Ascension’s Alexian Brothers (formerly AMITA Health Alexian Brothers) provides inpatient treatment, PHP, IOP, and outpatient eating disorder treatment at the Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital near Chicago, Illinois.
Eating disorder treatment at Alexian Brothers includes the following levels of care:
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Inpatient Care —24 hours/day care
- Adult Inpatient Care
- Youth Inpatient Care—Ages 11-18
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Partial Hospitalization Day Program —6 hours/day, 5 days/week
- Adult Partial Hospitalization
- Child and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization—Ages 9-17
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Outpatient Care
- Adult Intensive Outpatient Care
- About 3 hours/day, 4 days/week
- Includes evening programs
- Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Care — Ages 12-17
- Including Afterschool Intensive Program, available Monday-Thursday,4-7 pm
- Outpatient Group Practice
- Appointment basis
- Adult Intensive Outpatient Care
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Aftercare/Support Groups
Alexian Brothers’ psychiatric inpatient EDU is a combined eating disorders unit and self injury unit. Medical stabilization is provided at the associated medical hospital, St. Alexius.
Ascension Alexian Brothers treats children, adolescents, and adults, and offers cross-tracking for ED patients with their other programs. Other treatment programs provided by Ascension/AMITA Health and Alexian Brothers include their OCD/Anxiety program, Mood Disorders program, Addictions program, and Self Injury program.
Note: Alexian Brothers was previously part of the AMITA Health hospital system, but in 2022 Ascension/Alexian split off from AMITA. As of May 2023, all programming remains the same, despite Ascension’s website indicating otherwise.
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•When were you there? June 2025
•What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Inpatient
•If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
•How many patients are there on average? they have 6 rooms 2 beds per a room. They are both adolescent and adult shared unit. Adults room with adults and kids with kids. There were only 5 of us when I was there.
•Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Yes, I had my own room and I’m nonbinary.
•How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? Psychiatrist is 6x/week, I saw my therapist 6x a week but kept mine because I came from the general mental health unit. Usually it’s 2x a week for therapist and as needed for case management. Dietitian 2x/week or as needed.
•What is the staff-to-patient ratio? 2 nurses and 1 tech
•Describe the average day: Same as others have mentioned below.
•What were meals like? Same as others have mentioned below.
•What sorts of food were available or served? It’s hospital food they were understanding of my food allergies and pretty good with it.
•Did they supplement? How did that system work? Ensure Plus (a full cup for 50% or less of a meal or ½ cup for more than 50%). They also have EnsureClear, magic cups, EnsurePlant, and Ensure Complete.
•What is the policy of not complying with meals? After X days of no eating they tube you.
•Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes
•What privileges are allowed? None
•Does it work on a level system? No.
•What sort of groups do they have? Nutrition, skills, nursing, process, expressive therapy, and spirituality.
•What did you like the most? I liked that the techs were really encouraging and helpful.
•What did you like the least? My psych was awful and I was struggling with disassociation and he asked me if I wanted to stay sick.
•Would you recommend this program? No, I think Saint Joes is better.
•What level of activity or exercise was allowed? None.
•What did people do on weekends? Visitation, sleep in your room and puzzles
•Do you get to know your weight? No
•How fast is the weight gain process? not applicable
•What was the average length of stay? Mine was only 2.5 weeks
•What was the average age range? 13-29
•How do visits/phone calls work? Phone time was every night from 8:15-9pm. You have to use the unit phones though. Visiting was twice a week and depended on your room number. It was 45 minutes and you can only have 1 visitor at a time and max of 2 total that must be 18+.
•What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No electronics but for adults if you need to pay a bill or reschedule an appointment the therapist/case manager will sit with you.
•For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes? No however if it’s not raining you can go to the healing garden
•What kind of aftercare do they provide?Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
they really didn’t do much for me since I was returning back outpatient
•Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? I don’t know
When were you there? January 2025 is the most recent but I have been coming here since 2023 when needed.
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Inpatient
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
How many patients are there on average? There were 8-10 patients while I was here but they have 12 beds (6 rooms).
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? All genders are treated but cisgender male patients have to board on the unit next door which is not ideal.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? Psychiatrist is 5-6x/week, therapist/CM 1x/week depending on how busy they are, dietitian 2x/week,
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? The base staffing grid seems to be 2 nurses and 1-2 behavioral health counselors based on patient amount.
Describe the average day: Same as others have mentioned below.
.What were meals like? Same as others have mentioned below. I will say that I was surprised that the staff does not seem to provide encouragement during meals and will just let you do your thing. I have also witnessed patients engaging in behaviors and staff will notice and not interfere. The TV is always on so we do not do any
What sorts of food were available or served? It’s hospital food but a lot better than other hospitals I’ve been to.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? Ensure Plus (a full cup for 50% or less of a meal or ½ cup for more than 50%). They also have EnsureClear, magic cups, EnsurePlant, and Ensure Complete. The automatic default is Ensure Plus but the dietitians are open to switching your supplement if it will increase completion.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? They say the expectation is to finish 100% of meals/snacks, but I barely saw anyone completing. A lot of people were on tubes. It doesn’t take long before they recommend that, but I don’t know specifics as I wasn’t on one. As long as you’re trying and completing over 50%, you should be fine.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes
What privileges are allowed? None really. It’s a tiny unit so there’s no where to go but your bedroom and dayroom. They don’t allow much at all and everyone is treated the same unless you’re on 1:1 or a treatment agreement.
Does it work on a level system? No. I think they used to do levels years ago but this program has drastically changed.
What sort of groups do they have? Nutrition, skills, nursing, process, expressive therapy, and spirituality.
What did you like the most? I liked the fact that I was able to get treatment and found the psychiatrists to be very informed on what they are doing.
What did you like the least? Lack of staffing and toxic environment.
Would you recommend this program? No.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? None. The unit is pretty small so there is not a long hallway to pace down.
What did people do on weekends? There are still groups but things are pretty quiet so people just look forward to visiting.
Do you get to know your weight? No but there were times when staff carelessly left the post-it note with the number laying around.
How fast is the weight gain process? This is dependent on if someone needs weight restoration.
What was the average length of stay? It really depends since Alexian is known to take more complex cases. It can be as little as 5-7 days and up to several months.
What was the average age range? It is adolescent leaning but the adults that were there were in their 18-40s.
How do visits/phone calls work? Phone time was every night from 8:15-9pm. You have to use the unit phones though. Visiting was twice a week and depended on your room number. It was 45 minutes and you can only have 1 visitor at a time and max of 2 total that must be 18+.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No electronics but for adults if you need to pay a bill or reschedule an appointment the therapist/case manager will sit with you.
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes? Nope. They do have a garden that you can go to in the spring/summer months so since it was winter it was not an option.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? They are not too strict on following the levels of care in order but it depends on where you are at. If you came from residential you will most likely go back but a lot of patients step down to their ED PHP that is downstairs.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? Yup the therapists/case managers can help you arrange transportation. I don’t think there was anyone while I was there that was farther from closer midwest states.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with my stay and feel like Alexian Brothers has taken a turn for the worse since being bought by the Ascension network. Staff will openly trash talk their jobs in front of patients and it sounds like there are a lot of administrative changes going on which has led to the unit being understaffed and staffed with new employees who have no eating disorder experience at all. There is also only one therapist on the unit and it seems like the therapists are now also the case managers so if there is a full unit don’t expect to get seen more than once a week. I spoke to one of the nurses about this who has been there for 10+ years and she told me that the therapists don’t stay and will quit within a year due to many of these problems. With some of these issues I definitely empathize with the staff because it seems like there is a lot of external pressure on them with no support but since it impacts the care we are receiving, I will also make the choice to not go back here and find care somewhere else. Some of the staff need to work on their boundaries and professionalism because on more than once occasion I witnessed staff gossiping about other employees and will openly disagree with the interventions being used so it does not feel like everyone is on the same page although they tell us to avoid staff splitting (ironic right). If this is the only ED inpatient program that is closest/available to you then it gets the job done but don’t expect to get the proper therapeutic support/empathy that you deserve. If anyone else has been here recently I am wondering if they would agree with this, I would love to hear people’s thoughts.
