Silver Hill Hospital

Reviews 4

AL

Alison Scavone

My husband was recently admitted to Silverhill. We chose the facility based on its long term history, past reputation and the fact we have a dear friend who had success with the program and a long lasting recovery. We also have a great friend who is a specialist in the areas in which SH has been known for and who has worked professionally with the facility. The admissions folks were professional, welcoming and organized. Keep in mind when you voluntarily arrive at a facility seeking help, you are a bit nervous and full of doubt. We felt comfortable during the 3 hour process of admitting. That was were any confidence we had, stopped. I was told while my husband couldnt have his cell phone (understandable ) he could use the floor phone anytime and I could call in, at anytime. I said goodbye and went home. It was early evening and I decided to call to see how he was settling in. I called 3 times over a half an hour period. No answer. Ok, then I decided to call the "nurses station". 3 times, no answer. Odd, I thought. On the 4th try I got a person who said "everyone is in meetings". Really? This IS a hospital, a private VERY expensive hospital and at 8:00 at night, everyone is in meetings? I asked this person to please leave a note for my husband to give me a call. I didnt want him thinking I just dropped him off and didnt care how he was feeling. This senior floor nurse put a "yellow sticky" on his door with my phone #. No knock, " Mr. Schmidt your wife would like to say hello....". Nada. My husband did get the note and called me. It was 10:45 and I asked him if they gave him his prescription pills yet. They were just in the process however he said they are giving him something in addition. "Did they explain what it is and why?". No he told me. So he put me on with the nurse and when she told me what it was, I asked, why? She DID NOT have an explanation. Seriously you are giving out meds but you are not explaining to your patient why? Earlier, he was brought to the room he would be staying in but given no direction about the evening, what the schedule would be for his first day or even what time breakfast was served. Nothing. When I asked him what he did before the medication discussion, he said, " I met a man who was going to a meeting so I followed him to it and sat down". Now let me ask you, if you just checked into a private hospital that will cost you out of pocket $30,000 for your rehabilitation & counseling, wouldnt you expect a qualified staff member to guide you the first evening of your stay? Someone who would spend time with you getting you introduced to your surroundings? I went immediately back and picked him up. The doctor we met leaving as we gathered his belongings- was NOT what you would expect at a facility of this caliber. Not professional, confident and sure of his position and job. He made excuses for the sticky note and the nurse who didnt explain the drugs and why they were being given etc. Nothing to make you think this was the right place for your health & recovery. Sadly, this is supposedly one of the best private facilities in our state. I feel woefully sorry for those who dont or cant recognize good from bad and for those that rely on our public (vs pricey overrated private institutions) like Silverhill. But who knows, maybe the public sources are better, couldnt be any worse. And you guessed it, no one from admissions or God forbid, the medical director bothered to call us today. They dont want to hear it because they have heard it all before.

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Mary Madsen

My 19 year old was admitted here with depression. He was in the acute care unit. After seeing him one time the psychiatrist diagnosed him as bipolar and started him on anti-psychotic and anti-seizure meds. He had to be rehospitalized one week after discharge, recommended by the psychiatrist who saw him outpatient. Unfortunately the diagnosis stuck; bipolar disorder was the dx du jour for the 18-24 set at the time and I suppose the reputation of Silver Hill precluded questioning their dx. After a 4 year odyssey of mental suffering we found a bipolar expert at Columbia who disagreed with the diagnosis and started him on an SSRI. The change is remarkable. I finally have my son back. He is going to finish college, he is happy, smiles, laughs, carries on conversations, bright, normal. I am thrilled by this development yet very angry at the time lost due to the misdiagnosis at Silver Hill, to say nothing of the insensitivity of the staff there, both nurses and especially the doctor. The care was very disappointing considering the reputation of the hospital. Im afraid they are resting on outdated laurels. They wanted him to go into one of their incredibly expensive, not covered by insurance , residential programs. We would have sold our souls to help him but he was not interested. Once they realized they werent going to get lots of money from him they discharged him with no plan, no referral for outpatient care. It was up to us to find help. As a healthcare professional I was shocked at the dismal quality of the care and follow up. They may be fine for addiction, the grounds are lovely, but I would avoid at all costs for depression, particularly for young people.

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Marie Ellis

Hey if you want to be forced to stay against your will and have a seizure at the hands of the staff then this is the place for you. Someone I know was unable to speak for 2 days and the persons family, boyfriend and MULTIPLE patients (including a doctor who had an addiction) kept saying to the staff that something was terribly amiss and they ignored it. They actually allowed a seizure to go on for over 7 minutes until a visitor started throwing furniture and then one of the staff threatened to "eff him up" as he was escorted out. The staff at Norwalk Hospital was worried for the persons safety and forced Silver Hill to transfer them into their care. They said that Silver Hill had done enough damage and that the patient didnt need to be held against their will but needed medical treatment as a result of the care Silver Hill inflicted upon them. The person was there for OxyContin addiction yet got little to no help w/ addressing those issues. Dr. Gelman ROLLED HIS EYES at this person. I hope Gelman has something similar happen to a loved one or he decides to rethink working with the population he currently treats.

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Brittany Kletter

HOLDING PEN! SELF ADMITTED DUE TO STRESS OF DIVORCE TRIAL. WAS ON HIGH DOSE OF B P MEDS AND FAINTED. MIDDLESEX E R THOUGHT I HAD BROKEN MY NECK. NEEDED HELP MANAGING STRESS AND SELF ADMITTED TO SILVER HILL. THE ONLY AVAILABLE BED WAS ON THE SMALL ACUTE WARD BUT I SAID O K. THE FIRST NIGHT I ASKED TO LEAVE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO INTERACTION BETWEEN ANY STAFF MEMBER AND ME. PATIENTS WANDERED THE HALLS AIMLESSLY. TWO MEN WHO CAME IN WITH ME HAD THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS COME THAT NIGHT AND TAKE THEM HOME. THEY WOULD NOT LET ME LEAVE EVEN THOUGH I WAS SELF ADMITTED (ELECTIVE) AND HAD NO INTENT OR HISTORY OF SELF HARM.tHE 3 EXTRA NIGHTS THAT I SPENT THERE COST ME $2,000.00 THE PATIENTS WERE ON THEIR OWN AS REFERENCED BY THE NIGHT A YOUNG 64 PATIENT BECAME VIOLENT AND BEGAN TO KICK OUT THE GLASS IN THE DOOR OF THE ROOM WHERE WE ALL ASSEMBLED. AND WHAT DID STAFF DO? THEY WERE ALL HIDING BEHIND A GLASS SHIELDED ENCLOSURE!

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