Valley Hope Of O'Neill

Go there with eyes wide open! Most counselors are finishing their school requirements and/or are themselves recovering addicts. This can be a double edge sword. YES they can speak from experience, but also lack a Counselor Certificate, BS, or Masters that would empower them to achieve greater knowledge. When I asked the "Nurses" what kind of degree they had I was told that they had one person that had their RN and everyone else there were Medication Aides. This means that evenings and weekends there is not an actual nurse at the facility. The Doctor that you go to on your first day is not an on site Doctor. He has an off site office in O'Neill. I feel this is false advertising and puts patients at risk. The detox area is very dated and lacks privacy in any way. You share a shower and toilet area with 5 people. They don't have "quiet" hours where you are not allowed to talk and socialize in the sleeping area. Which is okay if you are coming from jail in which many people were. This makes it very difficult to get comfortable in your surroundings to get any sleep in the first 24 to 48 hours. Once you do get to a room after detoxing it will be very much like a hotel setting. Personally, I liked my room. Now if the person I was sharing the room with wasn't stealing my personal items I may have rated the Accommodations and Amenities two stars. (Even after I told the Director they refused to change my roommate). I was there during the summer and people would literally sit in a circle and smoke until all hours of the night. I felt that amount of smoking that took place was horrible. So, you can't have your normal non-abused medications but you can smoke to high heaven instead of using your "drug of choice" . There were very few non-smokers so you either choose to sit in a smoke filled area or sit alone. I did request that the group move away from my window and it took two nights before the "counselors" said anything to the smokers. I originally said I would stay for 30 days. I went there on my own will and desire to stop drinking. I requested to leave early because of the on going left of laundry quarters, sunglasses, female products and other supplies I brought with me. It took me telling them I was issuing my notice to vacate in 5 days...LOL I'm serious though before they moved the person that roomed with me. Actually they did it the same day but I didn't change my mind. I should not have had been to be told "We don't let our patients choose their roommate" . I didn't feel safe, comfortable or at home in the quest for sobriety. So I left after 3 weeks. I had dual insurance so I am sure the thought of lost money stirred their thinking a bit. My insurance was going to pay the entire 30 day stay with no copay. I thought.. I really need this, I'm going to help myself get sober. The daily activities are nice in the since they put you on a schedule to achieve the since of responsibility and accountability. This is very 12 step orientated so be ready to feel that nothing is before being sober. I disagreed because I was always taught God and then family come before all. This isn't the plan. You will be expected to help run the facility pulling Kitchen duty, cleaning ashtrays, and basic grounds maintenance. I embrace community service but not when you are paying thousands... yes I said thousands of dollars to get help for addiction. Their motto is that they will not turn you away for only your ability to pay but, I guarantee you they will bill you and send you to collections. Someone I kept in touch with had this happen to them. I feel I did learn to manage my life better but could have benefited more had there been more flexibility for my individual situation. Valley Hope could benefit from adhering to HIPAA and actually listening to patients and their feed back while they are at the facility.

I would not send my biggest enemy to this dive. The nursing staff are substandard and not well trained in substance abuse. I know because I worked in mental health for 12 years and know a well trained nurse when I see one. These nurses were impossible to develop a relationship with, which is necessary during a 30 day stay, because they treat everyone exactly the same and expect the worst of each client. They told my husband I was not attending groups which was untrue, they recorded my intake weight wrong, 10 #'s under, which I noticed at the time but saw no reason to correct them. Unfortunately that mistake became important after I lost #12 in the first 2 weeks I was there from being ill and they wouldn't believe me because of the wrong weight they had. They accused me of drug seeking Imodium, for diahrrhea, as I was asking for it daily because I had non stop diahrrhea during my entire 30 day stay. Who drug seeks Imodium? When I arrived they took away my Clonazepam that I had taken for years with no problem. Stopping a benzodiazepine cold turkey can actually lead to death from severe withdrawal symptoms. I was so horribly anxious, had diahrrhea 24/7 and experienced insomnia the entire time I was there with no concern from them whatsoever. When I left they refused to return my Clonazepam and insisted I flush it. I refused. As I stated earlier I had been on this drug for years without any problems and was never informed they would be taking it as well as not then treating my withdrawal symptoms. It was the worst 30 days of my entire life. I was sent for a physical and my chart was laid face up on the counter for everyone to see with VALLEY HOPE stamped across the front. While I was there I asked the nurse to ask the Dr. if there was something he could suggest for my back pain besides the pain pills after having rods put into my back from my scapula to my tailbone. I don't know what she told him but when I got back the nurses at Valley Hope called my husband and told him I asked the Dr. for pain pills! This was untrue as well as ridiculous since that was the reason I was there in the first place. When you arrive they give you a couple days to get acclimated and because many of the clients are experiencing withdrawal symptoms which can be debilitating. Despite this they told my husband I was refusing to go to groups! Again, untrue. I was lied to, spoken to with disdain and outright rudeness and not treated for withdrawal symptoms from stopping my benzodiazepine abruptly. There is no psychiatrist available for clients. I could go on and on about the poor counselor I had, the ridiculous nursing staff, the physician office and the poor accommodations. You're roomed in old motel rooms and are forced to walk from the recreation room to your room to the lecture building, to the laundry in the freezing snowy Nebraska weather. I was there during a blizzard. There are no fitness facilities whatsoever so little to no outlet for stress. I despised every second I spent there while not sleeping, not eating, very sick with diarrhea, crying continuously and losing weight. During all of this I was treated like a second class citizen. Drug addiction is an illness not a crime. Someone should tell Valley Hope that. Don't send anyone you love there. 2 people that were there with me killed themselves shortly after discharge. That's how good they are.

What a horrible experience my time was at this facility. The experience is tough enough without having to be told who you can, or cannot associate with. They focus on the triggers in your life and not to re introduce those back into this new life of yours, but its completely okay to send you home early for a fraternization policy violation in their eyes and then write a completely false discharge summary, and then lie about it! This facility should be absolutely ashamed of this behavior. I will do everything in my power to spread nothing but negativity regarding this facility and the staff previously mentioned. I have attended social functions with fellow Valley Hope attendees and shared my discharge summary, and they could not believe what Valley Hope had to say about me in the report and offered to write testimonials on my behalf. So if that does not speak for it self, I don't know what else to say. Stay away from this facility!!!

THEY GAVE ME THE TRUTH AND THE TOOLS. IT WAS UP TO ME TO USE THEM......SOBER 37 YEARS...

My brother did well. I attended outpatient with him 2 visits, But relapse is part of the alcoholism. But he's not as bad as he was. They have great outcomes. As all facilities, the relapse of the clients.