Koru Spring is a new eating disorder treatment center in Jacksonville, FL. Koru Spring offers residential, PHP, and IOP to adult women of all identities. They specialize in treating women with eating disorders who also have co-occurring conditions, including addiction, depression, trauma, and anxiety. The eating disorder treatment center is part Lakeview Health, a longtime local addiction treatment provider, and is located on the same campus as their other programs. According to Lakeview, “we have seen first-hand an increase in the number of women seeking treatment for an eating disorder while presenting with co-occurring conditions including substance use disorder (SUD). We developed Koru Spring as a response to this need, wanting to ensure that those struggling have a safe and evidence-based program to turn to.”
A big aspect of treatment at Koru Spring is experiential treatment, which includes grocery shopping, cooking, yoga, outings, and equine, as well as access to cell phones in the evening. Therapists are trained in trauma-informed care. Residents in need of medically monitored detox can do so at their sister facility, The Rose of Lakeview Health, located on the same campus as Koru Spring. Koru Spring also can accommodate residents with nasogastric tubes at the residential level.
Any information or reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
Describe the average day:
since being bought they have practically gutted the program and everyone either got layed off or quit. There seems to be writing on the walls that they are going to close the program which is sad because when they opened they were an amazing program. They cut the evening and weekend therapists, moved all the providers to the down stairs offices so you rarely saw anyone clinical unless they were pulling you or running a group. The clinical staff never eats with the clients anymore unless they had you in session. They have one clinical director for all programs (the SUD and the ED program) so to bring up concerns to them was extremely difficult. I found out after I transferred that they never sent in my paperwork for my LOA from work or my STD despite telling me they had, thankfully I had asked for a copy of my LOA paperwork so I was able to send it to my HR way after it was due – and I also had to practically beg for a copy of it so I had it because they did not want to give it to me. As I stated earlier I had to unfortunately leave campus to call the police – they refused to let me call from there – to get them to release my belongings. I was told they will not help with a transfer (in the words of the providers) “unless there is something that the other program can offer that we can’t and we determine we can not help without that” even when I asked about assisting to transfer because I wanted help but had nothing but issues with this program from admission due to lack of therapy and groups. They also did not order my one psychiatric medication until I was already out along with having me combine two of my medications that are extremely counter indicated to combine and my OP psychiatric provider (along with the medical and psych provider at the new facility) was extremely upset about most of the medication issues and mentioned that it was extremely dangerous to combine the medications they had me taking at the same time. Overall I would not recommend this program anymore and I wish I would have listened to the other reviews I had found online and I was hoping the were wrong and being harsh. It was extremely traumatic and I would not wish it on anyone
ugh this really sucks! i have been to koru spring once just a few months after they opened and i really liked the program and we usually sat around 10 people, seeing that the program has gone downhill is really sad i left before they were bought by a different company because i was scared it was going to change… guess i was right it seems totally different now
anyone have updated reviews?
I will post one later today!
thank you for your review!
Koru’s parent company (Lakeview) was purchased by a private equity-backed company called Bradford Health sometime in the last few months. Bradford primarily treats substance use. There has been some turnover in the staff at Koru, but apparently things are not different at least as of now.
wondering if anyone has been recently and could do a review. Also curious about their willingness to adapt and personalize treatment to each patient. I would also love to hear more about the medical care and the knowledge/ experience of the medical staff. Are they equipped to handle complications or do they send out for everything?