When were you there? February 2023
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Inpatient
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
How many patients are there on average? 12. There are 6 rooms and 12 beds. It’s usually full
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Not sure. Only females when I was there
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? I saw my medical doctor every other day. Therapist 2-3 times a week. Dietician once a week but could talk to her in passing if needed. Psychologist almost every day. Case manager twice a week or as needed.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? Not sure exactly but there were plenty of staff IMO. Usually 3-4 nurses and 3 BHAs were always available
Describe the average day: Nurses come in your room around 5:30-6am for vitals and then you go get weighed and can go back to sleep. You will also get blood drawn/lab work done every morning for your first 3 days after admission. Then you can go back to sleep. Breakfast is at 8am. Then free time until group at 9:30. Snack is at 10am. Another group at 11am. Lunch at 12pm. Group at 1pm. Snack at 2pm. Then free time until 4pm. Another group and then dinner at 5pm. Then basically free time until snack at 8pm. Phone time is from 8:15-9pm. Then hygiene (showers) and bedtime
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What were meals like? Three meals, three snacks. 8am, 10am, noon, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm. Meals were actually pretty good. They have a wide variety to choose from. Snacks are plentiful too. Lots of options. Staff was very laid back at meals- more so than other treatments centers I’ve been to. We watched a lot of TV.
What sorts of food were available or served? The meals came from the hospital cafeteria. Snacks were all stored in the dayroom.
For breakfast, you could get things like greek or regular yogurt, granola, English muffins, bagels, croissants, cereal, scrambled eggs, HB eggs, bacon, peanut butter, all types of fruit, pancakes/French toast, muffins, all types of milk, coffee (once you finish 75% of your meal)
For lunch/dinner, they would have two entree options that changed daily. Things like eggplant parm, salads, pasta, bbq chicken, fish, etc. The grill items were always available, such as grilled chicken sandwich, burgers, grilled cheese, chicken tenders, pizza. Sides were pretty typical… steamed veggies, fries, sweet potato wedges, rolls, side salad, raw veggies. Desserts were puddings, cake, cookies. The cookies are actually really good. Highly recommend the sugar cookies.
Snacks were things like yogurt, pudding, fresh fruit, cottage cheese, string cheese, rice krispies, Lorna Doones, Oreos, trail mix, granola bars, cheese its, Chex Mix, pb, cereal.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? Ensure Plus (a full cup for 50% or less of a meal or ½ cup for more than 50%)
What is the policy of not complying with meals? They say the expectation is to finish 100% of meals/snacks, but I barely saw anyone completing. A lot of people were on tubes. It doesn’t take long before they recommend that, but I don’t know specifics as I wasn’t on one. As long as you’re trying and completing over 50%, you should be fine.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes
What privileges are allowed? None really. It’s a tiny unit so there’s no where to go but your bedroom and dayroom. They don’t allow much at all and everyone is treated the same unless you’re on 1:1
Does it work on a level system? No
What sort of groups do they have? Nutrition, skills, nursing, process, expressive therapy
What did you like the most? I liked the doctors, BHAs, and nurses. They know what they’re doing and were willing to accommodate and help. I also like how relaxed meal times are.
What did you like the least? A LOT. Scroll down to read more
Would you recommend this program? No.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? None. The unit is tiny and you barely move from the dayroom
What did people do on weekends? There were still groups but they were really laid back and short. So a lot of down time. We watched TV/movies and played games
Do you get to know your weight? No
How fast is the weight gain process? I have no idea. It varies for everyone
What was the average length of stay? It’s a short term program. I saw anywhere from 1 week to 2 months but typically on the shorter side
What was the average age range? Probably 15-40
How do visits/phone calls work? Phone time was every night from 8:15-9pm. You have to use the unit phones though. Visiting was twice a week and depended on your room number. It was 45 minutes and you can only have 1 visitor at a time and max of 2 total.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No electronics
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes? No
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? The case managers help with this. They are very good. They will help you with whatever type of aftercare you want. Although they must follow the doctor’s recommendation. Alexian has a PHP program that many step down to. If you aren’t from the area, they can help you find another program or coordinate care with your outpatient team. They also will schedule a family session before d/c and discuss your aftercare plan.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? Yes. Before discharge, they can provide an Uber to get me to the airport if needed. They can also help you book a flight.
If you are considering Alexian bros, I highly suggest you read this before admitting.
all bathroom breaks are monitored and flush checks are required for everyone, regardless of whether you have a history of purgingThey do body checks upon admission and sporadically throughout your stay. They can be invasive and very uncomfortable Bathrooms are locked at all times, even during the nightStaff do “rounds” every 10 minutes 24-7. They come in your room constantly throughout the night with a flashlightIf you struggle primarily with ED symptoms, this is not the place for you. Their main concern is self harm prevention and you will be treated as so even if you don’t struggle with this. Even though this is a voluntary hospital, once you admit, you are under the care of your physician, meaning you cannot check yourself out. You can request to leave, but the doctor can hold you for up to five business days (it doesn’t include weekends). The doctor can then court order you to stay if they feel you are unsafe to leave. This is something that is not explained up front and everyone should know and understand before going in. Communication between your treatment team members is not great and can cause a delay in your discharge. Just be aware that nothing happens quickly The unit is tiny. They lock your bedroom right before breakfast and don’t unlock it until free time from 2:30-4pm and then at night at 9pm. The only place to go is the dayroom. You do groups and eat in there. It can feel very claustrophobic It is very much a psych ward. It is not nurturing or comforting at all and can feel like jailThey are big on medication and will basically push it on you until you accept. Most of the medications they prescribe cause intense drowsiness so patients end up sleeping throughout much of the dayThey give you a bunch of vitamins every morning and do not discuss it with you beforehand. You are required to wear a bluetooth trackerYou can only bring 3 shirts and 3 pairs of pants and staff won’t give it to you at once. If you are on 1:1, you most likely will have to wear a hospital gown all dayThey do restraints… physical, medication, isolation.The EMTs and security are often called upon.You cannot use any of your own hygiene products. They give you toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.Socks only, no shoesThey confiscate the majority of personal items until discharge. You cannot have anything in your room other than clothes and the notebook they provide. You can’t journal in your bedroom b/c you can only use a pen in the dayroom You sleep in hospital beds Because the unit is so tiny, you hear and see everything that happens and it can be traumatic at timesSessions are in your bedroom or in the hallway. There is very little privacy
I have been on this unit a few times in the past and also to their PHP program. but never when the bluetooth tracker policy was in place, what is the purpose of it??
When were you there? August 2022 to December 2022
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Inpatient
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
How many patients are there on average? 12-15 patients at a time. The unit has 12 beds, but there is a general adolescent unit and an overflow unit that they would sometimes board patients on depending on the situation.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined?
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? Both male and female. Males typically board/sleep on the overflow unit next door.
They do support transgender and nonbinary people.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? Medical doctor: at least once a week or more depending on what is going on; Psychiatrist: Every day except Saturday; Therapist: at least two to three times per week
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? Three nurses, one counselor, and sometimes a PCT (patient care tech). Around 4 staff to 12 patients during a shift.
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)? They use ATF (AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Treatment Framework), which is an adaptation of David Barlow’s Unified Protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders.
ATF includes anchoring in the present (grounding), monitoring your emotions and physical sensations, non-judgmental awareness, understanding emotion-driven behaviors, the ARC of emotions (Antecedents, Responses, and Short and Long Term Consequences to particular emotions), Goals and Decisional Balance, Emotional Exposure, Identifying Thinking Traps and Automatic Negative Thoughts, Cognitive Flexibility, Ideitfying Safety Signals and Avoidance, Emotional Awareness, Alternative Action (Opposite Action), Medication Management, Relapse Prevention, and Family Involvement.
They also use an eating disorder-specialized exposure and response therapy (ERP).
Describe the average day:
What were meals like? You have three meals and three snacks per day, which are eaten in the day room. Normally patients will play games or watch movies/tv during meals.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Did they supplement? How did that system work? Ensure Plus (a full cup for 50% or less of a meal or ½ cup for more than 50%)
What is the policy of not complying with meals? If non-compliance continues for a while, you might get an NG tube. Depending on the situation and medical stability, you might get an IV for keeping your blood glucose up or providing hydration.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes
What privileges are allowed? Not very many, but if you are completing meals, medically stable, and meeting other expectations you are allowed to go outside or the gym to get off the unit
Does it work on a level system? No
How do you earn privileges? By being compliant with meals, groups, and supplements
What sort of groups do they have? Expressive therapy (art, music, drama); spirituality; pet therapy; nutrition; process.
What was your favorite group? I really enjoyed spirituality and expressive therapy. You don’t have to be religious for the spirituality group, it is about connecting with yourself and finding who you are and the things you enjoy.
What did you like the most? I really enjoyed all of the staff, they were very kind and helpful throughout my stay.
What did you like the least? Groups got repetitive after being there a while as they were on a three-week rotation.
Would you recommend this program? Yes
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Not much, if you were allowed to go to the gym you could do a little walking or playing catch. Depending on the day we did stretching and light yoga.
