Kalamazoo Behavioral Health Hospital

“They sent the review link to my mom. Who has alzheimers. This is her daughter. They did great with figuring out her meds. But literally NO ONE will call you back when you leave a Voicemail. The only nurse to EVER CALL ME was Kelly. She was wonderful, but was only her nurse for the 1st week. No one called to give us updates or communicate with us with her discharge date. The only reason we got that information was because they sent information to the facility she was moving into. Then they forgot to send her new med orders to the facility when they discharged her. The new facility and myself tried MULTIPLE times to reach them this last week, 5 messages total. No call back and my mom has been without 3 of her psych meds for a week. Because NO ONE will.call you back. FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING JUST CALL PEOPLE BACK,!!! It's why your review status is so low.”

“I was severely depressed and because there wasn’t a depression unit open in the area, they put me in with the looney tunes!!!!! I have PTSD and this WAS NOT A GOOD FIT FOR ME!!!!! I was NOT PREPARED FOR BEING. DEPRESSED IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL!!!!!! It took the Dr. (Aries Stern) 8 days to up my depression medicine!!!!! It took them 12 days to up my blood pressure meds! Because I did not get moved from these people, my BP was at stroke level The whole time!!!!! The nurses did their job but the aides were just there for the paycheck! BPs were taken incorrectly and I felt rushed at mealtime. Over all it was horrible!!!”

“Nurse Sway was fabulous. Rec Therapy was outstanding. However, there was no therapy. It was freezing cold, cold showers, and mostly cold meals. Gave psych meds to patients without their knowledge and did not give needed medical meds. Staff favored some patients over others and did not handle conflicts well. There is no 24 hour TEAMS available so when emergencies arise no one can be contacted and staff cannot help. Voluntary should be voluntary, not you cannot leave until we discharge you and we are keeping you as long as we can for billing. Even past the 72 maximum.”

“Our family’s experience with this hospital was extremely upsetting. From the start, there was almost no reliable communication or follow-through. Calls and emails went unanswered, and we were told different stories by different staff. Promised updates never came. At one point, I was told my phone “went straight to voicemail,” yet it works perfectly for everyone else. Strangely, right after I filed a complaint outside the facility, several staff members suddenly began returning calls the same day. We were also told conflicting information about whether my father had signed permission for staff to speak with us. He and a staff member both confirmed that he had, yet later we were told he hadn’t. Despite that, nurses still discussed his medications with us. That contradiction raises serious questions about how documentation was handled. Staff admitted they hadn’t seen previous emails or were “just thrown into” the case because another worker quit. This kind of confusion should never happen in a hospital caring for people in mental health crisis. The worst part came at discharge. My father was sent home with another patient’s petition and certification paperwork from a completely different county, including that person’s identifying information. This is a major HIPAA violation and a shocking breach of privacy. We have reported it and requested a formal investigation. It also appears part of his diagnosis was based on a short note I had submitted about his background, which no one ever followed up on. Critical medical decisions should not rely on incomplete family notes without clarification or conversation. They also didnt sent him home with all of his medicine during discharge. Another serious concern is how long patients are being kept. From what we observed, nearly everyone seems to be discharged at exactly the two-week mark — regardless of their condition or readiness. It gives the impression that care decisions may be driven more by insurance coverage limits than by actual patient needs, which is extremely troubling. After outside agencies became involved, the hospital’s behavior suddenly changed. Staff who had been unreachable before were suddenly quick to respond, as if trying to clean things up after realizing complaints were being made. No family should have to fight this hard for basic honesty and proper care. Patients deserve professionals who are organized, compassionate, and ethical — not confusion, neglect, and privacy violations. Based on our experience, I would never recommend this facility and sincerely hope an investigation leads to real accountability and change”