I am writing the review as a relative of a patient there. I found the facility excellent. I was impressed by the staff one day: a young large and muscular male got threatening with one of the Orderlies. I expected a violent scene, complete with straight-jacket, and rubber-room (which I had seen at other facilities), but was pleasantly surprised. One of the female nurses came up, and in a motherly fashion, calmed him down, and lead him to his room, to calm down.
This kind of nonviolent technique is the one that the program uses, and it works well. I was actually completely surprised at how good their program was, and would be beinterested in who developed it, because it should be used as a ""Model Program"" for other mental hospitals.
The patients (clients?) get to go on passes, and then over-night passes, although it is a locked facility. In order for psych meds to take hold, it sometimes takes at least 6 weeks ( or more) to figure out what works, and for someone to stabilize, so a locked down facility is important for this reason. Once a person has gone manic, or psychotic, is is nearly impossible to get them to take medication on a regular schedule, so this is a great place for stabilization.
There was also dances, karaoke, and an out-door smoking area. My off-spring did complain about the food being bland, but didn't gain weight there, so morepower to the cooking staff, as the psych meds tend to make many people gain~ God Bless you all
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