What did people do on weekends? Watched a lot of movies, played games, and journaled.
Do you get to know your weight? No
How fast is the weight gain process? It is hard to say because you don’t know your weight and it varies from person to person.
What was the average length of stay? Two weeks was the average that I saw while I was there.
What was the average age range? 11 to 70 (at one point there was an 11-year-old and at another time there was a 70-year-old)
How do visits/phone calls work? Phone time was every night from 8:15 pm to 9:00 pm. Visiting was Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Visiting days depended on your room number. Tuesdays and Saturdays are even rooms and Thursdays and Sundays are odd rooms. You could also set up Zoom calls throughout the week/weekend to talk with family, especially if you were from out of town. Only one visitor at a time, but you can have a total of two, it just has to be split up between the hour. Visiting is 45 minutes or an hour depending on the day.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No electronics
For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go out on passes? No
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? They are very thorough about setting up aftercare. Normally people step down to their PHP program as most people there are from in-state or go to residential. If you are from out of state and are stepping down to outpatient or PHP somewhere else, they are really good about making sure everything is in the palace before they discharge you.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? They are good about connecting you with outside resources and contacting team members from out of state. Also, there was someone from out of the country and they were able to get an interpreter.
If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc) You do have to wear masks, except during meals or in your rooms. Patient numbers are starting to go back to normal. Visiting is only one person per patient at a time (only two visitors per day).
Can anyone answer the following:
-are phone times still 1 hour at night?
-what are room/bathrooms like?
-what criteria do they base discharge on?
-are visiting hours still 45 min?
-are the food options okay?
-were the docs and team helpful?
-overall, is it a good place?
Has anyone been recently who can expand on this?
Can someone please post an updated review? I might need to go inpatient as an adolescent due to low hr.
What is a typical day like? Meals? Are the meal plans huge? Are there groups? Level of activity allowed? Avg length of stay? Rate of gain per week? How do they monitor refeeding syndrome, etc? Are most of the patients severely underweight (I am barely underweight and I don’t want to feel alone). What privileges are allowed? Would you recommend this program?
How long are the waiting lists typically, or is there a waiting list?
Discharge criteria for hospitalization/stabilization?
Last but not least… Linden Oaks or Alexian?
Thank you!!!
I haven’t been to Alexian since 2020, but even then it seemed to be pretty similar to what it was like in 2015 when I was there, so I think most of the stuff is probably the same.
I definitely think that Alexian is a better option than Linden. My experiences at linden oaks haven’t been terrible or anything but they do seem to be a lot more weight based and not really caring as much about the mental aspect. They also seem to look for perfection. I was kicked out of their PHP in 2021 because ‘I wasn’t making enough progress”. Realistically, I was making progress, but they only focused on what I had not been able to do yet. Finally, Alexian is more equipped for medical. They do tubes and IV’s (only if needed obviously), and there is a better overall understanding of the physical health aspects of ed. Plus, they are right next to their medical center.
I am going to answer the rest of the questions specifically about Alexian
In regards to waiting lists, it really depends. I think people usually get in within a few days, no longer than a few weeks. I don’t think it is too insane.
No, most of the patients are not underweight. Obviously it depends on who the patients are while you are there, but in my experience there are patients at every size. Furthermore, both patients and staff tend to not even pay attention to that. Like, it’s understood that an ed is a mind disorder, not a weight disorder, and most of the patients get that as well, so nobody really brings up someone else’s weight or makes fun of anyone or anything.
Alexian’s ED unit is a mixed and specialized unit. It is technically both for self harm, and eating disorders, however majority of the people there tend to be there for an ed. It is also co-ed, again though, in my times there, there has only been a male maybe 2 or 3 times – it tends to be primarily females. Finally, it is both adults and adolescents. Adults and adolescents are separated at meals and just with their dayroom seats in general (like, they are all in the same room, they just are seated at separate tables). Most groups are done with both adults and adolescents, however adolescents also get a school hour. Technically, adults and adolescents are not supposed to hang out with/talk to each other except during groups/treatment based things, but when I was there we all became pretty close and did hang out with each other anyway. That really just depends on how strict the staff are at enforcing it, and if the group of people that is there at the time wants to mingle with each other.
During meals, you are not allowed to read or really do anything that might be a “distraction” like that but they almost always put on the tv for a show or a movie so that we can watch something while we eat. If people wanted/requested sometimes they will play music instead or do table games/talk with each other, but majority of the time while I was there we always had on the TV, which personally I found really helpful. You also have to “sit with it” for your meals/snacks. Like if I couldn’t eat or couldn’t finish my tray, that’s fine, (I mean it’s not really fine, but they are not going to get pissed at you or anything), but you still have to sit with it in front of you. You can’t just like walk out of the dayroom and ignore your food. Again, it depends on who is there while you are but in my experience both the staff and the patients are very supportive.
I do not know what their rate of gain each week is, but I am pretty sure if you are there to weight restore they will not tell you how much you are gaining/if you are gaining. They do not tell you your weight at all, regardless.
Being that they are pretty equipped medically, they can keep an eye on refeeding pretty well. Everyone gets vitals every day, and they do labs (which they will likely do more than once if they are watching for refeeding) and some people are put on blood sugar checks. So they do have things that they do to make sure you are safe.
I would recommend this program. You are allowed to bring your own hygiene products (i do believe that they have to be alcohol-free), you can bring your own clothes (no strings, and no leggings. hoods are allowed though). You can bring things like books, coloring books, puzzle books, etc. (which I highly recommend)
I am going to try and run through the general structure of the program now.
When you are admitted you are assigned a psychiatrist, a therapist, a dietician, and a case manager. You will also see a medical doctor. You usually see your psychiatrist every day (aside from weekends, but they usually have someone step in to still check in on you). You see you therapist I believe 2-3x a week. You see your dietician 1-2x a week, or as needed if your meal plan is continually being changed. I think you see your case manager 1 time a week?
The days are kind of perfect in my opinion with how busy they are. They keep us busy with groups and stuff and there is still leisure time, but its not to the point where it’s boring. Except weekends, where there is more free time, and why I recommend bringing books and stuff to do (no spirals in notebooks).
You wake up at 6 if I remember correctly every morning for blind weights. Then you can go back to sleep for a bit, or do hygiene or whatever. Breakfast is at 7:30 I believe, and then rooms are locked. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all 45 minutes, and snacks are either 15 or 30 (15 I think). If you don’t finish a meal or snack, you receive an ensure supplement which you have 15 minutes to drink. Again, there are potential consequences of not eating in regards to what your treatment team wants to do, but you do not like get in trouble or yelled at or shamed if you are unable to complete. There are 3 meals, and 3 snacks a day. Different groups that are held throughout the day are check-ins, process groups, art therapy, music therapy, movement therapy, meal planning, body image, and more. You are not allowed to exercise or move too much, but we do have movement therapy, which can be things like yoga or stretching and stuff, so that is definitely nice. One of the process groups each day is held by one of the therapists, and it is just a general process group. I believe there is a check-in after each meal which is where you check in with how you are feeling both physically and emotionally after eating. Around 3 or 3:30 is school time for adolescents, and while adolescents go do school, adults get free time where they can either chill in the day room or our rooms are opened for 30 minutes and you can hang out in there, take a nap, etc. There is also a spirituality group which is nice because it is not religious, it is really just spiritual and tends to be really calming. If you do have religious needs though you are able to request to talk to the chaplain one on one.
You have a roommate, but that’s not usually a big deal.
While I was there, it was in the middle of covid and quarantine, so there was no visiting, we got extra phone time instead. I am not sure if that has changed since.
As an adolescent for phone time, the staff will dial out for you and if someone calls for you there is a code they have to know (which will be given to your guardian and they can give it to whomever). Your guardian will also have to put on the list who you are allowed to talk to. Like if your grandma calls and she knows the code, but she wasn’t added to your list, she still won’t be able to talk to you if that makes sense.
Bedtime is like 9 or 9:30, and you don’t have to actually be asleep at that time or anything just in your room (once you are finished with hygiene).
Overall, I definitely think it is a good unit, and I would recommend it. I think I answered all your questions, but if I didn’t or if you have any more, feel free to ask them!
P.S – just so you aren’t too surprised – you can shower unattended for the most part (unless you are a safety risk or something), but bathroom usage is monitored. You can go when you wake up or right before bed/during the night without being monitored, but throughout the day you are. There are also designated times to use the bathroom, but if it’s an emergency or something it’s usually not a problem for them to let you go then.
admin note: cross-posted from Linden Oaks page
It’s not absolutely awful honestly. I personally didn’t mind my stay here, a lot of the staff is pretty amazing honestly, meals are not bad at all, you get to choose all your meals from the menus they provide and your dietician will give you your meal plan. You menu plan every like Tuesday I believe. As for the specifics I’d definitely talk about if you wanna add my snap avery_112319 I was just at alexian in April!
wh type of meals. Are they ok. Do they have residential is weig gain fast, slow, appropriate
Would you be willing to share more about your experience at Alexian either on here or via email?
