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– I was there from December through February this year (no inpatient at all this time around). So I got discharged about a month ago.

– The average day for OP starts at 9am. We go up, get weighed if it’s weigh-in day (M,W, and Thur), get snacks, eat snacks/check in about how our day was, go to two groups, have lunch, wrap-up for IOP until 2pm, school or another group for Day, snack/check out for Day until 3pm.
The inpatients follow a very similar schedule during the weekdays; as IP and OP are usually in the same groups.

– The meals were your standard Belmont meals. Lunch is almost always a sandwich, vegetable(s), dairy, and dessert. Snacks are things like peanut butter and graham crackers, cardboard (hard, tasteless cookies), granola bars, cereal bars, mini-muffins, and of course, juice.

From what I saw the breakfast and dinner menus haven’t changed much (though they have improved the vegetarian options somewhat). Get used to a lot of egg beaters in the morning.

– Meal-time for outpatients is usually very laid back. You can play games, though staff encourages having actual conversations.  Meals for inpatients really depends on which staff member is present and how lively the current group of people is.

– They still give you two Boosts if you don’t finish your meal on time, refuse to eat, use too many rituals when you’re IP. Outpatients generally aren’t allowed to Boost at all (you’re expected to follow the meal plan and are allowed to Boost only once).

– For OP, you already have an awful lot of priviledges. For IP, it’s based on a level system. The priviledges you can get are using the bathroom without counting, going off of the unit for certain groups, eating with the outpatients downstairs, going out to eat with your family, etc.

– They still have psychodrama groups, weekend planning, biofeedback, family, addiction, music, art, movement, Qi Gong/Yoga/Meditations, food exploration, nutrition etc. Biofeedback with Stacey is a really good group if you’ve never done it before and you have problems with anxiety. Most of the groups are very helpful.

– My favorite aspect of Belmont this time around wa the new nutritionist.  She’s an angel. My main problem with the program last time was with the old nutritionist, the new RD is willing to explain things to you and she actually takes what you say into consideration. She’s also a lot of fun, and I felt that I could trust her. (She also warns you which foods not to get. Some of the foods in Belmont aren’t good at all.)

– I guess what I liked the least was the lack of communication with the psychiatrist. You really had to nag t get to see him for a couple of minutes aside from the team meetings. Also a certain staff member (we called her The Face) that works during the day got on my (and everyone else’s) nerves.

– I would definitely recommend this program now. It’s changed a lot (staff-wise) from the last time I was there. It’s a much more beneficial experience to be there now.

– the RD tells you how much/how long you’re allowed to exercise if you’re outpatient.

– Like any other place, weekends = major boredom for IP unless you create your own games.

– If both you and the RD think that it’s okay to know your weight then she’ll tell you once a week.

– The avg length of stay varied. I was there for 2.5 months (OP only this time). Some people were there for 3+ months (both IP and OP), others were only there for a few days.

– Anyone from ages 12 to 60+ can be there.

i was there earlier this year. the staff are really nice and supportive- i really liked all of them. meals aren’t really too bad- typical hospital food. lots of egg beaters haha…i’m guessing if you were there before you remember that. they do accommodate vegetarian diets, which i definitely appreciated. it’s a small unit, so there are never that many patients at one time…when i was there we had 6 inpatients and 4 partial patients. everyone was really supportive of each other and it was a very recovery-focused community. as for bedrest, under 68% is full (you have to be IN bed all day, except for meals/snacks, which you are wheeled to, you can have 1 phone call per day, and you can only shower every other day. and no sharps.) and then 70%-73% is modified (you can be wheeled to groups, but have to spend all free time in bed. you can shower every day but have to be monitored and timed, and you can’t have sharps. you still only get 1 phone call per day) for over 73% you’re on level 1, and then you can go from there to level 2 and 3, where you gradually build up more and more privledges (getting to go off unit with staff, going outside for smoke breaks/fresh air breaks, using sharps, eating lunch in the cafeteria etc.) they don’t offer any housing for partial, but they have people use the hosts for hospitals program a lot ( http://www.hostsforhospitals.org ) they aren’t in network with any of the local ronald mcdonald houses though, which kind of sucks. i don’t have any info with the whole medicare/disability situation, but i hope the information i did have helped. best of luck

When were you there?
march 2010

Describe the average day?
wake up at 6:30, weights/vitals, can check out sharps, breakfast at 8:15, smoke break/fresh air break, community meeting, snack at 10:15, groups until lunch at 12, smoke break/fresh air break, groups until snack at 3:15, more groups, usually some free time too, dinner at 5:15, smoke break/fresh air break, mst group, visiting hours, snack at 8:30 or 9 (i forget…) another smoke break/fresh air break, free time until lights out at 11. (you can check out sharps again at 10)

What were meals like?
everyone’s trays come up on a cart from the hospital cafeteria. there’s a little dining room/kitchen with a long table that we all sat at together…with one staff at each head of the table. staff doesn’t eat with us anymore, but they talk and we played games and it’s really pretty laid back. and you can microwave your food, which i really appreciated. if you don’t want to eat whatever you have, you can just say you want to boost it and put it back on the cart before the end of the meal, and drink your boost within the 45 minute time frame. you don’t have to wait until the meal is over.

