Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare Hospital

"Hello my name is Amanda, Here was my experience here . I was given the wrong medication for the entire time I was there I was then told I was paranoid and that this was the specific one my psychiatrist prescribed, prior I was not talked to by a psychiatrist at this hospital( I don’t remember once being seen by a psychiatrist while I was here .) the psychiatrist I had outside of the hospital said that this hospital was giving me the wrong medication the entire time I was there. My psychiatrist had said that the medication could potentially be harmful to a lot of children sent there. Now I was around 16/17 when I was put here , I then saw there was two different rooms placed next to each other kids who were depressed and kids with anger issues . I get that some kids have really bad anger issues but the way these places handled it was over medicating and I get some medications help with the anxiety or stress levels that can be helpful to certain types of anger management and those were given but there were some that were not even legal to give to kids such as ketamine on high levels as well as other drugs like that. Girls were taken by two big grown men to a room and were told to calm down in those rooms nothing was sexual or inappropriate no hitting from adults or beatings but still harmful on some kids mentality . When I was younger (15 ) I was told the only way to get out of mental hospitals is to “work the program”. Depending on which hospital your at shows how much actual mental health help that are productive instead of just “fun”. So at the aurora mental hospital you just had random stuff like coloring books and art classes or play time where u get to just be outside for like 15 minutes in the court yard not beneficial other than basically getting sun( no sunblock ) then there’s the horses (the only part I liked) you basically get to pet horses and walk them around , I felt none of the staff were really trained in mental health help in my own opinion . There was no real help because We had group meetings to say how we were feeling I felt personally if you really said you were sad or depressed or anxious you had to stay longer so you’d learn to lie to just get out to get help from psychiatrist outside who were actually trained in helping. Instead of actually getting mental health help at this hospital , you basically get a horrible vacation. You don’t get to make friends to help outside here and in some cases you get more isolated outside of the hospital. But like I said this was only my experience and from my own experience I felt I couldn’t say anything bad about the hospital until I was out. Mental health hospitals need actual trained staff , people need to be trained to protect us not cause us more mental health damage ."

"They absolutely worst hospital I have dealt with when it comes to my daughters mental health needs. The case manager was inhelpful and was very dismissive when speaking of discharge and communication. The therapist said she would do things (set up family meetings, email information, etc...) and never followed through and the Dr on staff was always too busy to call or email. I did not hear from them once. Family tried to call my daughter, including myself, multiple times and the calls were never answered or delivered. My daughter was told multiple times she could not be helped because they were "short staffed" I will be reporting this facility to the state."

"IF I COULD GIVE THIS PLACE A NEGATIVE SCORE I WOULD. My child was sent here and it was the most traumatic experience she ever had. She has extreme fear still from this place and is still trying to recover. This place made her worse than she was before. She had two panic attacks during the time of her stay and neither time was I told about it, and they are supposed to let you know if anything happens to them. the first time it happened I had just happened to call during the episode that had occurred and they picked up the phone and told me she was asleep. if I wouldn't have insisted I would never have known. I would call to talk to my daughter daily and they would lie and say she didn't want to talk or she was busy doing activities or eating when most of the times it wasn't true. they also tell them that the parents are busy or don't want to talk to the when they try to call their families. my daughter was more in fear of staff more than anything else going on. They use their triggers against them so that they have a nervous break and then report it on their files. they give the children thin pairs of clothes but no bras or underwear and they walk around with female AND MALE staff assisting them and this is unacceptable. these people do not care about the wellness of the children. they get paid the longer your children stay. The staff here seem like they are not certified to work in this line of work. and the ones who do need sensitivity training. Someone needs to go and do an audit on this place. I hope this place gets shut down and cant traumatize any other children in the future. I'm sorry to all the parents out there who like me, needed answers and came to this to find out what to expect. All I can tell you is to remain strong for them, and let them know every time that you speak to them, that regardless of what staff is saying, that you are trying to reach them and no abandoning them. because they really are telling them this. it terrible."

"Please don’t send your loved one here. They will likely leave in a worse state than when they were admitted. The staff was annoyed with the patients and sometimes out and out hostile. I heard them mocking different patients on more than one occasion. They don’t even try to hide it, one of the times they were mocking a women for saying the “Our Father’s” prayer over their walkie talkies for anyone to hear. They wouldn’t let me leave even though I admitted myself so I began the process of getting a hearing to be released. The staff got worse once I started taking the steps to get a representative. To use the phone, a staff member has to dial out for you. When I gave them the listed phone number of a representative, the staff member literally dialed out 911. I had to explain the the 911 operator what happened. It was very clearly documented in my chart that I have a police phobia. I believe it was done intentionally. The food is inedible but if you don’t eat, they will document it and use it as a reason to keep you longer. I had to wear the same shirt and pants I arrived in the entire time. None of their listed services exist. We all just sat around but you have to sit in the common areas because if you stay in your room they put it in your file as a means to keep you longer. The diagnosis I received there has since been overruled by multiple other doctors who advised that I don’t have any of the symptoms of that diagnosis. Which May sounds minor but they had me on very serious meds for it that took months to ween off of. Overall, I think this place is a scam. They will do anything in their power to extend your stay which in turn makes them more money. The only decent human interactions I had were with the other patients. Please find a different facility."