Describe the average day: You’ll be woken up around 6:45 ish for weights and vitals, hygiene time runs until 8am when breakfast starts. There are 3-4 groups a day for 45 minutes each, including expressive therapy (music, art, drama), spirituality, and skills groups. Meals and snacks took up most of the day (3 meals 3 snacks). If you’re a student you’ll get school hour in the afternoon M-F, but if not the day room was usually open or you could go to your room to sleep. There was a lot of free time throughout the day and overall pretty boring. We got an hour of call time at night (8pm) and visiting was twice a week for 45 minutes to an hour.
*TW: involuntary treatment*
Do they force Ng tubes or hold people if they can’t be 100%
I’m not exactly sure, I know that if they’re planning on placing a tube you can legally refuse (if you’re an adult) but they’ll likely send you to medical which is part of the main hospital and in medical they can hold you if you’re deemed at risk and not complying with treatment
I’m not 100% certain either. When I was there they did *TW Restrain me for SH and if I tried to pull out my NG tube, and other ED behaviors, and they did tell me that if I continued to not comply they could send me to medical where they would force me End TW* but that was 2 years ago and I’m also not sure if they were saying that to scare me or if they would actually do that… It probably also depends on the circumstances. They definitely did their best to work with me though and it was actually one of the better places I’ve been.
However, I’ve been to many treatment centers in different states and in Illinois, at least with psych/SH things, they seemed to be pretty quick to say that I was incompetent to make decisions and put me on an involuntary hold in a psych ward multiple times, so I’d guess with ED treatment it might be similar.
I am middle-aged and use an old Kindle to read because I have presbyopia. My close vision is too poor to read the text in most paper books, or do pretty much anything that requires working with small items with your hands. Would they refuse to let me keep my kindle? I’m only looking for short-term stabilization and symptom interruption.
When were you there?
June 2024
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
Inpatient – 2E
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible?
Yes. You will also often see patients in wheelchairs if they are a fall risk.
How many patients are there on average?
There are 12 beds, so the max is 12, but there were only 7 patients, including me, while I was there.
What genders does it treat?
The unit accepts anyone of any gender identity but if you are a cisgender adult male you have to board on the unit next door.
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?
Yes. One patient was non-binary while I was there, but some staff members were better than others at using the correct name/pronouns.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc?
Psychiatrist – 5x/week, therapist 2-3x/week, and dietitian 2x/week.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
There are supposed to be two nurses and two behavioral health technicians/counselors. However, there were days when they were obviously understaffed, which definitely impacted the unit and my treatment experience. I will go more into this later.
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)?
Ascension does not advertise that they use a specific framework but I found that a lot of the groups had CBT, DBT, and exposure therapy components.
Describe the average day:
You get woken up around 5:30-6 am for vitals and weights and then you can either go back to sleep or do hygiene time which lasts until 8. Breakfast is from 8-9am and you will eat in the day room at the same tables as other patients. After breakfast the nurses will come grab you for med pass and if they need to take care of any tubes/IVs. Group is from 9:30-10:15 and then you have a bathroom break and then have snack from 10:20-11. There is another group from 11-11:45 and then there is another bathroom break before lunch. Lunch is from 12-1 and then it is process group that is usually led by the therapist from 1-2. 2-2:30 is afternoon snack and then there is freetime to go into your room (if you’re allowed) or do whatever on the unit. There is another group from 4-5 and then you have dinner from 5-6. Then pretty much you have free time until 8pm which is snack time. Phone time is only limited to 8:15-9pm so once you are done with snack you are allowed to use the cordless phones to talk to loved ones.
What were meals like
Three meals, three snacks. 8am, 10am, noon, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm. Meals were actually pretty good. They have a wide variety to choose from. They used to have more variety of snacks a couple years back but now they only give you 2-3 choices which sucks. As for meal monitoring, staff is very laid back and no one will come around and try to talk to you if you are struggling with meals. For this reason, I also noticed a lot of patients being able to get away with behaviors because one staff member cannot see everything that is happening.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
Yes they supplement with Ensure Plus, Ensure Clear, Ensure plant based, or a Magic Cup. If you complete 50% or less you get a full cup and if you complete 50% or more you get ½ cup.
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
You will automatically get a supplement but if this becomes a pattern your treatment team will discuss getting an NG tube inserted.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan?
You are able to eat vegetarian but not vegan.
What sort of groups do they have?
Spirituality (since it’s a Catholic organization), nutrition, expressive therapy, process group, and nursing education group.
What was your favorite group?
Probably process group because that is where we actually got to discuss how we are feeling compared to other groups.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
None. If you were following “unit rules” such as completing 75-100%, no safety concerns, no wheelchair/tube/IV/1:1, you could go out to the healing garden. However, they would usually be understaffed so we never had the chance to go outside even if we did meet criteria.
What did people do on weekends?
It was honestly very boring. Most of your treatment team is not there but there is a nurse practitioner that will see you on the weekend since most of the psychiatrist are off unless they are on call.
Do you get to know your weight?
Nope.
What was the average length of stay?
I feel like it has changed compared to my last admission. It used to be 5-7 days depending on your case but now most patients stay at least 1 week. The longest I have seen is 3 months and before I left some people were reaching 1 month.
What was the average age range?
It fluctuates. This unit has both adolescents/adults so sometimes it would be mainly adolescents but other times it would be adults ranging from 18-40 years old. The youngest they will take is 12.
How do visits/phone calls work?
Phone time was every night from 8:15-9pm. You have to use the unit phones though. Visiting was twice a week and depended on your room number. It was 45 minutes and you can only have 1 visitor at a time and max of 2 total.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?
You are not allowed to have anything. They do make exceptions if you are an adult and have to pay bills or do FMLA stuff but other than that you are only allowed to use the cordless phones at the designated times.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
Most people stepdown to their ED PHP program since its internal and an easy process if you live close to the hospital. The ED PHP also accepts both adolescents/adults and you get to keep the same psychiatrist. If you plan on going to residential, they help you throughout that admission process if it is your first time there. It was rare to see someone discharged and stepping down to outpatient due to wanting to keep people at a higher level of care.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
I believe so. There was someone from Indiana but it’s rare to see someone from outside the Midwest.
Other?
If you asked me a couple of years ago, I would have definitely recommended this program for stabilization if you need an inpatient level of care. However, this place has gone downhill, and it truly saddens me to say that going here worsened my mental health because of being mistreated by staff. As I said above, the unit is constantly understaffed, and I am not sure if it’s because it’s a smaller unit compared to other units but it causes patients to not get their needs met. With that being said, the staff that were usually on the unit seemed burnout and as if they were projecting their own frustrations onto patients. Some of the nurses said they have been working there for more than 5+ years but through interactions with patients seem to lack basic empathy that you would assume a psych nurse to have. There is one nurse who is always on the unit who is very rude and disrespectful to patients and will complain and say mean things about you when you are standing right there. There are two dieticians who tag team the unit and they will also engage with this one nurse and say mean things and then get upset with you if you confront them about it. I have seen patients cry and have panic attacks due to getting verbally abused by nurses and would end up signing a request for release because they would rather sign themselves out than deal with harmful staff. One staff member told us that Ascension is opening up a second ED unit in Chicago in the Lakeview neighborhood that will only accept adults and will also be a 12-bed unit. However, this unit will have 12 rooms, meaning they are private rooms rather than having a roommate, and they will also have the ability for patients to wear heart monitors if needed. Since this unit is also going to be part of Ascension it will also accept Medicaid/Medicare. I double checked and it is opening up September 3rd, 2024. It sucks to say but maybe since a new inpatient unit is opening up staff would be more mindful of having basic empathy and interactions with patients. If you have private insurance, I would caution you to consider Linden Oaks instead because of the toxicity here.