What sorts of food were available or served?
nothing that bad, really. there isn’t much variety, which i personally liked, and they do accommodate vegetarians. here’s a sample day on meal plan C.

breakfast- 1/2 c. egg beaters, 1 eggo pancake with 1 butter, 8 oz. 2% milk
snack- 8 oz. apple juice, nutrigrain bar
lunch- veggie burger on bun (their veggie burgers are SO good!), 1/2 c. carrots, oatmeal raisin cookies, 8 oz. 2% milk
snack- fresh fruit, 8 oz. apple juice
dinner- macaroni and cheese, 1/2 c. veggies, 8 oz. 2% milk
snack- chewy granola bar, 8 oz. milk

i can pretty much remember all of the meals. lunches were: grilled cheese sandwich, PB sandwich, veggie burger, hummus sandwich. dinners were: macaroni and cheese, bean and cheese burrito, pasta with feta and veggies, tofu and veggie stir-fry, spinach and mozzerella pasta roll-ups, manicottis. breakfasts were always either egg beaters or cottage cheese and then stuff like oatmeal, french toast, pancakes, cereal etc. and you could always choose between 2 options for each meal/side item. and you could always sub milk for yogurt.

Did they supplement? How did that system work?
if you don’t eat they offer you boost (regular, not plus.) the amount you get varies according to your meal plan. and once you get to the very highest meal plan, they’ll require you to take a boost or a boost pudding with each snack and a CIB with each meal. there are 7 meal plans. (A, B, C, D, E, F, G)

What privileges are allowed?
it’s all level based.
bedrest- you have to be in bed ALL day, except for when you are wheeled to meals, and you get an 8-minute shower every OTHER day. you have to leave the door cracked when you use the bathroom, shower etc. you can have 1 phone call per day.
modified best rest- you can be wheeled to groups/meals etc. and you can shower every day, but you still have to leave the door cracked, and you can still only have 1 phone call per day.
level 1- usually your first 24 hours (unless you’re on bedrest) you can make unlimited phonecalls, can go to all groups, can go outside for smoke breaks, can have visitors
level 2- usually after your first 24 hours as long as you have been eating/complying. all the same privileges as level 1 but you can also check out your “sharps” (razors, tweezers, nail polish, blow driers, hair straighteners, makeup etc.) and you can go to groups off the unit (ceramics, yoga etc.)
level 3- all the same privileges as level 1 and 2, but you can also go outside with visitors and can eat lunch in the cafeteria on wednesdays.

Does it work on a level system?
kind of just explained that..

What sort of groups do they have?
nothing that good. the basics…nutrition education, family dynamics, stress managment etc.

What was your favorite group?
ceramics. we got to go down to a studio off the unit and actually make our ow ceramics. it was kind of fun.

What did you like the most?
the other girls and the staff were really really nice and supportive. it’s such a small group that it’s very tight-knit and family-like.

What did you like the least?
a lot of the clinical staff didn’t really seem to know what they were doing. and there are SO many residents and nursing students etc. it didn’t feel very professional.

What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
not much. i mean, it isn’t one of those programs where they yell at you for standing up or shaking your foot, but there’s no like, formal exercise…except for yoga.

What did people do on weekends?
there are visiting hours from 1-3 and then from 3:30-5, and then 7-8:30. other than that, people really don’t do much.

Do you get to know your weight?
once a week.

How fast is the weight gain process?
2-4 pounds a week.

What was the average length of stay?
it varied. usually around 3 weeks inpatient and then 3-4 PHP.

What was the average age range?
it varied a lot. when i was there the youngest was 12 and the oldest was 58.

What kind of aftercare do they provide?
they have a PHP program and an IOP program, but no outpatient.

Do they help you set up an OP treatment team?
yes.

How many IP beds?
i think about 8?

How many patients in PHP or IOP?
it’s a really really small unit. i think about 8 inpatient and usually like PHP.

Would you recommend this program?
i don’t think it’s like great but it’s not horrible either. i didn’t find it particularly helpful, but i know some people who did.