hey i just left koru a few weeks ago and do NOT reccomend, the staff has a hard time redirecting behaviors, they were horrible with food allergies and my medical conditions and refused to personalize a diet to fit my allergies and needs. Although it says Koru does Ng tubes they do not! There is always one nurse o staff but other than that the BHAs do not have any real trained medical knowledge, If any of your vitals are off they will send you to ascension st vincent’s hospital for treatment. You will be stripped completly and checked for contraband once you return from hospital! If you keep having complications they will refer you to inpatient
I was there in Nov 2024, it’s HORRIBLE. The staff is very poorly trained, has high turnover, gave wrong meds, froze peoples insulin, they consistently have patient favorites they gossip about other patients they don’t like to. I finally left when there was a fire In the middle of the night, they had no safety plan and had us go back into a smoking building after we were told to evacuate. Handicap people were forgotten about for over an hour after mandatory evacuations, in the morning we all woke up at off site emergency housing – they told us there was no fire. It was wild. *TW: SH* They gave out pencil sharpeners with razors in them and girls started cutting themselves they didn’t do a lock down or search for the weapons and some of those women were violent. *END TW* When I left early bc of the fire and the staffs poor reaction to all of it- they refused to let me call anyone to get me until I was off site- they walked me to the road with my packed suitcase and gave me my phone said “see yah”. I had to wait an hour for an uber then I went down to a breakfast place until I could arrange someone to get me. I’m from Nebraska so that was a challenge.
Describe the average day:
overall I really loved this program it was just not the right time for me. Also I was reading a review about giving 3 days notice and not getting your belongings and I wanted to point out a few things (as I did give my 3 day notice and did leave after only 2). 1) they technically can’t hold your belongings but I guess other parts of their company do and they used to. 2) all I had to do was advocate for myself with the clinical director and she released my belongings without much issue – I only say much issue because she was really trying to talk me into staying
i also want to point out most of the staff cares a ton at this facility – some of them seem to come off a little aggressive but when you talk to them 1:1 you can tell it’s more out of care and concern and trying to challenge your ED
Also – this program is a lot more lax then a lot of programs I have been to almost to a fault but when it comes to supervision they will try and make sure it is there – they have gotten so much better with this over the time I was there
also to note: they do NOT do NG tubes nor are they qualified/ have the equipment to do them
if you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Would you be willing to connect to answer more questions? I’m curious about this program!
Can you please ask your questions here so that everyone can benefit from the answers? Thank you!
yes!
do they work with ARFID at all?
any single rooms?
time outside?
any decaf tea/coffee throughout the day?
Can anyone do most recent review or if anyone is there now???
FYI, according to admissions, cell phones are allowed every night!
That’s what they told me too! They also offer NG tubes and 1 to 1s if necessary so if that’s something you might need, it may be worth looking into.
I’m currently here and will post a full review later on when I’m in more of a headspace to do so. But I wanted to say – from what I can tell/ has been relayed to me – they do not do NG tubes.
Is there a chef? How is the food?
Does anyone have any experience with this treatment center?
I was at Koru springs for about a week. I would not recommend it to anyone. Some nurses were really great and the evening on call therapist was great as well but overall very traumatic. Staff was mean and lied to me on admission. They said stay the night and decide tomorrow if you want to leave. Well you can’t you have to give I think a three day notice or they won’t give you your things and you are homeless on the streets. The food was disgusting and care was not great at all. The actual professional staff I saw were good- psychiatrist, nutritionists, and nurse but the techs were very harmful to me.
It seems like I responded with same comments, yes this was a terrible place, I tried filing a report or a complaint, Had no success
I was there about couple months ago. Here was my own truth and experience there..
If I were you.. Run… This place was very traumatizing. For one, they take your cell phone before you get there. They strip you away and take your clothes off to weight you, Than they take you to the nurses( which I believe they were the nicest since they had nothing to do with the actual program), than they ask you questions, which are some personal and others private. The traumatizing begins after that. Once you write your signature on that dotted paper your their property, Meaning you have no say, and your rights and basic human rights are taken from you.