Thank you so much for the heads up about the new unit! I’m so stoked to hear about it. I just created a new page for the second unit:
https://edtreatmentreview.com/ascension-st-joseph-eating-disorder-unit-chicago-il
I’ve actually been to the psych unit and the ER a few times at St. Joseph’s, which is the hospital in NW Chicago that will have the new ED unit. Both with Medicaid and with Medicare. I was in recovery by then so it was for non-ED reasons, but they were very supportive of my self-advocacy for support/protocol and how assertive I was about what I needed in place to make sure I had everything I needed to remain in ED recovery. They were able to give me almost everything I requested, and it made all the difference for me. And their ER was the first place to take my heart issues seriously, and are a big reason I finally got my POTS diagnosis and now have that much more stabilized too. My primary care doctor was there as well! He was one of the best PCPs I’ve had. I’ve always thought they would be a great place and setup for an ED unit. I hope it proves to be.
?Review of Medical Stabilization at St. Alexius Medical Center – April 2022?
I was admitted to St. Alexius for medical stabilization for 2 weeks in April 2022 and have been meaning to write a full review for that, just need to find that journal entry and some time. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer questions.
Typically before admitted to the ED unit, 2E, they have you get checked out at the medical hospital- St. Alexius. If you are determined to be medically unstable, you will be admitted to St. Alexius and they will work on transfer to Alexian once you are stable and beds are available. The teams are entirely different at each facility.
Out-of-state patients have to walk-in for assessments, but they require medical clearance at St. Alexius before admission, so it might be easier just to go to their ER and have a social worker complete an assessment for Alexian Brothers while you’re there.
I definitely recommend arriving earlier in the week so that all the staff will be there. On weekends, many of your team will be off and on-call physicians prioritize based on acuity (and a lot of times, eating disorders are considered a lower priority, even when medical instability is present). Plus, the weekend dietician tends to put in a diet order without meeting you.
Alexian Brothers EDU is equipped to do catheters, bladder ultrasounds, EKGs, IVs for fluids and 5% dextrose infusions, glucose checks 6x/day, tube feedings and removal (not placement), and daily lab work.
Continued cardiac monitoring is handled at St. Alexius, as is more intensive monitoring and IV electrolyte correction.
Some refeeding is done at Alexian Brothers (behavioral inpatient) and some is done at St. Alexius (the medical hospital) if you are admitted for medical stabilization. Essentially, they need to get your caloric intake up to a certain level and make sure your blood work is stable for 2-3 days.
They take blood every other day for full labwork, but may do specific labs more regularly.
I did not have a sitter in the room or anyone to monitor meals, but I’ve heard that varies depending on your behaviors and history. Nurses or techs will check the tray to get percentages, but a lot of it is up to you, and sometimes they’ll collect the tray prior to obtaining percentages, so you’ll self-report completion.
My bathroom was not locked, but behaviorally, I didn’t need for it to be. Additionally, my bed alarm was on, I was plugged into the wall, on mobility aid protocols, and my heart monitor picked up on any movement, so appropriate measures were taken in my case. I’m sure they consider history, but as an adult, you might have to advocate for extra supportive protocols.
Outputs were monitored the whole time in St. Alexius and for the first three days at Alexian Brothers.
Since the medical hospital is just for stabilization and they like to transfer you to Alexian Brothers (ABBHH) to finish the refeeding process, I just had 3 meals a day, no snacks.
They told me that peds patients are tubed on first meal refusal/incomplete meal, but that it varies for adults. My team was willing to let me try to do meals with anxiety meds first, but as soon as my labs showed signs of refeeding syndrome, I was tubed.
The floor I was on was very uneducated about the tubing process and it turned into a huge opportunity for staff observation/nightmare for me, but I think that depends on what floor you’re on.
If Alexian Brothers sends you to the medical hospital to get tubed, the clinic specializes in tubes and it goes much smoother.
Weights are supposed to be done daily, but in my experience, they were not done super frequently, and sometimes they use the bed scale without letting you know.
Another strange thing about the medical stabilization stay at St. Alexius (SAMC), is that you have to call to order meals- it’s not like filling out menus and cannot be done ahead of time.
The dietician might be able to help you get around this (and/or your nurse/tech might be willing to order for you if you ask), but it is something to make note of- especially if the dietician can’t see you right away.
They also supplement with TwoCal, instead of Boost or Ensure.
At Alexian Brothers, they supplement with Ensure Plus, Clear, or Plant Based- though I heard the plant based ensure was discontinued, so they might have found a new alternative for that.
Rachel, I’ve done my best to make this as informative and trigger-free as possible, but please feel free to modify whatever is necessary!
I’m totally open to answering any additional questions- my memory of that time is a little fuzzy, but I’ll try my best!
I also did not come from out-of-state, so my knowledge there might be limited.
(Link to original post: https://edtreatmentreview.com/amita-alexian-brothers/#comment-25077
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this!
Also is the ED unit in the general psychiatric unit?
The ED unit isn’t in the general psychiatric unit, but it is on a specialized unit that treats both SI and ED, not solely EDs.
Hi! I am SO confused by this websites ED treatment. It looks like they don’t even offer inpatient just PHP or connection with outpatient doctors. Is this accurate? Is there a different website that provides more information?
You and me both! Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital (which is where the ED unit is) has gone back and forth between being part of a variety of Catholic medical systems in IL over the past few years – usually between AMITA and Ascension. Recently AMITA gave some of their hospitals to Ascension, including Alexian Brothers. For some reason, Ascension’s website is just terribly designed, it’s impossible to find information on any of their specialties or locations across the board, but especially for every program at Alexian Brothers. Their site drives me crazy! Haha. It was even worse a couple months ago, when their Alexian Brothers page didn’t even mention they had anything for ED treatment but outpatient therapy – and I know for sure the ED unit still existed then because we have a community member who was there! As far as I know nothing has changed with the program, so currently all of the info we have on here at EDTR is based on a combination of the old AMITA page and EDTR community feedback. Hopefully someone here can give an update.
Alexian’s website is very confusing, but they DO offer inpatient for EDs. I just left. The unit is for EDs and SH. Some people have both going on and some just ED. Their PHP and outpatient programs are completely separate. I discharged back home and know nothing about those programs, nor did I ever see them. The inpatient unit is a locked psych unit on a different floor.
If you live in the area, you can walk in an do and assessment on the spot, and they may admit you right then. I came from another state and my doctor sent a referral. Everything will go through your OP treatment team until you are admitted. They won’t speak to you, the patient themself, before admission. I felt very in the dark, and their website provided little to no help. Let me know if you have specific questions
Any recent reviews of IP?
If you scroll down there is a very thorough, full review from Kayla that was posted one month ago.
I called and spoke to admissions today. According to their website, AMITA is now under Ascension Illinois Behavioral Medicine. If you click the Amita link above it will direct you to Ascension (Just an FYI for you Rachel!) She told me they no longer offer medical stabilization but they do have an eating disorder unit for patients that are stable.
Thank you Sunshiney!!! You rock. Ever since the change showed up in trade papers, I’ve been checking their websites every month or two waiting for this update to be reflected, and every month they were just even more confusing haha. And this is coming from someone with a lot of experience with AMITA and Ascension’s psychiatric and primary care system! For example, for awhile all of the info on ED treatment remained on the AMITA website with the exception of actual location info, which only could be found on Ascension’s site lol. At least the hospital that the ED Unit is at hasn’t changed names, Alexian Brothers.
I’m curious… For a long time if someone showed up to their ED assessment and were medically unstable, the assessment team at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital would transport the person to the Alexian Brothers Medical Center down the street for stabilization, and then once stabilized they could admit to the ED Unit. (With the chance that, if there was a wait, you might go to Linden Oaks instead, which is a different system and on the other side of Chicago – but still an ED Unit.) I assume this had partly to do with the fact that they did walk-in assessments at the Behavioral Health Hospital, so if someone needed immediate medical attention they wouldn’t let them go home. Did the admissions person give any indication as to what happens if a person comes in for an assessment and they aren’t stable enough for the ED Unit yet? Sunshiney you’re really good at calling around and getting info on programs around the country, so if you are up for it, I’d love to find out.
Hi Rachel! Typically before admitted to the ED unit, 2E, they have you get checked out at the medical hospital- St. Alexius. If you are determined to be medically unstable, you will be admitted to St. Alexius and they will work on transfer to Alexian once you are stable and beds are available. The teams are entirely different at each facility.
I was admitted to St. Alexius for medical stabilization for 2 weeks in April 2022 and have been meaning to write a full review for that, just need to find that journal entry and some time. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer questions
Thank you for this Sarah!
I’m curious how they handle out of state patients. I just called them and they said they do walk-in assessments typically but for out of state they have your doctor call in a referral. I believe I would need the medical stabilization piece before admitting to the unit so I’m wondering how then that can be handled
Also, yes please give us a review when you’re able to!
Out-of-state patients have to walk-in for assessments, but they require medical clearance at St. Alexius before admission, so it might be easier just to go to their ER and have a social worker complete an assessment for Alexian Brothers while you’re there.
