UF Health Psychiatric Hospital, Gainesville FL

Given too much medication which induced psychosis. I was given medication at another hospital then this one. Horrible side effects. I told them that the medication was hurting me but I was ignored. This place tortured me.

Horrible place. They don’t care about you getting better. Sun and exercise for patients is not a concept they know. If you pace they think you’re crazy. Never mind that sleeping all day is not healthy. They give you too much medication. If you’re a POC beware of coming here. This place was a nightmare.

All they care about is prescribing medication. I was told by a nurse “if you don’t take medication we’re going to medicate by force”. You’re constantly being monitored on literally everything you do. If you wake up in the middle of the night for a snack the nurse will note that you’re manic and are not sleeping. Though one of the only options to remain sane is to sleep during the day so if you’re not getting more than 12 hours of sleep you’re manic basically. I was lucky to be only prescribed 4mg of lithium and once I finally agreed to take it they discharged me the next day. They don’t care about your rights. If you stand your ground they’ll forcefully inject you. One of the worse places I’ve ever been in my life.

Wife really needs to be seen but staff here does not seem responsive. Was refereed here by UF ER and wait times are long with hardly anyone in the lobby. This was a huge contrast between the ER where they were really kind and responsive. I hope the treatment is better than the first impressions and the poor reviews. When asking how long it would take to be indicted was told flat out by lady who didn't speak good English that was not going to be seen until the person the police brought in was treated first as law enforcement always had priority. Mind you she was rude in the way she told her in broken English or maybe that's just how it was perceived. I will update this review as it progresses.
Updated: She got brought back for an evaluation. The staff was pleasant and professional so i adjusted the score. Hoping they admit her.
Will update as it progresses again
Overall I am improving the ranking as there were people who cared and helped.
Constructive feedback would definitely be better communication on how things work so patient would feel more comfortable getting adjusted quicker

I took my 15 yr old there today and his Dr said he needed to be evaluated by them so we go in at 3 sit there for 3 hours because every time they brought in a baker acted person my 15 yr old got pushed aside by these people! How do you keep a patient waiting for 3 hours and keeping shoving him aside for someone else, you are pathetic excuse of a place no wonder people are killing themselves you aren't giving them a damn choice because you don't take their medical care serious I hope and pray no one goes back to this place it might explain why they only acres a 2.6 y'all need to do better especially for teenagers!

I wish all of the staff here (doctors, nurses, techs, food service/dieticians, admissions, EVERYBODY) a very pleasant everything. Both times that I have been here, I have presented the staff with challenging sets of circumstances that were met with upmost compassion and thoroughness. Coming from Atlanta, a big city where no one cares about anything or anybody, this facility was like night and day. Felt like Disney here in comparison. Stays at places like these are never fun or enjoyable, but I felt like mountains were moved to make sure I was comfortable despite having severe sets of symptoms. Doctors always took as much time as needed to make sure I understood what changes they made because they valued my involvement in my own care. When my family would call, the staff were always cheerful and made them feel confident that I was getting the best care. I cannot thank this place enough for getting me to a stable enough mental state to begin blossoming in my recovery journey, because it felt like it took so much to get there. Much love. Everyone working here deserves a raise.

From your first walk in to the place the lobby is peaceful with chairs and Vending-machines the Hospital its self is a one floor building. The cafeteria is pleasant and the food is very good! The workers are also very nice.

I was here around 2 months ago, I had a questionable experience there. They put me in a room with 10-12 people without warning me, I almost had a panic attack and I was very uncomfortable. They were asking me the same questions but in a different way. The nurses were very nice, but I had blood drawn from me while my blood pressure was very low. I almost passed out due to the blood being drawn. Just to say, I am very skinny for my age.
I also disliked how the nurses never knocked on the door. I could have been changing and a nurse could have walked in. Also they barely let us go outside, I was in the kids part of the facility and while I was outside I did see people grabbing parts of the metal bench. The bench should be wood instead of metal because it’s rusty. The brick walls outside made me feel like I was in prison.
We watched the same movies over and over and we barely had the remote. These two girls were also talking about other kids and were joking around. It was terrible. I got asked out by someone on my first night, which made me very uncomfortable. I honestly thought the food was okay, but it could have been better.

