Pre-2012 Reviews

I was first at Ridgeview in March/April of 2005 and most recently January/February of 2009. I’ll answer from my most recent experience.

Describe the average day: Inpatient is Wake up around six and get weights and vitals. Then you can check out valuables (floss, conditioner, etc.) or go back to sleep. Breakfast around eight. Morning check in at nine-fifteen. Then free time while the PHP patients arrive and check in. Snack at ten-fifteen, process group at eleven, lunch at twelve, focus (food and feelings type group). Group (varied by day) at two, snack at three, group at four, dinner at five-thirty, then after meal focus. PHP patients leave at seven, then IP have free time. Valuables can be checked out and rooms are unlocked from eight to nine. Then night snack and meds and then free time until rooms are opened for bed at ten-fifteen. Phones are turned off at ten-thirty or eleven. They tell you to go to bed around midnight, but most people are on meds and asleep early.

What were meals like? Meal plans are based on food groups like protein, fruit, vegetable, dairy, fat and starch. On level one your meals are brought up on trays and you cannot trade out. Level two means you go to the cafeteria and select your food to fit your meal plan and have it approved. A lunch could be something like a veggie burger (protein), rice and a roll (starches) milk (dairy) apple (fruit) salad (vegetable) and butter (fat). You have thirty minutes for meals and fifteen for snacks. Depending on your meal plan you may be required to eat a certain number of “risks” like fried food or a desert per week.

What sorts of food were available or served? Food is pretty good for a treatment place. They have most all standard cafeteria food. Chicken, beef, pork and fish on Fridays, veggie burgers, peanut butter, rice, potatoes, etc. There is a nice salad bar in the cafeteria. There is not a vegetarian option at each meal, but if you are vegetarian, you can sub something out for meat.

Did they supplement? How did that system work? There was Boost or Ensure and if you did not finish your meal you had to drink a certain amount based on what you didn’t finish. A full meal was two cans. You could refuse, but they will tube you if you refuse to eat. Some people also had Boost or Ensure at snack if on weight gain.

What privelages are allowed? You have to have the bathroom door cracked and have a buddy stand outside for two hours after meal and one hour after snacks. Phone, television, cafeteria, nature walk if on level two, AA and related groups, occasionally day passes if you are there for a while.

Does it work on a level system? SP (suicide precaution) and AC staff buddy means you have to stay in view of the nurses station and cannot go anywhere w/o a staff escort. You sleep on a mattress in front of the nurses station. Level one means you stay on the unit all the time, but can go in the tv room and sleep in your room. level two can go off the unit to the cafeteria and to meetings. When you go to PHP you can stay in the halfway house or go home. In the HWH you have to have a buddy accompany you places for fourteen days. After that you can go on outings, day passes or night passes.

What sort of groups do they have? DBT, didactic, nutrition, trauma, creative, process, grief, focus, life story, and AA, family ed and spiritual if on level two.

What was your favorite group? Process group is always led by the same person and you get really comfortable w/ your group. The other groups can depend on the person leading them.

What did you like the most? Most people are really nice and supportive. If you’re having a hard time lots of the other girls will reach out to you. There are some CAs who are amazingly nice. You can always find someone to talk to.

What did you like the least? The head of the program left recently and there was a new program director who was still trying to get things settled. Groups and meals were often late (up to thirty-minutes), there were a lot of inconsistencies based on what staff was told what. Sometimes I felt like I the patients had to tell the staff what to do. Some people had problems w/ the staff being rude, although I did not experience that. Sometimes cliques would form and there was drama. Groups repeated a lot, so if you stayed long enough, you would get a lot of repeats.

Would you recommend this program? Overall, yes to get stable and control behaviors. People can be 10-13ed in or put in by their parents, so there are often some pretty resistant people, and staff is pretty good at working w/ them.

What level of activity or exercise was allowed? IP not much, except a nature walk if on level two and medically cleared. There are people who are in wheel chairs and are not allowed to move around at all.

What did people do on weekends? Process and creative groups, AA, EDA and spiritual if on level two, visitation. We watched a lot of movies, colored, played games and just hung out.

Do you get to know your weight? No.

How fast is the weight gain process? Not sure…there is weight gain, maintain and loss, so it depends.

What was the average length of stay? People were there from three days to six weeks. Usually around a week IP and a week or two in PHP.

What was the average age range? 12-58. Sometimes a lot of adolescents and sometimes none. Lots of people in the 18-25 range.

What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an OP treatment team? they give you lists of therapists/nutritionists covered by your insurance or in your area and you ahve to have appointments before you discharge. A lot of people also transfered for longer term residential at another place.

How many IP beds? How many patients in PHP or IOP? 14 IP beds, PHP could get pretty big. I think they capped it at fifteen or twenty, but I’m not sure.

Ridgeview is the only ED facility I have ever been to, so I have nothing to compare to, but it is far better than the other psych hospitals in GA that I have been to.