Connections Prince William Crisis Receiving Center

“Connections Prince William Crisis Receiving Center is not autism‑friendly, and I would not recommend it for autistic patients in crisis. My autistic adult son was sent here after an ER visit for suicidality, and staff repeatedly failed to understand or accommodate his autism. There was no autism‑literate provider available, and I had to push just to get basic sensory supports, (a book was all the allowed him to have) with a real risk of his shutdowns being mislabeled as “non‑compliance.” During discharge, staff referred to him over the radio only by a patient number and to me as “the parent here for pickup of discharge,” which felt dehumanizing. I was then left locked alone in the lobby for over an hour with no staff at the desk, no response to knocking or calling out, and was later told they “didn’t realize” who I was there for, despite having already tagged him with a number. Some (2) individual staff tried within the limits of the system, but overall this was not a safe or regulating environment for my autistic son. If you or your loved one is autistic, please be very cautious about choosing this facility.”

“Connections Mental Crisis Unit is one of the best places to recieve mental health help! I was there for about a week and I can say everyone is far the best! They are compassionate, kind, caring, and very helpful. Behavior specialists take their time with each patient and make sure they get everything they need. I really appreciate this place because I was able to get my thoughts in place. The providers and case managers are also amazing! I love this place. Shoutout to: William, Erika, Mikayla, DeMarcus, Michael, Dan, Diana, Jacia, And the night people as well ! Everyone here is amazing. 100% recommend. The ambiance as well is very nice and clean”

“Went to admit myself on a Sunday, this place is advertised as walk in, judgment free and get the care you need. First off, the door was locked – without signage you have to realize there’s a doorbell there and communicate that you’re there for a walk in. Simultaneously to my walk in there was a patients loved one outside waiting to visit their family member who also didn’t realize he had to ring the bell to gain access. Signing in, there was a lot of explaining to the case manager about what to do and how to do things which gave me the impression that case manager was new? She did my intake forms and pre screen. I was there for suicidal thoughts and wanted to speak to a therapist and psychiatrist to get help on my mental health. She assured me I would be able to speak to a therapist and come up with a treatment plan. She also told me these stays are normally 23hours long but since I voluntarily came in on my own I could leave whenever I needed to. Since she told me this I agreed to be admitted. All of your belongings are taken from you, you have to undress in front of a nurse to be checked for existing scars and cuts which are documented, then change into scrubs. You also get socks because you cannot wear shoes inside the observation room. The observation room does not have patients separated by age and gender. Including myself there were 2 females, about 12 adult men and one youth male. This environment is so triggering and it’s not explained to you before you go in. You hear people talk to themselves, see them pace and walk around (while talking to themselves), harass the staff through the “glass bubble” they sit behind and worst of all for me is that I saw one patient assault two other patients because the staff were not monitoring him closely enough. Both times I had to look around and find someone in the right colored scrubs and shout for them to stop the assault. That same patient was then brought back into the observation room instead of being isolated into his own room. The staff that are in the observation room are nice and welcoming, they do make light conversation here and there and hand out food, snacks, water and juice. They give you access to a phone if you ask, and they are the only ones able to let you in to use the restrooms. And another thing, no soap or paper towels in the restrooms - so no one’s ever washing their hands. The part that really bothers me is that I felt lied to about being able to leave whenever I wanted. I was told this repeatedly. I asked to leave because this shared environment made me nervous and I DID NOT want to sleep there overnight with all those people. I also asked to speak to the therapist and it never happened. The case manager said she would ask, and said she would speak to the provider (psychiatrist) about me being able to leave and no one came up to me until after shift change (7pm). After shift change there is no provider on site, and no one to discharge you - that is what I was told. I felt forced to stay until the morning trying to sleep with one eye open and be alert because I did not feel comfortable. When the morning time came I waited to see the provider and she told me I could be discharged in the morning but she had to finish making her rounds and typing reports. By the time everything was said and done I was there for a full 24 hours. I didn’t get to speak to a therapist during that time. My discharge was annoying to myself and the staff since two people had to walk me out and return to me my belongings and the nurse who was walking with me was having a hard time getting a second person to step away from their desk and walk with us. We’re apparently not supposed to cross paths with patients coming in for observation. The morning of my discharge the case manager told me about their behavioral health services is next door in the same building. It is essentially what I needed from the beginning, a place to walk in and speak to a therapist. I could have completely avoided a 24 hour stay at the crisis center, but NO ONE told me.”

“Terrible place , unless you are completely insane. I took my son to be evaluated for suicidal thoughts and anxiety. The nurse practitioner said to me this is not the place for him at all. The Pw county CSB referred us here. They should be ashamed of themselves. The only people that helped were the NP Nicole and the front desk person .. also Nicole. They were both as helpful as they could be. This place should be shut down.”