For me, it’s the way that the ONLY group activity OR counseling that they have offered at any point throughout the day is Alcoholics Anonymous or narcotics anonymous meetings… And it’s recorded who attends and who does not …. By name.
HIPAA does not exist in Lou Solomon’s presence; expect his version of your diagnose and treatment to be discussed loudly in common areas in front of other patients. Dude has been stalking me for years with the support or negligence of UF Health administration.
(He showed up to my urology appointment, among other things, for Pete’s sake!)
When you file abuse grievances, expect that they will be scanned and put in your chart as “evidence” of your diagnosis and then destroyed without ever being turned into the grievance office. Thanks, Nurse Ashley M! You were such a pleasure to be gaslit by.
Expect that the ephemeral “DIRECTOR” the only person who can make provider changes will refuse to speak with you via ANY medium…text, call, email, smoke signal…. They aren’t even ALLOWED to give you the DIRECTOR’s phone number, email address, or even name.
I can’t even…
The most important and worst facts have been withheld pending ongoing investigations.

I was told by staff that repeat patients "just like coming here because they see it as a way to make friends". I was put on antipsychotics at 11 for being terrified of going into the psych ward, without any actual symptoms that would warrent their use. I was told that I needed to form a relationship with my father who was abusing me because I needed a father figure in my life, and when I told them no, they kept pushing repeatedly, asking "well, don't you want a male role model? " Staff's dietician offered to show me the calories of everything on the menu as her way to treat a patient with an eating disorder. I witnessed other patients go through far worse that would definitely be considered abuse, but I refuse to give out other people's trauma. Read the other negative reviews.

For me, it’s the way that the only group activity or counseling that they have offered at any point throughout the day is alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous meetings… And it’s recorded who attends and who does not …. By name.
HIPAA does not exist in Lou Solomon’s presence; expect his version of your diagnose and treatment to be discussed loudly in common areas in front of other patients. Dude has been stalking me for years with the support or negligence of UF Health administration.
(He showed up to my urology appointment, among other things, for Pete’s sake!)
When you file abuse grievances, expect that they will be scanned and put in your chart as “evidence” of your diagnosis and then destroyed without ever being turned into the grievance office. Thanks, Nurse Ashley M! You were such a pleasure to be gaslit by.
Expect that the ephemeral “DIRECTOR” the only person who can make provide changes will refuse to speak with you via ANY medium…text, call, email, smoke signal…. They aren’t even ALLOWED to give you the DIRECTOR’s phone number, email address, or even name.
I can’t even…
The most important and worst facts have been withheld pending ongoing investigations.

There holding my daughter hostage and not letting her come home she's done be gone for 5 days there was hair in the food fecis on wall and toilet no hot water horrible rude staff this place does not need to be open shut this place down they are no good

I was here once and was having a decent conversation with one of the staff members. We got into it and then he brought up, “y’know, Holocaust survivors don’t have a high suicide rate, so maybe if you really lived a hard life you would want to actually live. ” Great place.

Though I only spent a night and half of a day there, my experience was not very great. I have horrible adhd and the nurses would not give me my medications until 11 am, when I usually take it around 7 am. I explained to them that I am vegetarian and they did not listen and filled out my meal form for me, if I hadn't left during the day, I would have had to eat a hamburger for dinner. The pizza for lunch was great, however the drinks aren't all that. The only good drink is the lemonade, everything else tastes like watered down unsweetened tea. I did not get a very good sleep the night I stayed since they had to open my door every 10 to 15 minutes. The night nurses were very demanding and very rude, the morning nurses were so much nicer and didn't order me around. In the time I stayed I only got to go outside for about 15 minutes when I hadn't been outside in about a day. The outside area is terribly small and it feels like you are in a prison. The walls have the word "run" written all around them which I found to be very unsettling. With all that happened while I was there, I do not recommend going to this facility. They did not help me feel better at all and if anything they made me feel worse since it felt like I was in a prison.

Staff- understanding, accommodating and kind.
Other inpatients are what I was having trouble with. This is what made the experience a bad one. And that's no fault on staff!

I would not recommend for anyone who gets overstimulated easily.

I do wish I had known about what resources were available to me while being inside. Maybe a list of what the staff can give me. For example I didn't know I was able to ask for ear plugs till my last day. Had I known that I'd have definitely slept better!