River Point Behavioral Health

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

I too checked myself into this place for help with depression. I am a nineteen year old white female. I was told this place is voluntary and that I could leave at any time. I was told they would be doing evaluations on me to see if this was a chemical imbalance and help me out in the best possible way. Wow, was I wrong. I should have known when I first got there. I had to walk around the back and tell the "security"/"front desk" staff why I wanted to be admitted. Right away there is no privacy. He made me state around other people why I wanted to be checked in. He then made me remove my jewelry and hair clip. I was then asked to sit in a waiting room for several hours until I could be seen. I should have left then!!!! I then was taken into a room with a female member of their staff and told to take off my clothes so that she could check my body. I felt completely completely completely violated but was told I had NO choice. I had to remove my bra because there was wire in it. So after several hours of waiting, I was finally taken in the area where I was then held against my will. I was told to fill out several papers and then given no type of guidance on what to do. I was told the doctor would not be in until THE NEXT DAY AND THAT I COULD NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL THEN. When you sign the papers, you are not told that you are being held their against your will. Even if you go in voluntarily, once you sign those papers you cannot leave until a doctor release. I was told the longest they could hold me is 48 hours. However, while I was there I learned that several patients had been there for at least several weeks. So all day and night I had to sit around and do absolutely nothing. I was placed in a room with three other female room mates to sleep. One of my room mates was brought in on a stretcher, one was a drug addict and had AIDS among other things and the other woman had been there several times and would constantly remove her clothes. I felt so uncomfortable. One of my room mates continually threatened the other patients. The beds are not comfortable and I doubt they are clean in any way. There were bugs in the room and in my bed. The food was disgusting but you had to eat in order for them to release you. If you do not eat and cooperate they will say that you need to stay. They ask you several personal questions such as when your last bowel movement was. Dont get me started on the bathrooms. The pictures of this place look nothing like the actual place. This place is basically a psych ward. None of the staff care about the patients or believe anything you say. YOU ARE TREATED AS LESS THAN HUMAN. The next morning I was woken up by another woman that came into my room. Throughout my stay she continued to follow me around and ask me questions that did not make sense. I did not feel safe in away. Men are staying right across the hall and the bedroom doors do not lock. A man could have easily come into my room and raped me. Actually any of the other patients could have caused harm to me! The doctors do NOT car about you either. I had to lie and tell them I over reacted and that I am not really depressed because I was in fear that otherwise I would not be released. I truly felt like I was in jail. I left smelling terrible and feeling so traumatized. I am still deeply bothered and disturbed by my stay at this place. Please safe yourself and do not go. There is no way this place could help anyone with depression. If you arent depressed going in, trust me you will LEAVE depressed.

NI

Nilda Angelica

Do you remember when this facility was known as Ten Broeck? I do. I will never forget my first experience there when I was 19 years old. I was given psychotropics that caused severe disorientation and extreme confusion. I had been raped in college earlier that year (2005) and then, to my horror, was later on molested by a staff member of what was once known as Ten Broeck. About ten years later, to my regret, I chose to check myself in for assistance with insomnia out of fear that it would spiral into something else. Upon entry, I informed the staff of medication I could not take and of the molestation that had taken place in the intensive care unit when I was a young adult. After suffering days without the proper sleep I needed, Dr. Henry Lepley informed the staff that I was to be held against my will. I was then dragged into the hallway that I had been molested in nearly a decade earlier. While in that hallway, I witnessed gross negligence, the over medication of patients, and my own further deterioration due to lack of sleep and the admittance of Geodon, something I had informed staff I was allergic to. I dialed 911 from inside of the facility in hopes that someone would intervene. My desperate cries for help were ignored. I was subsequently assaulted by 3 staff members (Tegan, Edmundo (who I had earlier caught peeking into my bathroom), and Mr. Edwards). I was pulled by my left arm from the floor (I was in a submissive position, screaming for help, non-combative), thrown onto a bed, my pants were pulled down, and was administered a shot of some unknown drug. Shocked and clearly inured, I begged to call home the following morning and was denied until a doctor saw me hours later. I was eventually taken to Memorial Hospital in an ambulance. I had a sprained shoulder, low back contusion, and bruises all over my body. A police report was filed. As a mother of a 2 year old, I could not even lift her once I was home. I had to resign from my position as a contractor at Mayport immediately due to the injuries I sustained and am now in Physical Therapy 3 days a week, struggling to recover. Not a day has gone by that I have not been in immense physical pain. I cannot even begin to explain the amount of emotional trauma this incident has caused me and my family. I have since tried to reach out to Ms. Shawna Waterford, to make my complaint to Riverpoint with no success. She has not returned my calls. It is blatantly clear that what they do at this facility is nothing short of criminal and an investigation should be launched immediately. I cannot even fathom how this "behavioral health unit" is still open for business. If you care for your loved ones, stay clear of the catastrophic and abusive environment this facility breeds. *If you are a staff member reading this, understand that God sees all. May He forgive you and your many trespasses as I am still struggling to do so. I pray that more people who have been afflicted continue to come forth to share the truth of the countless indignities and injustice that transpire beyond the closed doors of River Point Behavioral Health.

KE

Ken decker

Last year I was an inpatient for ten days, until the insurance ran out. I knew I was stuck there for ten days, as everyone "got better" when the insurance ran out. I was Baker-Acted over and over again for suicide ideation despite the fact I had not attempted suicide, had no thoughts of suicide. I had drank too much vodka and taken my PRESCRIBED xanax as PRESCRIBED and went to a medical hospital because I was afraid I was having breathing problems. I also had a psychiatrist I had been seeing for 17 years!!!!! The pressure to change doctors and talk against my dr. was tremendous. I was not alone in this situation. The next day I was wheeled into River Point, my photo snapped and allowed to lay in my bed for three days. Therapy, when I did get out of bed, consists of group therapy, five minutes (literally) a day with your psychiatrist --- dont bother explaining you never tried to kill yourself because you are there UNTIL THE INSURANCE runs out. Activity Hour consists of sharing scissors to make collages and making crayon pictures. And make sure you ask what the pills are in your med cup----twice I was given pills I never took and when the med nurse checked she took them out of my cup and apologized. WARNING I saw this over and over again. If you even ask for a tour of this place, you will be in for as long as your insurance lasts. Yes, because they will Baker Act you as you must need to be there since you wanted a tour. I saw this at least 8 times. The photos are photo-shopped to the max. I actually lived in the pictured room and it did not look like that! Pillows are rare, all windows are blocked and the pretty green grass means nothing as you will only be allowed outside for "smoke break" twice a day. If you are a non-smoker the haze and fumes are not worth it. It is extremely crowded and if they hit max, cots are put into the rooms with already three people in them. After my ten days it took me months with my regular psychiatrist to get my depression and anxiety meds back in order. And the staff ------there is so much bickering and fighting between the techs and the nurses that they have no time to spend with patients. It appears to be a turf war - dont you dare ask a nurse for a blanket because that is the techs job and on and on. Not that anyone will explain this to you. I know this is a cliche but if you werent crazy going in you surely will be when you are released. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE.