I went in for a medication refill and I would have to say that my experience today was the best yet. The staff was very repectful. The nurses were very helpful with helping me with my medication concerns. The wait time is the worst of it but the staff is very nice.
I came in with my wife with high Hope's they could help.Staff do not care,honestly it's sad to say half the time you feel judged here and looked down upon and they are unreasonable on the medications a person actually may need for fear one can be an addict,they shouldn't base it upon all addicts especially if theres no history,some literally need certain medications. This place has made me lose hope in psychological and psychiatric help in Arizona. Much positive vibes,namaste.
I had a crazy, heavily armed neighbor to a rental property I owned. This neighbor had driven out my last 2 tenants and was threatening my life and the life of my family. With the assistance of the police, we went down there and were able to get him picked up and held for 3 weeks. This allowed them to put him on behavioral meds, and that helped for the next year. Unfortunately, a year later the court order medication was stopped, and within 30 days he shot one of his neighbors. It really works to help get crazy people off of the street, but the lack of follow up and long term care is a continuing problem. Giving crazy people back their guns is why we have mass shootings. Great work protecting the community, but more money and effort needs to spent on follow up and tracking those who have been through the system.
when i was there for two nights, i had to deal with some guy who wouldn t stay in his chair and kept hovering around me. i was woken up at least 4 times while i was trying to sleep because he kept trying to touch me. the staff just kept telling him to sit down but didn t actually do anything to make me feel safe, they were more concerned with the football game and talking to each other.
Don't come here, this place is literal hell on earth. There are no beds, just broken recliners with plastic upholstery, no pillow, and stained smelly blankets. You're thrown into a room with 30 other people for the duration of your stay, there are no personal rooms. There's trash and food all over the ground, the food is near expiration date and tastes awful. There was someone literally screaming "please god no" in a back room when I stayed there. How this place even passes as a mental health clinic is beyond me.
Mark G. Sonenschein works (If I can call it that) at Connections Az. He is by far the worst! WORST! Psychiatric doctor in this state. I am filing complaints against him and the connections staff through the BBB and will be seeing him and his little counselors fired from this facility in the near future. Find a different facility for your mental health needs. They will just make things worse. See you all soon in court.
I got transferred to this clinic from a hospital due to a mental crisis. I was there over nine hours and was never given food, water, my medication and there was no shower available. After asking twice for something to eat I was mocked, laughed at and told to leave. The staff is clearly not trained for a professional career in mental health. This place needs investigated for so many things.
And they don't deserve 1 star! They should be shut down! I've seen a lawyer and he's taking my case, have any of you thought about making them explain in court why they imprison ppl only to abuse, neglect, assault, harass, and deny you your basic human rights such as prescribed medications denied while trying to medicate you to sleep? 2nd and 3rd shift employees were unreal, Majority of staff there extremely limited in IQ with their own mental health issues and shouldn't be trusted to work with ppl or animals. I took someone else there because they were suicidal and out of meds, I got into a disagreement with a staff member after an hour of waiting so she petitioned me, they deprived me of food, water, bathroom, and wheel chair. The hair hatted African American woman not only took me into a bathroom and made me remove my clothes etc. but she pocketed my earings, necklace and hair tie from my hair, she also was one of the two that assaulted me, I begged her to allow me to do my own wheel chair because she was hurting me, she laughed, said no and she knows and then proceeded to assault me the entire way. I can't wait to hear her deposed. They strip and search but they didn't check my pockets but am sure they would have if they knew there was a SanDisk in the pocket of my sweat pants that they allowed me to keep on under those paper scrubs they force you to wear. They sent the suicidal one home, a blind person with no way home, no money, nothing but a script he couldn't even fill on his own and 20 miles away from home. The witch Trish, the one that petitioned me because she didn't like what I said knew I wasn't suicidal, we even discussed that I already had the right to die in Oregon with my family, that I was only hanging on because I've been struggling to get help for the person I brought in, that he desperately needs help so he doesn't take his life when I lose mine, he's an agent orange baby and was born blind, a physical deformity and neurological problems but brilliant, 160 IQ. I may not live long enough to see UPC lose, (unfortunately my battle is almost over) and things changed there and ppl fired but after talking with my lawyer I know they will and I know the person I brought in for help that night will get the money he needs to see any doctor he chooses to, to get the professional mental health UPC denied him and for all the stress and problems they created for him as well as I. Arizona is at the top of the list for states with the worst care, consider this if you have a loved one needing care, get them to a better state. It's crazy this is still happening in our time, I plan to challenge ALL the legislatures that made it possible for them to continue to abuse some of the most vulnerable ppl in our society and so called doctors supervising it! Shrinks are jokes! Most go into the field to figure out what is wrong with themselves and those that weren't smart enough to be a real doctor.
Horrible. Called ahead to confirm, they promised they were open 24 hours a day. Arrived in 25 minutes but they informed me no doctors were available for 17 hours ( the next day )
Able to come and get meds without insurance. Helps me so much to have them as a resource.
I would like to thank Dr. Jain for having patience and to help me very well God bless her.
This place kept my ID after I was discharged from an overnight stay with police recommendation and escort after an epic meltdown. I needed it a few days ago and noticed it wasn't in my purse or anywhere else. They didn't tell me to pick it up on the way out nor put it back in my purse or other bag. I keep calling and calling about wanting to pick it up but no one answers or calls me back. I'm thinking of just going there myself to get it. Plus it was super scary they dont put you in your own room ..you're in with general population sharing the same room with recliners. I wasnt able to get my nightly medication and instead gave it to me the next morning (including my birth control which I take each and every night so I didnt take it the previous night) I was also really distraught about my relationship breakup and I was threatened with a longer stay. No compassion whatsoever. The other inpatients seemed more compassionate. This place just made me quit thinking of self harming myself.
I contacted this place and let them know
My significant other needed immediate help ! That he was in a very bad mental state of mind n was danger to others n himself and needed to be admitted ! But they did not take it serious !!! They didn t LISTEN to me and now I lost A Lloved one to his mental illness !!!!! Why don t you guys take things serious !!! I just wantedddd your Help !!!? Maybe you COULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Major Ordeal is a fantastic way to explain this place. It takes at least 4 hours to complete the ridiculous process of multiple interviews that ask you if you're suicidal or have a drug problem. Most of the staff here seem lazy and unproductive, if not totally rude entirely.
IF I COULD RATE THIS ZERO STARS I WOULD THIS IS A HORRIBLE PLACE DO NOT GET SERVICES HERE. THEY PRESCRIBED ME MEDS AND WHEN I RAN OUT WILL NOT REFILL THEM AND LEFT ME TO WITHER IN ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION FOR DAYS. THEY DID NOT EVEN HAVE A DOCTOR ON SITE PLEASE IF YOU HAVE A LOVED ONE WHO ACUTALLY NEEDS HELP SEND THEM ANYWHERE BUT HERE THEY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY.
Some people have said that they purposely make you wait forever, to further drive you crazy so they always have people coming back to keep them in business. (Idk about that one) Eternity is an understatement for the wait time. Some of the staff here are VERY NICE but most are inconsiderate of patients feelings and have a serious lack of compassion or understanding for people suffering with anxiety and/or depression. The awkward close confinement of the waiting room is hellish, especially for people who already have severe anxiety. They treat everyone here like poor, insane criminal trash (Some of the folk who come in here really are) They call you no less than 5 times to go in and out of the rooms to answer the same 2 questions about whether you are an alcoholic or drug addict, you wait hours on end just to be treated like a criminal with addiction problems. They make it a point to repeatedly ask you about drugs an alcohol, especially if you have nothing to do with drugs or alcohol, I for instance come here because I have severe anxiety and ptsd. I am disabled and waiting to have insurance in AZ because I'm new to the state. Hopefully this provides some insight into what it is like at this overall very helpful and essential place of medicine.
Transforming psychiatric care is a absolute joke.
Do NOT, I repeat, NOT, under any circumstances take your loved ones to this place...it s a mix between jail and hell.
The staff do not understand the word compassion and many of them should not be in this field. They do not explain the system or process clearly, since they work with Medicaid / ACHESSS they try to put everyone inpatient as long as possible.
The units are pretty bare boned (you re lucky to find some old magazines or crossword puzzles). Any questions or concerns that patients bring fall on deaf ears. They hire some of the worst doctors in the state - and if you are inpatient you might see a psychiatrist 10 minutes a day if you are lucky. The rest of the time will be spent watching TV.
I m an advocate for mental health and places like this need to be transformed out of business.
DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE FOR SERVICES OR PUT YOUR LOVED ONES IN THIS FACILITY!! IT IS A DANGEROUS PLACE & THEY WILL NOT GET HELP WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. THIS HOSPITAL WILL ONLY MAKE YOU WORSE & THERE IS NO OFFICIAL WAY TO MAKE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THEM.
This place is disgusting. It's a voluntary jail, no question about it. The staff is rude, abrasive, uncaring, unfriendly, and just flat out mean. They left a man sitting in his own feces the entire 24 hours I was there. A roach crawled across my face in the middle of night, because I was forced to sleep on blankets on the floor. They made you use your hairbrush as your toothbrush, never allowed me to take a shower, and it was nearly impossible to use the phone. Worst place I have ever seen. Jail would actually be a five star hotel compared to this dump.
Oh my gosh, this facility is scary. Do not let a family member enter here. If you try to get involved in the person's care, they punish you by not returning phone calls and not giving the patient your messages to call (we had a medical release from our family member). They logjam paperwork and enjoy the power of holding people beyond the necessary length (we had an inpatient treatment facility lined up for our family member and they refused to release the person to the facility for days). I lodged complaints with Dept. of Health Services. Hopefully they will follow up. Somebody needs to get a journalist into this facility to document the inept staff and waste of taxpayers' money to fund this.
When I went here just last year.. it was sorta a nightmare for me. I was supposed to go to a homeless shelter but no beds were available for me. I told the doctor I was willing to go here. He said ok I can go for one night and I can leave More
It's a warehouse for the mentally ill. I know I was just there. I was lied to by their worker Jenna yep that is right she said and wrote one thing and then got me petition by the state. Lucky for me I was sent to the Maricopa mental health annex and now on my way back to mass. I wouldn't give them a day or time for ur family. I do mean a warehouse as well. No one talked to me till I was told to wake up at 2 am. How messed up that was. U need help go somewhere else the state has no beds for the mentally ill in AZ at leas 40 of were their July 5 to July 6 2015. If u can get private care before ur family member gets the petition u will be at the hospital 2 weeks or more. Not worth a star
they are cold and indifferent. I was transfered to my brothers social worker, and she was very cold, and not helpful. When asked any questions about him, you could tell she wanted to get off the phone as soon as possible. I am hope the organization gives training on how to treat the patients and their family
First time there and after reading the reviews I may understand how others might of felt. I went in for help and was warned it was going to be a long wait. I didnt care because I know I needed help. I am satisfied with the plan that was given for me and the options I have. I am thankful I am being helped. Period.
I'm SMI and before I could to talk to a psychiatrist I ran out of my medications. I went to UPC on two separate occasions to be told the wait would be long enough to the point where I wouldn't get seen before they close. Great job "addressing" mental health needs.
TERIBLE PLACE.TRUE NIGHTMARE.DO NOT GO THERE EVER.IT IS DANGER!!!!!
The front office staff was friendly caring and helpful. The social worker gentleman was beyond kind. You could tell he genuinely cared about getting my mom in law the help she needed. The dr was a little snippy but other then her the overall experience was good.
I stopped in less than 24 hours of coming to Arizona. The nurse who took my temperature did a little too much but made amends soon after. I went to get a formal diagnosis for one issue but did not get that resolved. I put my stuff in a locker and headed to the back to speak with the appropriate individuals and when I got done my name had been written on the locker instead of giving me the code to retrieve my stuff for myself. The doctor did his job, however what I was prescribed does not pertain to what I went in for. I was given additional assistance in terms of locating a place to stay, which I am grateful for, however, I am just now even being comfortable discussing my own mental health issues and with everything that happened I don't feel as if I was truly treated fairly. I believe I am to have a follow up, but I am skeptical at this point.
Terrible clinic. The staff is bias and discriminates against there clients. In a common day you ll hear the staff talking poorly about other clients with other clients and see the clicks of people there. It s a joke of a clinic the most unprofessional environment I ve ever been in.
I was taken there 2 times under petition. Both times the petition was for ridiculous reasons. Nevertheless, I was taken in handcuffs by police officers to one of the dirtiest environments I have ever seen. I still have nightmares about the things I saw there. The first time, after sitting in an uncomfortable recliner for 18 hours, I was transported by ambulance to desert vista hospital. At UPC I was given medication that has never been prescribed to me, and not told the side effects, or what the medication was. I talked to 2 people, a "social worker" and a Nurse practitioner. Both were incompetent and offered no help, but to say I would be transferred. I sat for 18 hours in utter disgust while people around me routinely fought the staff, received injections of haloperidiol and fed garbage. The most African American staff had no respect, and seemed to welcome fights from combatant patients. They often would make fun of them and giggle easily heard by everyone. The room is in a C shape with women on one side, and men on the other. There are 3 rows of 9 recliners on each side. There is a glass enclosure in which the patients can see the nurses and staff laughing and having fun. The patients can not hear them. On each side there is a 32 inch TV in a plastic enclosure. I was unable to sleep from all the noise, snoring, fights, smells, and lack of security.
The second time I went, it was evident that the petitions were being written in bad faith, and that my X was abusing the system, that in fact there was no mental crisis. I talked to a completely different staff, and was cleared to go home as soon as I got a ride in the morning. It was the same thing, this time a younger crowd mostly women. They were making noise and fighting all night. I got there at 10pm and left at 2pm the next day waiting for a "ride" when I could have called a cab hours earlier. Guess what, they dont let you call cab's. So I sat waiting for my ride, watching the poor people flock in, get drugged up, and fight the staff. I see 16 year old girls roughed up by staff and taken away to mysterious rooms, only to come out like a zombie.
If you are petitioned and taken to this place, its best to comply with staff, take the meds, and lie your butt off during the interview. Lie like you have never lied before. They are watching to see if you are a danger to your self or a danger to others. If you are polite and act well, you can get out of there within 14 hours. If not you will be taken to another hospital like Desert Vista and held for at least 72 hours. You are held with schizophrenics, depressed, and bi polar people. There are also rapists and mentally retarded people there. You are checked on every 15 minutes by staff in your room, and housed with a disgusting person invariably. He will either snore or smell.
UPC is a terrible place filled with terrible people. I hope they are investigated and reformed. The entire staff needs to be replaced, and the nurses the same. They are an awful organization run by incompetent dolts who dont care about the patients, and dont know anything about physiciatry. If you are petitioned and have the unfortunate visit to UPC, I suggest you remain as quiet as possible and answer questions politely and calm. Definitely say nothing incriminating, and understand your rights. You do not have to take medication, but it helps to be released. In talking to others, sometimes there is nothing you can say, you will be taken to another hospital, especially if business is slow. After all, this is a business and the more patients they refer to hospitals for 72 hours, the more money they are given by the State of Arizona.
Some people definitely need it. others who threaten suicide for example, but dont mean it can automatically be petitioned in the state of Arizona, and taken to a place like this. It is an eye opening experience, and you feel pity for the scum that choose to work there. Over all, it just shows how crappy our mental health programs are in AZ. This is just one example...
