battery of tests. Once committed there, I was given the wrong meds which only exacerbated my symptoms and caused me to go through withdrawals. Anyone thinking of committing a lived one there, I urge you to read these reviews. more

I was sexually assaulted by a staff member at this hospital heard what sounded like another girl being beaten ate what can't even be called food this was the worst hospital I've ever been too if I thought somebody would care enough to be able to do something about it maybe I would have said something more years ago, 2012 and now it's 2018 and I'm still struggling more

Worst staff an hospital ever , my daughter was sexually assaulted , on unit 1 an Esta who ever she is , wouldn't help , either would there nursing supervisor , I had to call town police to go in , so I could get answere , cause they were coving it up . . Took phone from her an wouldn't let her call us her parents . Pathic . So sick . Do not send a love one for help there , they come out more damaged then going in . Terrible terrible place , picture may look nice , that's the only nice thing about it . Please be aware . Don't send love one there , please , heed my warning . I wished I had listen to that advice from a friend who told me . Please hear me . Terrible terrible place . Staff is awful . Awful . more

Anyone reading this or who has been there should know it is NOT a legal form of mental help. It is abusive, traumatizing and damaging. You will leave WORSE then when you first went in. How is it possible that anyone can allow this to continue? They drug you almost to death, give you medication without your permission and tell you you can't leave until you take drugs that don't even help you. You starve because they don't serve human portions, they run out of drinks, snacks and food. People are treated worse then animals. It takes almost 36 hours to do one load of wash. The nurses and doctors do not follow laws and have no regard for your humanity and safety. This is a PRISON or CONCENTRATION CAMP! CLOSE THIS DOWN! more

This was a very helpful experience where all were nurturing and understanding Staff.. The Doctor saw you every day and helped with any problem! I would advise all that need help to choose this facility as They care!! more

If I could give this place negative stars, I would. In fact this "hospital" does not even deserve that much. If anyone is reading this and thinking about sending their child or a loved one to a mental care facility in order for them to get their life back on track and to truly recover, then please don't send them here. If you do it's honestly abusive and highly counter productive. Many of the patients here are almost beyond help. It's really like American Horror Story: Asylum. Your days consist of watching one television in the middle of an empty room and if you're lucky to find someone who you can actually hold a decent conversation with, they have some games. It's really like a minimum security prison. During my stay there I witnessed a young girl have to be strapped down to a bed because she went off the rails and starting trashing the place and assaulting the staff which only consists of two people who are barely qualified and a doctor. I also witnessed a woman walk around the hospital naked. No one cares about anything. It's really a horrid place to be. When choosing a mental health facility it is crucial that a lot of research be done in order to avoid this type of situation. Sending someone to a place like this indefinitely makes them far worse than whatever condition they were in prior to being admitted. more

One week in this hospital ruined my outlook on life forever. The memories I have of my sentence will haunt me every single day until I die. I have never wanted to erase something from my brain more than I do this experience. more

I cannot comment on inpatient but the Intensive Outpatient Program was very helpful for my depression and anxiety. The staff were educated and caring, they worked with my schedule, and the groups were effective for me. Update weeks later::: HOWEVER...First, the website sais IOP hours are 9:30-12:30. I go through the free assessment then I'm told the hours are 9-12. Hmmm, I go through a lot of scrambling to get transportation for my kids to get to school in the morning. Then, I'm told with Medicare, I pay $30.00 a visit. After 5 visits, I'm told it is now $40.00 a visit. The IOP program and staff were actually pretty good, so I continue but after 13 weeks, my experience was totally and completely ruined by being billed separately for the psychiatrist visits that I was told over and over again were included in the one price per day fee that I pay. I'm worse off now than before I started the program. I made sure to ask and re-ask about the psychiatrist fees because I knew sometimes they are billed separately. I refused to see the psychiatrist until I knew these answers. They kept re-assuring me , then 13 weeks later, I am told they mis-informed me and I owe a lot of $. Horrible!!! The free assessment sucked me in, whereas Overlook's program would have cost for the assessment. I seriously recommend spending the $ for Overlook's assessment! The billing department at Summit Oaks LIES! If money is no object for you, then feel free to waste your time only to get more depressed. :( more

While I was there I was having paranoid panic attacks, not one of the staff tried to console me and tell me I was safe, or that what I was feeling wasn't real. They stuffed me in the quiet room and pumped me up with so many anti psychotics throughout the day that my muscles began to sieze and I needed an emergency injection. This place is a glorified prison. The staff felt more like guards than mental health professionals. I have nightmares about this place sometimes. more

so grateful for the help. Kudos to Dr. Villafranco, Nurse Lata, Techs Elise and Elisha, Social Worker Cassandra. Extremely positive experience. Love Jane more

I was very happy with the treatment of my daughter. From the front desk, nursing staff, and social workers. Any concern I had was met. They helped my daughter communicate in ways she never did before. My daughter's only complaint was the food. more

Unfortunily I did not read the reviews my child spent 9 days on unit 4 it's a hell hole dirty overcrowded understaffed dr Bekhit is unsupportive to patiants and the family it is a jail like atmosphere I have found another place for my child and the care is fantastic Summit Oaks is the worst place I have ever seen in my life ! They should be closed! more

