Brightwell Behavioral Health

“This is the worst facility in Michigan. They will promise you the best care and assistance and do the opposite. My brother was sent there and discharged sent in a cab back home once his insurance ran out. I’ve called so many times they should know my number by heart. I just tried to get them to send my brother records over to Sedgwick and they wouldn’t do it. I got the run around. From call the case manager to call Hr then they told me to call medical records. Long story short no assistance and brother may lose everything just because no one would do there damn job. Disrespect from the case manger that magically doesn’t work there when I spoke to her the day before. Just the worst of the worst.”

“This is a long review so let me summarize and say Anybody who actually needs mental health shouldn't go here. They are getting a 2 rather than a 1 because one of their doctors, (Elizabeth) seemed to show some care. That doesn't make her competent. About a month ago (April 17) was my last call with them when my mom was released. To be clear my mom has been in and out of such facilities her entire life (minus about 20 years in the middle) And she knows how to Play the system to a degree. She has an as yet unidentified personality disorder according to several doctors including the social worker at Brightwell, In addition to her bipolar disorder with delusions. After being in and out of several facilities in the last couple years my mother was finally transferred to Brightwell after the local hospitals realized that there was nothing else they could do for her. She stayed for a couple of weeks. Her social worker called me several times, and talked to me quite a bit about my experiences and history with her. Again this is why they're getting a two and not a one. But it doesn't mean that this woman was good at her job. When my mother was released it was against the recommendation of both myself and my stepdad. My sister who has not had contact with my mom in several years also expressed concern, though she declines to be directly involved in her care. I was told that they gave my mom a shot which acted as a time release treatment for her bipolar disorder. This shot I was told would last a month. Now let me say that my mother has a specific brand of bipolar disorder which comes with delusions which often make her dangerous to herself and others. Which is why I am sickened and disappointed that there was almost no change at all. In less than 2 weeks She had managed to wake me up at 17 phone calls in less than 3 minutes, while she was out on bail for a domestic violence charge against my stepdad. These are the only things that I can say with any absolute certainty. There are several other stories about things she did in that time from different family members as well, But I don't have enough details and someones just really personal to the family itself. In short most of us think she's a danger to herself and others. I was told by Elizabeth at Brightwell Behavioral that I could call her and ask questions and advice. My mother is in jail, and honestly she should probably be in a psychiatric hospital. I called Elizabeth 3 times in the course of 5 days to ask for advice. It's been a week since the last call and I haven't heard back once. Basically I was lied to. The reason I called initially was to ask about the legal information I had been given which I was told would protect myself and my stepdad and the rest of our family after they let my mother out so callously. I was told that even if the shot didn't actually do anything My mother would have to report to court and would be committed again. (At this point this had gone on for almost a year already So I didn't believe it, but I did want to know what the process was going to be because she needs help) Make no mistake, while my mom is a danger to other people, that also means that in jail she's a danger to herself and the prisoners, And the prisoners are Even more of a threat her. Brightwell might be good if somebody's having some kind of a stress attack, but if somebody is actually dangerous it's the equivalent to a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. I understand that the entire story above is not their fault but in general the care that they provided was exceptionally insufficient, and somehow my mother managed to fool all of the doctors there into letting her go. A delusional woman should not be able to trick every doctor in a facility like that. And if they tell you you can call them, they could at least call you back. Especially when the entire family is saying don't do it. I could post a lot of questions that I have concerning the quality of their treatment but the point is this facility and their doctors are basically incompetent.”

“I couldn’t leave a zero, so here goes… My son has been there for over 2 weeks. I got a call from his girlfriend stating that she called to leave a message and was told that he was not there. So, I called and was told the same thing, rather rudely. I started to get a little upset (didn’t raise my voice) because I know he’s there, he just called 2 days ago from that number. I was told, actually almost yelled at, that I needed to CALM DOWN. This is MY SON!!! You’re damn lucky I didn’t cause more of a scene. But I know that wouldn’t do him or I any good. Finally, she says that they wouldn’t lie to me and that he wasn’t on that floor. Could’ve saved a lot of grief had she started with that. Then she offered to transfer me to the other floor where I got a voicemail recording. My son called me 5 minutes later, from the same number I called. Moral of the story… this is supposed to be a facility that cares for the mentally impaired. You have people who answer phones with absolutely NO compassion and should not be in the profession that they are in. I understand that they probably deal with many disgruntled people, but I was not that. I was a concerned mother who didn’t deserve that kind of treatment!!”

“I called crying my eyes out looking for mental help not suicidal or anything like that and they they threatened to call the police if I didn't stop calling them also there was a crisis hotline of some sort on the website, I had a man and a woman scream at me telling me to stop calling them, they are supposed to care but they seem to hate mentally ill people basically discrimination and complete disrespect this place should get shut down. They could have done anything instead of trying to get the cops to come to my house when that was completely unnecessary. Shame on the staff that screamed at me while I was at my lowest.”