I definitely recommend arriving earlier in the week so that all the staff will be there. On weekends, many of your team will be off and on-call physicians prioritize based on acuity (and a lot of times, eating disorders are considered a lower priority, even when medical instability is present). Plus, the weekend dietician tends to put in a diet order without meeting you.
Alexian Brothers EDU is equipped to do catheters, bladder ultrasounds, EKGs, IVs for fluids and 5% dextrose infusions, glucose checks 6x/day, tube feedings and removal (not placement), and daily lab work.
Continued cardiac monitoring is handled at St. Alexius, as is more intensive monitoring and IV electrolyte correction
.
Some refeeding is done at Alexian Brothers (behavioral inpatient) and some is done at St. Alexius (the medical hospital) if you are admitted for medical stabilization. Essentially, they need to get your caloric intake up to a certain level and make sure your blood work is stable for 2-3 days.
They take blood every other day for full labwork, but may do specific labs more regularly.
I did not have a sitter in the room or anyone to monitor meals, but I’ve heard that varies depending on your behaviors and history. Nurses or techs will check the tray to get percentages, but a lot of it is up to you, and sometimes they’ll collect the tray prior to obtaining percentages, so you’ll self-report completion.
My bathroom was not locked, but behaviorally, I didn’t need for it to be. Additionally, my bed alarm was on, I was plugged into the wall, on mobility aid protocols, and my heart monitor picked up on any movement, so appropriate measures were taken in my case. I’m sure they consider history, but as an adult, you might have to advocate for extra supportive protocols.
Outputs were monitored the whole time in St. Alexius and for the first three days at Alexian Brothers.
Since the medical hospital is just for stabilization and they like to transfer you to Alexian Brothers (ABBHH) to finish the refeeding process, I just had 3 meals a day, no snacks.
They told me that peds patients are tubed on first meal refusal/incomplete meal, but that it varies for adults. My team was willing to let me try to do meals with anxiety meds first, but as soon as my labs showed signs of refeeding syndrome, I was tubed.
The floor I was on was very uneducated about the tubing process and it turned into a huge opportunity for staff observation/nightmare for me, but I think that depends on what floor you’re on.
If Alexian Brothers sends you to the medical hospital to get tubed, the clinic specializes in tubes and it goes much smoother.
Weights are supposed to be done daily, but in my experience, they were not done super frequently, and sometimes they use the bed scale without letting you know.
Another strange thing about the medical stabilization stay at St. Alexius (SAMC), is that you have to call to order meals- it’s not like filling out menus and cannot be done ahead of time.
The dietician might be able to help you get around this (and/or your nurse/tech might be willing to order for you if you ask), but it is something to make note of- especially if the dietician can’t see you right away.
They also supplement with TwoCal, instead of Boost or Ensure.
At Alexian Brothers, they supplement with Ensure Plus, Clear, or Plant Based- though I heard the plant based ensure was discontinued, so they might have found a new alternative for that.
Rachel, I’ve done my best to make this as informative and trigger-free as possible, but please feel free to modify whatever is necessary!
I’m totally open to answering any additional questions- my memory of that time is a little fuzzy, but I’ll try my best!
I also did not come from out-of-state, so my knowledge there might be limited.
Wanted to check and see if anyone has a more recent update/review of Alexian for IP? I’m local and in the past have heard horrible things but for short-term am wondering if its still as horrific as it was?
Do you select meals and how is food
Alexian Brothers is no longer under AMITA Health- they’re joining with Ascension instead. Here is a news article on the acquisition:
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/ascension-illinois-adventhealth-start-rebranding-after-amita-health-split
Did this happen yet? The article is paywalled and I can’t see the date.
On Behalf of Anonymous:
Does anyone know how long the waiting list for adolescent eating disorders PHP is at Alexian Brothers in Hoffman Estates, Illinois?
Hi,
A few questions:
1.) Are cellphones and laptops allowed?
2.) Do they do heart monitoring at night and NG tubes?
3.) Is it a medical hospital bed for medical stabilization or a psych ward bed where you have to go to groups all day?
4.) Can they do IV’s for hydration if you’re there for medical stabilization?
I don’t know the answers to all of these, but these are the parts I know:
1) I don’t think they were allowed pre-COVID, but maybe they are now? I can’t remember when I last asked them.
2) Yes to NG tubes if needed. Not sure about heart monitoring at night.
3) Alexian Brothers’ EDU is a psych ward where you go to groups all day while stabilizing medically. However it is connected to a regular hospital, and people who are too medically unstable for unit treatment go there to the medical hospital building to stabilize first, I’m assuming to a Med/Surg floor or a Cardiac floor.
4) Yep they can.
Referral/Admission Info for AMITA Health/Alexian Brothers (cross-posted from a comment I just made on the Bronson page):
The criteria/medical cutoffs for the difference between medical admission and unit admission is also here, along with the number for your doctor to call:
https://www.amitahealth.org/find-a-service/behavioral-medicine/programs/refer-a-patient/inpatient-behavioral-health-referrals/eating-disorders-inpatient-referrals
I just called the number at that link I pasted below and the woman said their department only does referrals from doctors or facilities, not from patients directly, but they do both ED unit and medical admissions. She said patients themselves should call the number at this next link below.
Prospective patients can call the number here for admission info/assessment info:
https://www.amitahealth.org/find-a-service/behavioral-medicine/programs/conditions-and-treatments/eating-disorders-treatment
Inpatient treats both eating disorders and self injury on the same unit. The eating disorder program is a short term for people who can’t stabilize their behaviors without 24/7 monitoring/support, who need to be medically monitored, who need symptom interruption, who need to gain weight, or who are at risk of harming themselves. Alexian Brothers is a psychiatric hospital, so you can’t have anything with strings like shoe laces, clothes, etc. No cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc are allowed. The unit has a couple phones for patients to use.
COVID updates:
The inpatient unit is still accepting new admissions during COVID, but they have reduced the number of patients on the unit. PHP and IOP is entirely virtual. Usually intake assessments can’t be scheduled ahead of time — for all levels of care for some reason you can only be assessed by walking in to their 24/7 psych intake clinic at the hospital for all of their programs and waiting your turn. It is kind of like at an urgent care or ER. Which is SO annoying. But because of COVID, you now also have the option to do a virtual assessment, which is where someone meets with you over Zoom. Those are scheduled in advance. To do virtual assessment for ED, you need recent lab work. Then if you were referred to PHP/IOP, they would call back within 48 hours and set up start time.
Has anyone been here since AMITA Health took over? I’m confused about whether it’s just a name change, or if the program changed as well.
Program hasn’t changed since AMITA took over.
This eating disorder recovery center is terrible I stayed there for almost three months because no one there was helping me all they cared about was my WEIGHT THAT’S IT! I had the worst doctor ever doctor. [**TW**] I got a ng tube placement the second day I was there like WTF! I was on bed rest forever in till I completed [percentage redacted] of my meals and snacks. My meals where HUGE I mean HUGE my snacks where even like meals. *** The dietitians we terrible *** my doctor said I don’t need [Ensure with meals] and she still put it on my menu. They always gave you challenge foods and *** same with snack once in a while we would get a snack challenge or whatever and it sucked. What else that sucked is when they add things on your menu without you knowing . Some of the nurses are nice and some of them are rude one of the nursers talked rude to me she had gray long hair and she is usually there when its phone time and the there are two more nurses and they are TERRIBLE. The staff were okay but when it was meal time or snack time I don’t think they were giving me all the credit. Which made me upset. [**TW**] I got really upset because my doctor said if I complete [percentage redacted] of my meals her would remove my ng tube but guess what happened he lied to me and let it stay in for 2 more weeks. [**END TW**] On thing I did like there was expressive therapy My favorite people were the movement therapist and other therapist K. I just hate this place because it was not helping me to eat because all we did was sit in a chair and it was not showing me all of the activities I could do :(. I am still struggling right now and now I have to go to the stupid partial program. HELP ME!!
**Names have been deleted due to guidelines
***Numbers, triggering descriptions of food, and detailed descriptions of eating disorder behaviors have been redacted per site rules
When were you there:
November 13 – December 23, 2016
Describe the average day:
Overnight tech comes in to get you for weights and vitals between 5-7. Hygiene goes until 8, but they usually open the dayroom at around 7:30 for the early risers. Breakfast immediately at 8, first group was usually Skills at 9. You had snack at 10:30 and then Spirituality or Nutrition/Nursing Education or whatever. Lunch at 12, process group at 1, afternoon snack at 2:30, then free time for adults and school for adolescents. 3:30 was expressive therapy, then dinner at 5. You just hang out with everyone until wrap-up at 6:30, that can go on for as long as it takes but then you have a CBT group. Night snack at 8:15, relaxation at 8:45, and finally you get your room opened for bedtime at 9:15 and you can shower, talk to your roommate, etc. They aren’t strict about lights out.
What were meals like?
They tasted okay for hospital food, but there really wasn’t any variety. Every day you had the same choices of a sandwich, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, veggie burger, stuff like that. Your dietitian gives you a certain amount of exchanges but there’s no reference sheet so everyone on a meal plan just kind of knows them off the top of their head. Snacks are the same way, and once you fill out your 3 choices for AM/PM/HS you’re stuck with those every day unless you ask your dietitian to switch them. One really annoying thing was that the self injury patients were allowed to eat whatever and however much they wanted, so some people ate nothing and some people would go way overboard. Kind of triggering. You are only allowed one glass of fluid at each meal, so prepare to be really thirsty unless you ask your doctor/dietitian for extra water or Gatorade. The sliding scale supplements for not finishing are really simple, if you do 50% you get half. It always made me upset because there was no standard way to calculate and so staff were all over the place with how much they would give you for the same amount of completion. If you don’t finish consistently and your vitals/weight become a concern they will give you an NG tube and put you on bedrest and wheelchair until you complete 75% of all your meals and snacks. Weirdly enough water was different, they recorded your fluid intake they only cared if you became orthostatic in which case they would give you an IV that ran 24/7 and put you in the wheelchair, but otherwise you were free to go about your daily activities as usual.
What privileges are allowed?
If you are at a certain level you get to go outside for a walk in the garden or go to the gym to do sports or laps. Otherwise everyone is pretty much equal, they don’t limit your phone time or anything. Oh but if you earn outdoors privileges you also get to go eat dinner with your family in the cafeteria once a week.
Does it work on a level system?
Technically…but barely. If you’re medically unstable/not completing meals/suicidal/on a feeding tube or IV you are stuck on the unit but otherwise you get unrestricted privileges as soon as you go over your orientation workbook with a staff member.
What sort of groups do they have? Goals, Skills, Spirituality, Nutrition, Nursing Education, Self Injury Recovery, Process, Art, Music, Wrap-Up, Skills, Relaxation
What was your favorite group?
It was really hit or miss but Spirituality with the Chaplain every week was always really inspiring. Most of the groups are based on worksheets and repeat every so often, if you’re an ED patient it will get old really fast as you stay way longer than the self injury patients.
What did you like the most?
The staff. All the nurses are so sweet and the counselors are really truly amazing at what they do. I felt cared about whenever (edited for names) but positive reviews
What did you like the least?
Lack of individualized care. Everything is so generic because they want self injury and ED patients to apply it but sometimes none of the groups seem the least bit productive or relevant. If you aren’t making enough progress with general program you’ll be put on ITP which means you sit alone in the hallway all day and do assignments and you aren’t allowed to speak to anyone else.
Would you recommend this program?
Linden Oaks is much better if you’re in Chicago, but if you’re in a rough spot they will get you through it.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
Tai chi after lunch most days unless you’re in a wheelchair or on a feeding tube.
What did people do on weekends?
Watch HGTV or movies, have more unstructured groups, visiting, talk amongst themselves, just chill out
Do you get to know your weight?
No, never. They wouldn’t even tell you how it was trending.
How fast is the weight gain process?
No idea, probably just whatever is considered a normal rate, so like 2-3 pounds a week at most. They seemed to weight restore people really slowly and so if you came in severely underweight it took a painfully long time to get to 85% IBW so you could be discharged. For ED patients it seemed like average stay was 2 weeks for normal weight people, 1-2 months for most people who needed to weight restore. A few older adults who were extremely ill stayed for months.
What was the average age range?
Youngest I saw was 9 years old, oldest was about 40. But I know they’ve taken up to 85 on that unit before so it’s a pretty extreme range. They keep adults and adolescents strictly separated though and will tell you off for even sitting at the same table which I thought was ridiculous.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team?
Yes, they have PHP and IOP at the hospital on the first floor.
How many IP beds?
Technically the unit has 12 beds but they’ll squeeze as many people as they can into open rooms on other units, the census capped at 22. The highest it was while I was there was 18 and it was absolute insanity. They also stick boarders on the unit from the others for no apparent reason even when ED/self injury patients are stuck somewhere else.
My daughter had been in and out of Eating Disorders clinics for months with no help. Finally we came to Alexian Brothers and the turn around began. My daughter clicked with Dr. A and she was motivated to do better. I know that no program it perfect but I believe that the doctors here try their best to make a difference. When it came time for my daughter to be discharged, she was recommend to a program in San Diego that gave us the knowledge to deal with our daughter once we got home. I like the fact that they didn’t just sent us home blind, they recommended further short term treatment that really works. I have a daughter that will probably always deal with anxiety issues, but her eating disorder is under control. Thank you Dr. A.
Hello, thank you for sharing the hope that you have experienced and received! I am in a rough patch myself and fearful to walk out of it, but this has led me to choose Alexian. Thank you again.
I would never recommend this program for the outpatient program ever!
Our daughter was there for a month for an eating disorder along with sever anxiety and depression. She was not getting treated for the anxiety despite her requests and expression of feeling so anxious and depressed it was paralyzing to her. They said they didn’t have a program for adolescents. They said they do address anxiety and depression in the eating program, but we saw no evidence of that.
Our daughter complained about going to this program every single day. She said they literally did nothing and from what we could see, that was often true. The girls would just sit in group sessions and no one talked and the counselors allowed them to do so. They usually just played games or did nothing. My daughter said they were told they didn’t have to talk or participate if they didn’t want to and so most of the girls didn’t. They were being forced to be there, so why would they participate if they were told they didn’t have to? They’re not supposed to have cell phones, yet our daughter was on hers all the time.
My daughter was caught hiding food during her meal hours at the program on several occasions so they’d think she was eating when she wasn’t. Yet even after discovering she was hiding food under her plate and in her purse, they still thought she was fine and suggested she was ready to be discharged from the program within days after catching her hide food several times. Our daughter lost weight while she was in the program and they told he it was because her body was adjusting to regular meals now and her metabolism was kicking in. Baloney! She just wasn’t eating while she was there and purging when she got home. That’s why she was losing weight! How could they be so clueless???!
Communication was terrible. There was no follow-up, phone calls were often not returned, and they weren’t available during normal working hours. I could never go to family therapy because they did not do them after 4pm and I didn’t get off work until 6pm. We felt like were always left in the dark regarding what was going on with our daughter’s treatment and usually relied on her to find out. Our daughter was also cutting, which they had no idea about because no one asked her our us, nor did they do a thorough physical exam at any time or they would have seen her cuts. Our daughter was in Alexian’s inpatient treatment program before their outpatient, yet obviously no one read her papers when she went from inpatient to outpatient or they would have known all the other issues she was having besides eating. She was also in an inpatient program somewhere else before Alexian and was transferred directly from her other program to Alexian because they didn’t treat eating disorders at the other facility she was at. Alexian never even asked to see her release papers from the other program or want to talk to her former therapist to get some background information on our daughter of for some professional insight.
Our daughter’s Alexian therapist and case manager knew very little about our daughter or ‘who she was.†In fact, she did very little individual therapy and it was brief when they did. They are understaffed and can’t possibly spend the time with each patient like they need to. They pushed meds right away and even suggested changing the dosage of them by asking our daughter if she would be ok with that and to “tell her parents†they changed it. She was only 14!
Like I said, I would not recommend Alexian’s ED program to anyone, but that is based on my own personal experience. I’m sure there are others out there who would say otherwise, or they wouldn’t still be treating people for ED.
DO.NOT.GO.HERE.
When were you there:
March-April 2012
How many patients on average?
WAY TOO MANY. I didn’t get any freaking help there, nor did almost anyone else.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Combined male and female.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? IP: nutritionist maybe 2-3x a week, doctor 2-3x a week.
PHP: dietitian 1x a week, doctor 1x a week
What is the staff ratio to patients? Three or four staff for 30+ patients
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? Art, Rec(not in IP though), dbt/CBT (kinda..), i don’t know there were 30+ people crammed into groups, NOTHING got done
Describe the average day: Vitals/weights/blood draws, breakfast, group,snack and free Time, lunch, group, snack and free time, more group, dinner, another group, snack, relaxation, and he’s.
What were meals like? you generally watched tv and colored while eating in the day room.