1. Your not allowed to use your cell phones up until around 8. Your not allowed to make online purchases unless you tell them.. You cant use the bathroom without staff being there. Yes it is very traumatizing., My first night I had constipation and had to go multiple times -even peeing in the bed a few times because I was so tired of asking the staff. The food was disgusting, and siting with the girls was laughable. ***. I had a few fights there because you have to be extra sensitive to everybody. I was usually nice and polite to most of the staff, but the girls were far from welcoming. And you would think this review stops here, but the therapists were just as bad. Not only are they very young and inexperienced, they are not very good. There were multiple times I felt that the therapy sessions were actually abusive, and the therapists did nothing to stop it. I had girls ganging up on me, even after I apologized, I left the room and the therapist whom I thought cared for me , wasn’t even around to console me. It was a terrible place, and I was just there a little over 2 weeks. Whats worst is that the last night I was there I wanted to talk to the coordinator, she basically ignored me and said she was busy. Mind you it was early in the day and she had no work load. Ow finally, the cursing was everywhere. The rules of the place specifically says no cursing, yet time and time again people were cursing and just talking nonsense. It was ridiculous . I forgot to mention that the last night I was there I had to wait hours for the flight they booked for me, and not only that nobody , not even the therapist came to talk to me about what happened to me.. I’m going to say, if you come make sure you have a tough exterior because your going to need it. The staff was rude, unprofessional, fake, and unwelcoming . Once you sign the papers , your basically giving them permission to hurt you and target you. I also experienced some racism and discrimination too, I just didn’t feel like my needs were met. I tried filing a complaint several times, and nobody even responded to them. The nurses were very kind, I will say that. But If I were you , look elsewhere!!!!!There are better places out there!!!!!!
*** description of other patients redacted by admin per site policy
I’m so sorry you had such an awful experience!!! Would you be able to do a full review?
Sure! and what do you mean by full review , like elaborate more or like the actual names ,, I mean i cant disclose those people as its private, however , what do you mean, Let me know and yes I would be able to do it if I could!
Thank you! Here are the sample review question:
Describe the average day:
I can’t specify when and those details as I want to protect my privacy. however, I was there this year. The care was inpatient, there were on average like 6-7 girls including myself. It treats all genders and not gender specific. They do support all identities for sure. You see the doctors like all the time sometimes at night and mostly in the days. The staff and patient is about the same ratio, the therapies that are used all multi varied depending on what you need.
1. The meals were OK. Not the best they go by the nutritional pyramid. But sometimes the meals are dry , and not very presentable. In addition to this you have to request sauces all the time and your only limited to one drink per meal. The foods were varied, and yes they supplement if you request it. Yes you can eat vegetarian as you have to request it as well.
Privileges are restricted, and they monitor you all the time especially when you need to use the bathrooms and requesting medications. Yes they work as a level system depending on if you do all the required activities and your on time to every therapy session. You earn privileges by what I just said, by doing what you have to do and not causing any issues in the levels. The groups are dependent on the levels that your on. No favorite group as I wasn’t there for too long, however my limited time there was far from pleasant. I liked the nurses the most, and the least the fact we had to ask the techs to use the bathroom every 5 minutes, no privacy and you can’t use your phone until 6pm at night. I said on my last post that I wouldnt recommend. No activities were allowed other than movies but that was usually in evenings. Weekends were the same as weekdays just less techs and therapists. You dont get to know your weight as it isn’t allowed , its an eating disorder faciility and they do not allow you to obssess about your weight. Weight gains depends on the person and how fast they go back to their unhealthy patterns. You can stay for as long as 35 days. However, I stayed much less since I had bad experiences. The age ranges anywhere from 20-50 ,,, Visits happen every sunday I believe. Electronics cant be used until 6pm. Yes for inpatient you are able to go on outings again depends on the levels that your on. PHP yes you are able you have to speak to your therapist about all that. There are resources, however once you come you won’t have much freedom as they take your phone away almost immediately and they dont allow you to leave unless you request or an emergency. Once you sign the dotted lign you give up your rights. The covid is over, and nobody is using masks, however you can request a mask and there is enough social distancing.. I hope this helps!!!!!! My advice is to maybe go elsewhere as its a relatively new facility , and the staff and therapists aren’t that great. They are nice upon your arrival, but once your there you see there true colors…
Thank you for this review! And I apologize for the repeated questions. This is the standard review template and I just copied and pasted.