UH Lake Continuing Care Center - Center for Geriatric Psychiatry

“Be aware of admitting yourself or a loved one to Lake Health Geriatric Psychiatry inpatient facility in Concord. My mom nearly died after being there 2 weeks, and thankfully recovered after being sent to the ER at Tripoint where she was in critical care and unresponsive for 5 days. The psych facility never thoroughly assessed my mom, was too quick to give meds, and was not alarmed by significant declines in mental and physical state after trying meds. My mom entered the facility walking and talking, needing help with anxiety and we thought this would be a good overall senior health assessment. She had not been on any medications at all prior. After the first med was tried, I found her in a wheelchair, in a diaper, hallucinating. While I could see the psychiatrist through the glass in his office door, he refused to come out and talk with me about my concerns. I was bawling, asking the nurse to help get the doctor to discuss my mom’s declined state with me. She was not only rude, but gave incorrect info. She said my mom had not been on any meds for 2 days so it must be a sudden, sharp onset of dementia symptoms and not a reaction to the meds. They had not even confirmed that diagnosis. After meeting with the program director, social worker, and nurse manager, they reviewed her meds and discovered the increase that led to the symptoms. After much fighting, they agreed days later to take her off all meds to determine her true baseline. This was at my request, not due to their own process and judgement. She was back to herself after 2 days medication free, confirming the hallucinations were caused by the medications. They then tried a new medication, and in 2 days she was catatonic. I still could not get a doctor to discuss with me. I had to ask for the name of the medical dr being consulted, google him, and got a hold of him by the grace of god. He was a blessing, listened to my concerns, agreed something significant must be wrong, and got her transferred to the ER about an hour later. They immediately found she had a bad UTI and was dehydrated. The combination of those things, plus the medication they gave her, nearly killed her. The worst part is that they seemed so desensitized at the psych facility that no one raised a red flag that a woman, who came in to the facility walking and talking 2 weeks prior, was now rigid, drooling on herself, unable to speak. And the same awful nurse that told me the hallucinations were a sudden onset of dementia, ignored me when I told her my mom was wincing in pain, holding her side. She said it was just because of how she was sitting in the wheelchair. Meanwhile, it was a bad UTI that was very quick for Tripoint to diagnose once admitted to the ER. The psychiatrist’s name at the psych facility, who refused to talk to me, is Bachman Sharif”

“I have found this place to be very helpful in my recovery. Jen Wood was excellent in helping me to see that life has it struggles. But it is through these struggles we become strong, like that of a butterfly getting out of its cocoon.”

“Place is ridiculous. Lake Health system is a joke. The doctors promise one thing and do another. This place is for 65 and older and they admitted my 61 year old like he was crazy. There has to be better places than this”

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