What sorts of food were available or served? “Typical institutional food. You got a piece of paper where you would check boxes next to the items you wanted for each meal the following day and have a BHA approve it, and that was meal planning.” <<<this
Did they supplement? How did that system work? IIf you don't finish a meal or snack, they'll give U an ensure for the amount of food you didn't eat, although not everyone complied.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? Drinking an Ensure (if. They can even force U to do that)
Are you able to be a vegetarian? Not sure
What privelages are allowed? sleeping?….
Does it work on a level system? No
How do you earn privelages? Definitely not.
What sort of groups do they have? Art, rec, normal talking group..although with 30 people to a group, no one EVER got to talk.
What was your favorite group? Art
What did you like the most? School time…
What did you like the least?
The staff. I needed meal monitoring and they turned a blind eye while half of us just threw our deserts and food. One lady in IP kicked my bed to wake me up…some staff were nice and helpful, some were cold and not understanding at all
Would you recommend this program? NO. DO NOT GO HERE. They don't supervise meals AT ALL, the IP staff are mean, the PHP staff don't give a rats ass.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? almost none for inpatient, although if you had your doctor's approval they'd let you off the ward. In PHP you had 'active' groups, but you didn't really get to do much.
What did people do on weekends? Sat around in the day room, ate, colored, movies, maybe a few groups.
Do you get to know your weight? No, they do blind weights.
How fast is the weight gain process? Not sure, i had already gained weight back while in residential.
What was the average length of stay? 7-15 days.
What was the average age range? Huge range…maybe 16-40…
How do visits/phone calls work? Visits only for people over 18. In Php, only for family therapy.
Are you able to go out on passes? Nope
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? .
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? I don’t know why anyone would bother coming any distance to be there…
Other? Do NOT go here if you can help it.!!!
I have read a few comments from patients that seemed to hav e a bad experience.there. how unfortunate. However. I feel I had a great experience the times I were there. The staff were wondrrful. Very experienced. And couldnt help enough. So thank you to everyone.
Could someone please do a complete review? Thank you!!
When were you there:
October 2008…can’t remember the exact dates but I know I was there for ten days.
How many patients on average?
WAY TOO MANY for how little space they have. The unit was full when I was there, and they had 4 or 5 other patients sleeping in other units that would come over for the program during the day. Like, overflow, without regard to how this overcrowding might affect their patients. It was kind of crazy to me that they would rather make more money by taking on too many patients at once than giving their patients a better experience by accepting only as many patients as they could reasonably accomodate.
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined. Yes they had I think two male patients when I was there, and the treatment was combined.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? I saw the nutritionist I think three times while I was there, so perhaps twice a week is how often you would see them. The psychiatrist, I saw probably every other day that I was there. I don’t remember seeing a therapist one-on-one at all, probably one of the worst aspects of this facility. Instead you had a case worker, which I saw mine only three times during my stay.
What is the staff ratio to patients? One or two staff at a time with sometimes upwards of fifteen patients.
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? They had art therapy but most of it was like lectures honestly it was really weird and unhelpful.
Describe the average day: Well, everything aside from sleeping took place in one tiny day room that was always extremely overcrowded. Did I mention that the self-harm patients were mixed in with the ED patients. Yeah. Why, I don’t know. They were not required to complete their meals as the ED patients were, and often were snarky to the ED patients about this and sort of rubbed it in their faces. In between meals there were groups where you were pretty much just talked at most of the time and there wasn’t much actual dialogue. Some art therapy and lots of movie watching which sucked in my opinion. Again, everything takes place in one small day room and it is always extremely overcrowded and uncomfortable.
What were meals like? Though they were more accomodating of vegetarianism than the other place I have been inpatient at, the food itself was dreadful. Really flavorful and rarely actually hot when it got to you. You ate on the unit in the dayroom, they brought all the food to you. One time I got in trouble for throwing away the aluminum foil lid of my peanut butter container instead of leaving it on my tray and they searched me for it and examined me for marks of self-harm even though I had never ever done that at that point in my life and they knew it.
What sorts of food were available or served? Typical institutional food. You got a piece of paper where you would check boxes next to the items you wanted for each meal the following day and have a BHA approve it, and that was meal planning.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? I don’t know because I and everyone else wanted to get out so badly (it was a terrible miserable place where you were treated really badly) that we all complied with the meal plan. If I remember correctly there were a few people that had to take Ensure to speed up weight gain, but I wasn’t one of them at the time.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? See above.
Are you able to be a vegetarian? Yes, surprisingly.
What privelages are allowed? Haha none. Seriously the ward was so tiny and miserable there just was nothing to do and nowhere to go. I remember wishing I was dead many times.
Does it work on a level system? No, there are no levels to be gained.
How do you earn privelages? Definitely not.
What sort of groups do they have? Mostly therapists talking at you instead of having discussion groups. It was really weird honestly.
What was your favorite group? I wanted to leave and was on the brink of tears every second I spent there.
What did you like the most? Are you kidding me?
What did you like the least? The staff were absolutely terrible. They were almost like power-tripping all the time, they talked down to you, were overly suspicious of you, afforded you zero trust, were not understanding at all, they were cold, hostile and generally extremely unhelpful. I was going through a lot of medication changes at the time and also came in on six days of no sleep…they forced me to stay up later than I was even able to; twice I was made to sit through watching a movie while I was passing out because I was so exhausted. They thought I was trying to be defiant or something when I was really just unable to stay awake. At one point I had an allergic reaction to Lamictal and was injected with benadril to counteract it. Naturally this made me really, really sleepy. They still made me sit and hang out in the dayroom all evening while I was nodding off in my chair and kept yelling at me to wake up instead of letting me sleep off the allergic reaction.
Would you recommend this program? NO. If you can help it, go to Linden Oaks or somewhere else. This place is absolutely terrible.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? There were one or two times when I was there that they let us stretch but besides that, none.
What did people do on weekends? Sat around in the day room and did nothing.
Do you get to know your weight? No, they do blind weights.
How fast is the weight gain process? I didn’t gain tons of weight while I was there but I was also almost a normal weight at the time anyway.
What was the average length of stay? 7-21 days.
What was the average age range? I would say 17-25.
How do visits/phone calls work? Visits were allowed I think three or four nights a week for an hour.
Are you able to go out on passes? No way.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? I know they have IOP but I wasn’t required to do it. I already had a treatment team that I just resumed seeing when I left, but yeah, they make sure you have one in place before they discharge you.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? I don’t know why anyone would bother coming any distance to be there…
Other? Do NOT go here if you can help it. You will be scared and anxious and upset and unheard the whole time.
This is a terrible program. It was just horrific. I’ve been to 5 different places and this was just such a bad program. The staff was uncompassionate, unhelpful, and could care less about the patients. They often got off on having all the control and throwing it in your face for no reason. Very limited therapy. Tons of people all cramped up in one room for every group and meals too. Nowhere to go except for that one room. Self injury patients didn’t have to eat all their meals and would often flaunt this in the eating disorder patients’ faces. It was a crazy place with people “whacking out” all the time. The therapists were mean and yelled at us all the time. I didn’t trust any of them, including the dietician who never had time for me. I would never go back to this place…even if it were free. Bad place!
I have only been to the inpatient program at Alexian, their partial program is completely separate. If you’re in dire crisis and need inpatient care, this will do the job. However, the ED unit is mixed with the self-harm unit and there is not much supervision around meals and snacks for the ED patients. They take all ages and do not have a cap on the number of patients. Many people end up boarding on other units, usually more than half the unit. There are not many groups and no individual therapy. But in crisis, if it is your only option, it is better than no help at all.
I desperately need a full description of Alexian Brothers as I have to pick between there and a few other options which arent many by the end of the day. Anything and everything would be greatly appreciated.
My questions after a general overview are-
Laptops?
Cell phones?
Free time?
Dieticians,how are they?
What types of food are served?
Does anyone have sample menus?
Will they work with my gastroparesis?
Am I forced to drink boost if I can’t tolerate it?
Are there any fresh air breaks?
Do they accomadate modified diets? (i.e. if i needed one for GI, where I cant eat vegetables,skins of things,regular milk or cheese.some fruits,large amounts of fiber,slight egg allergy)
Do you get to pick your own meals?
How are the doctors?
How knowaladgeable are they?
Groups?
What do you do during downtown?
Can you smoke?
What is the average weight gain per week?
What are some special rules or regulations I should know about?
Do they have religious services?
What can I bring/NOT bring?
Is coffee allowed?
Tea?
Are there visiting hours?
Also, would anyone be able to help me choose between
-ALta Bates
-Alexian Brothers
-UNC
-Rosewood Ranch
-Center for Change
-Sheppard Pratt
Brandywine/Friends
-Melrose?
Thank you asap!