Terrible experience!! There is no realistic recovering. One TV. Games with no matching parts. Psychiatrist Dr S is horrific! My son had a mattress with a slice down the middle from top to bottom both sides! Noone thought twice of putting a sheet on it! Just an example of the care and attention to detail. There were daily fights that needed braking up by staff. My son was hungry after my bringing it to the attention of the non attentive staff he got more food. Very dreary with not one painting etc. Patient advocate was pleasant and tried to help with communication with dr and social worker but nothing got accomplished. My son left and is home with us. He is 19 and it has been a month since discharge. Not one phone call to see if he is ok. Not one word on discharge to us his family. I can go on and on. DO NOT GO TO SUMMIT OAKS HOSPITAL! Nothing to do for patients but group therapy 3 times a day and then stare at blank walls! more

I was there over the summer (2014) and I was absolutely horrified! This was my most recent hospitalization and it was so scary, I was most afraid for my safety on the unit because of the other patients. I had hot tea thrown on me, another man had hot coffee thrown on him, and I was continuously looked at by the man who threw the tea on me like I was a piece of meat because he didn't feel threatened by women. The unit was disgusting, people weren't well taken care of or taken seriously. When one of the male patients became violent and aggressive, the staff enclosed him in the room where the MAJORITY OF THE PATIENTS (INCLUDING MYSELF) WERE SITTING. I know one girl had an anxiety attack because of it. I was honestly fearing for my life. The doctors dismissed my concerns and looked at me like I nuts because I was/am high functioning and knew what was going on; they continuously tried to convince me that I didn't know my medications--despite having reviewed my medications with them myself as well as my mom telling them--and that I was bipolar. I asked my psychiatrist of 2+ years if he believed I was bipolar, he told me that the doctors were the ones who were insane for having even thought of that. I was also never given my normal medication doses because they "didn't have the right doses". When one patient became violent because she was hallucinating, the doctors gave her 3 different medications, at high doses, to sedate her. They then had her tied to her bed in a position that couldn't be comfortable, even for the most flexible person ever. When she was finally allowed out of the room, her shirt was covered in blood and she was delirious and out of it. My parents visited me at every opportunity, and they were appalled by the conditions of the hospital. There was absolutely no structure to the day, the majority of the time was spent staring at the TV, aimlessly walking in circles, staring at the wall, or being afraid of being hurt or attacked. This was literally a HELL ON EARTH. Please, don't send a loved one there! more

Summit Oaks also held my teenage daughter hostage. They involuntarily committed her and somehow got a New Providence traffic Judge to sign the order that I was never notified about or given a copy of. If Overlook Hospital or anyone else tries to put your child in this shady hell hole, call a lawyer immediately! DO NOT let them push your frightened parent buttons or threaten you with DYFS. As soon as my lawyer got on the phone with these lying creeps they released her post haste. This place is so shady. We will get to the bottom of how this was allowed to happen and what they potentially did to my daughter in the three nightmare days she was held there against her will. Also have contacted the State attorney general. more

I was at Summit Oaks for 5 days, on Unit 1, and it was the WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. The staff didn't follow protocol, they screwed up my medicine horribly, try to force a diagnosis on me, and belittled me. We had patients throwing hot coffee on people, I got hot tea thrown on me, and one patient threatening to kill people...what does the staff do? They locked him into the main living area where the majority of the patients were instead of restraining and sedating him. I was absolutely TERRIFIED. They were untimely with discharges, unorganized, ignorant (most of them), and clearly didn't care about what happened to patients (many of them). There were a few good nurses and MHAs, but the majority of the staff was HORRIBLE. NEVER GO THERE, IT WAS A HORRIBLE AND TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE. more

I remember my 2month stay at Summitt oaks - that's right two months & I didn't want to leave- in fact a lot of patients that wanted to be there but insurance would not pay -cried when knowing they had to leave .. let me tell you something to all the people who have something negative to say you're not there to make friends with staff & of course you don't go in to this wanting to make new friends but you bond with people who you learn are going through exactly what you are & at one time you thought no one got it.. everyone had to go through withdrawal symptoms. some worse than others but we were all there together & we were like family.. the people who complain are the ones who feel they don't have any problems .. & the reason someone would be rude is if you are not going to groups which is ALL DAY LONG & it is a REQUIREMENT. NO MATTER HOW YOU FEEL., these people have to deal with our mood swings - kids that are not even teenagers on a different floor who get violent.. before you believe stuff you need to understand if you cooperate you won't have a problem .. YOU ARE THERE TO LEARN WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR YOURSELF - get up when vitals are called at 6 am , make your bed shower , go to all groups & AA & NA meetings everyday- 2x a day on weekends- same people every week w the same story but that's because of new patients-- I felt so alone at first & I made sure everyone who came through that door was greeted & didn't feel afraid .. & everyone did it!! it's the people who just sit there ALL DAY COMPLAINING THEY WANT TO LEAVE - those are the ones who don't like it. those are the ones THAT COME BACK AGAIN OR OVERDOSE unfortunately !! but there are people that want knowledge of this disease & the triggers & what to do & where to go!! some people are court ordered so they don't care!! love that place. helped me greatly & loved the staff & made great friends!! more

I was a patient at Sumitt Oaks for 21 days in 2013, A definate prison-like atmosphere. Totally uncaring and unknowledgabhle staff. Deplorable conditions. They even ran out of toilet paper on one weekend!!!! The food was incredibly bad and sparse, I myself as well as others noticed "reverse discrimination" especially in the cafeteria with regard to ,portions. The accomodations are very well below standard. I cannot in all honesty say anything good about my stay there, with the exception of one younger American doctor who was so kind that he even went out to a drug store to purchase nail clippers for me. Much wasted time daily as we waited for speakers to come in. Sometimes they didn't show up at all. I am NOT a complainer, but things got so bad that I "snuck" in a phone call ,to my daughter who in turn called the Board of Health. I could go on for hours listing why this place should ,be closed down. more