The staff at the inpatient facility were very nice. My overall experience was great and helped me get back on my feet and conquer my insomnia and depression.
This place deserves no rating from me. As a health professional, my son had to endure the worst possible place when Scottsdale petitioned to have him admitted to what was to be 24 observation and then be transferred to a psychiatric facility. However, that did not happen. He was in one room with over 30 people for 72 hours!
They do not have beds; only recliners there. He did not receive care for his blistered feet. He only received medication to help with his paranoia and delusions. The food he received was cold and old and made him throw up on a daily basis.
He signed a release of medical information to be provided to me, but doctors never called me. I spoke with a different social worker every day he was there and they did not give me consistent or accurate information most of the time. The social workers were almost impossible to reach and I had to wait hours for my phone calls to be returned.
I will be formally filing a complaint with the state and JCAHO to have a full investigation for this place.
The wait was 7 hours due to being short staffed but seeing Ned the NP was well worth the wait! Theresa was absolutely pleasant to work with through and through peer support specialist not to mention Rachel the therapist was amazing and last but not certainly least I need to give a HUGE shout out to Clay who without him I wouldn't have stayed all the way through so thank you all and I look forward to seeing you all help those in need!
I have been caller # 1 for an hour now in their que! The petition was approved for a family member, this is day 2 I have sat on hold for an hr trying to call and give the address to pick them up with NO success. You have failed yet another person someone who really needed your help and we cant even get our foot in the door! I spoke with the rep earlier this morning and stated they are under staffed at night. STAFF UP AND GET IT TOGETHER THIS IS NOT A GAME!!!!!!! I'M BEYOND DISGUSTED WITH THIS EXPERIENCE....SAD NO HELP WHEN PEOPLE REALLY NEED IT!!!
Awful. No therapeutic care! This place was poorly ran and you had a lot of doctors and nurses who acted like they didn t care or were inconvenienced by asking questions. I can in after a recent suicide attempt just for medications and they recommended I stay and the doctor told me there s be therapists and social workers who are there to talk to me and make me feel welcome and help me process my feelings. THAT WAS A LIE! You can show no negative emotion without being threatened to be petitioned and you can t even get upset without threatening to get petitioned. Honestly worst psychiatric place in my life! I was there volountarily and when I discussed wanting to leave they made it seem like that wasn t an option. No one cared about my complaints. Very rude and uncaring staff. Some staff there seemed very power hungry and seemed to enjoy intimidating and belittling patients in front of other patients. I d rather have been in jail
I had the worst experience and never felt so humiliated and not taken serious. I went in because have bad anxiety and paranoia. While I was in their care I was not able to get any medications till 9pm rx time for patients. So I had to deal with anxiety all day. I got to see a doctor and he advice to change my anxiety pills due it was not working. I told him I feel I made a mistake by coming in to get help because I was suffering from anxiety all day in their care. Also when I was released I realized I didn't have a script so I went next door to see my psychiatrist to make sure I am taking the right medications..... That is when it got worst when I was treated like I was a drug addict. Was told there was nothing they can do. It did not seem right to me. I asked questions and they couldn't answer but to tell me I had to step out of their lobby. That hurt.... I walked out crying because they didn't take their time to listen to my concern. I called out to then on my phone when someone finally listened and asked the doctor why... He wanted me to take the same medications. Same doctor that told me I should try something else for anxiety. And that could of been better info then nothing. I am really disappointed because I like my psychiatrist there and I listened to her recommendation to stay there. Worst days ever..... :(
negative reviews here seem to be clearly written by delusional drug addicts. This is the place that gave me my freedom from a 10 year depression. The wait times are brutal but the staff is helpful and they got me the medicine I needed. I still come back here because I have very little money but they also recommend places where the wait time isn't as long and the cost is very low. I strongly recommend visiting here if you are poor and in need of some mental health medicine.
I am curious in knowing about the what is the actual rating this facility
connectionsaz.org