Banner Behavioral Health - Scottsdale, AZ

First things first.. WHY does this place only have 1 star??? :( My experience was GREAT!!! :) Almost all the nurses and techs were GREAT!!! :) Lucy (the night nurse), was AMAZING!!! :) Me and my Mom truly know that Lucy was an angel put near me to watch over me all night. Lucy was nice, really 'got' me, and was willing to tell me about her life, talk about our beliefs in God, and be AMAZINGLY NICE and comforting to me in such an unfamiliar place. Dr. Adelayo was AMAZING too!!! :) She understood me, and talked with my regular psychiatrist to collaborate and agree on what medications to give me. Her and my regular psychiatrist were both RIGHT!!! :) She also told me some helpful information that I have been looking for for 2 years. Tessa & Ray (the admitting nurses on duty the night I was admitted), were VERY nice, cheerful, reassuring, and cheerful!!! :) They really cared about me and my Mom during this unsettling situation. Most of the staff at this hospital were AMAZING!!! :) I did not like one doctor that I won't mention on the Internet, but my Mom got that handled. :) The whole team at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital were nice, caring, reassuring, and really wanted me to be well enough to be discharged. I finally did, after 12 days, many struggles and being put on contact isolation precautions due to a virus I picked up. I wouldn't want to go back here because I was not in a good 'place' when I was admitted, BUT I LOVED the help I received here to become the person I am today!!! :)

0 star as far as I am concerned. Treated me like I was in the movie' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' I asked if the medication I was talking was mine as it was different the night before. For that I was put in another room to sleep on an exam table with no pillow or blanket. Not enough seating, only two couches. no extra chairs. so lots of people had to stand up for 12 hours. Cant go into your bedroom at all during the day. so where is one to sit? DO NOT BRING YOUR LOVED ONE HERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Someone should look into this place and shut them down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just brought my family member here for substance abuse treatment. I was told over the phone that they have the facility to help. I drove 45 minutes to their location to be told after sitting there for 45 minutes that they couldn't take my family member in because they aren't suicidal I was told nothing about this over the phone. I guarantee they just wanted us there to go through the intake process to charge the insurance company. FYI to others I was told the best place for recovering addicts is the Phoenix mission. Not the kind of place I want to take them but resources are limited when it comes to substance abuse.

My niece stayed here and received terrible care. My niece is generally very quiet and accepts what happens to her without complaining but one of the group therapists was so bad that 5 patients complained to her about how she was treating them. When she continued with her abuse every patient walked out. They all filed a complaint with administration. I complained about other issues such as the fact that I left numerous messages with the nursing staff that I wanted to speak with my nieces psychiatrist to find out why my niece was not being released when she was telling me she was feeling much better. He never called me. Getting in touch with her caseworker was very nearly impossible. My niece was kept in this facility for 9 days longer than she needed to be. No one called me at all during that time. I witnessed conversations so inappropriate yet no one intervened because although there were numerous staff members they were more interested in gossiping with each other than monitoring the patients. I finally spoke with the house supervisor to find some answers. He was kind enough to tell me what my nieces psych notes said. What they said that particular day was that she could go home in the next day or two. The next day when I asked the nurse why she wasn't being discharged the nurse read the psychiatrists note from the previous day (the one the house supervisor had read to me) it had been changed. It stated that my niece was still having symptoms which she wasn't. After intense persistence I finally got her discharged. I am a nurse and I am ashamed of the horrid care that these health professionals provide for vulnerable people.

I was checked into the adolescent unit December 17th, 2008 for suicidal ideation. I thought I was going to finally get help. What I got was a misdiagnosis, Effexor withdrawal, and PSTD. They misdiagnosed me with bipolar disorder and put me on Lithium. Most of the other patients there were given the exact same diagnosis and treatment. They took me off the Effexor cold turkey and I suffered horrible withdrawal symptoms. I was told to 'deal with it.' I was very emotional from all the med changes and was crying constantly and was constantly humiliated and degraded for it. I was also put down during group therapy for being Pagan, although we weren't supposed to talk about religion in group. I later was diagnosed by another psychiatrist with PTSD from bullying, part of which I endured at this facility. I was humiliated and degraded by the staff and there was one woman who actually made my blood pressure go up when she was around because she treated the patients so badly. When I filled out a grievance against said woman, they through it out right in front of me then told her what I had said, which made me her main target. They ignored my physical disabilities and ridiculed me for them. I was sick with laryngitis when I was there and was refused treatment for that. They took me off my birth control cold turkey as well which I was on to control cramps. Overall, this place is terrible. I have nightmares about it to this day. I have horrific flashbacks to the treatment I received. I'm shocked that this place exists. The staff constantly yelled at the patients and used scare tactics to control us. It was the most horrible 15 days of my life and I wish this place never existed.

Please be warned of this place. I do not recommend this place to anyone. We have a family member that was admitted. The facility is dirty, gloomy, depressing. How are they suppose to treat depressed patients in a depressing environment? The furniture is old, the carpets need major cleaning, the walls need Clorox wipes they need to plug in a febreeze or something.. the list will go on. Its an older facility so don't be fooled that its in 'Scottsdale', there is nothing Scottsdale about except for the address. I would do a little more research before sending loved ones here. Not sure about all the staff but one particular woman who greeted us was rude, not helpful and just plain mean. When we asked for guidance as it was our first time visiting she responded, rudely 'WELL, GO VISIT THEM...THEY OVER THERE!' . I let the rude comments and rude stares of disgust roll off my back. I proceeded to look for our family member on our own where i found them on a stained smelly couch. :( It seems this place needs some real help! I am not sure how this can be Banner affiliated hospital as the hospitals usually are good about cleanliness and good staff... here the mood in this room is not a happy one, Its old, damp, dark, and scary to be honest with you. I left feeling this place with a little anxiety myself and felt aweful our family was here for another day ;( I seriously say do a little research first before sending anyone here.