Peachford Hospital
Reviews and Complaints

I was on unit 1. I was admitted in november for attempting suicide and in december for si. As soon as I got there and was waiting ms. K the one who wears the camo crocs looked at me and rolled her eyes and said "why are you here again, your crazy" that really hurt my feelings. And when I was a patient mrs. Lia the nurse gave patients cookies secretly. This place needs alot of help. The staff is very rude!

Worse than a nightmare in my case. From being physically assaulted by hospital staff, which left me bruised and in excruciating pain. To being shot up with unknown drugs and thrown into a legit cell with nowhere to sit but just concrete all around me. I was denied the use of the restroom for an extremely long duration and had I of not had the willpower, I would have surely defecated on myself. Then to top it off, being assaulted by a fellow patient which left me bloodied and bruised. All of which the doctors there saw my physical injuries. Not one of the doctors had a care in the world for my well being. I was told numerous times that I would be going for a CT scan, that never happened. I happened to be with a hospital staff member when the assault took place from a fellow “patient”. The hospital staff member that assaulted me was actually told by another staff member not to go so hard on me, which he clearly broke protocol. I used to work in the hospital as well. I was an SRT. Student Radiologist Technologist and can say some serious crimes against humanity took place here. I worked for the USPS (United States Postal Service) during my awful time here. I was only admitted here due to complications from COVID which was such a scary thing. I knew something was extremely off though once I arrived here, from the start something seemed well out of place. I do understand this is a mental hospital and nothing seems normal, but when one gets a gut feeling about something, you should always go with your gut. I believe there was a serious operation that took place here and it needs to get exposed for what it is. Whether it was the FBI, USPS, Homeland Security, etc. My rights were completely trodden over. An investigation needs to be opened against this institution, cause something wasn’t right. During my time here, all the other patients should be investigated to even make sure whether or not they were even legit. Myself and one other, were actual patients. The rest were something out of a Hollywood script, but rather worked for some agency… along with two particular elderly “patients” being some sort of psychiatrist’s posing as mental patients. One wore a floral shirt (which they swapped shirts with one another, I’m speaking of the elderly white man) and the other had on a San Diego Chargers color beanie, separate person than the one who swapped shirts with the other psychiatrist. (I know this is the typical “mental” problems issue, but I can assure you I’m most certainly stable and nowhere near the state I was due to the complications from COVID) All my clothes were given to other “patients” with not a care in the world from hospital staff members. I put patients in quotations cause I actually believe they were undercover operatives. I know it sounds so far fetched but it’s the truth. It’s pretty scary that I’m even writing that cause you’d think I was still out of my mind from COVID but that’s simply not the case. The camera footage is all there to show the treacheries that took place, though I’m sure that footage is long gone now. You’d think this was a legit movie script and this doesn’t even touch nearly half of it, just the tip of the iceberg you could say. Courtney knows the truth and so do the rest, along with James as well. Both of those named worked there during my time there. There was also a middle eastern looking doctor who seemed rather dazed and confused when I called those very people out for who they were. Had the look on his face like “Who the hell is this guy and how did he figure us out?” type of look. I do remember him having a very strong scent of a nice cologne on as well. Something that is frowned upon in the hospital setting. You are told not to wear scents such as perfumes and cologne, being a hospital employee. There was also a fellow “patient” whom had curly hair and wore glasses, he also had a bit of a meltdown when he went around removing all the other “patient” names from the door as he was under the impression that I had wrote them down and could possibly use that information.

I would like JACHO or some other organizations governing healthcare institutions to evaluate how patients are being taken care of at Peachford Hospital. My son was admitted there for mental issues, and it was like was admitted into a "hell house". He was not properly taken care of and worst his doctor from another hospital left several messages along with his telephone number for the doctor at Peachford Hospital to call him. My son's doctor called several times and no response which is really, really bad.

I did not get adequate notice when my son was scheduled to be discharged. Someone called abruptly at about 4:30 pm and said someone should pick him up by5PM. The discharge did not have anything on it than his name. No medication instruction was noted, and no information was sent to his doctor for continuity of care. The only information given to me after calling and pressuring them was that the nurse told me my son received Invega Injection on the 4th and 11th of February. It appears that my son did not get the 11th of February dose because of the way he is acting, and I have no way of knowing that he received it.

Was not given my anti rejection medication until missing 6 doses, 3 days worth. was informed by weekend Med nurse Joan, that "You ain't gonna reject this soon now go sit down" she was abusive, demeaning, acted in racist ways, and violated my rights. I told them I have a compromised immune system and felt as if I had C.Diff with horrific stomach pain and diarrhea, requested to transfer to Emory transplant unit, nothing was done, no medication provided and had to share 1 restroom with all other women all day for 5 long days. After being discharged for 2 weeks was notified my test result came back positive for C.Diff. They did nothing to treat me for this highly contagious, life threatening infection and what about the health of the women in there with me. Shouldn't they have the right to be notified and protected? My new organ was also at risk due to these people and their lack of knowledge and concern. I asked to stay in my room due to the intense pain and no that was not acceptable yet others were and staying in their room getting high drinking the hand soap and of their same color. I was not allowed to obtain funds from the business office to purchase Power Ade to keep my kidney hydrated but they would take others to the vending machine anytime no problem. Had it not been for 1 nice lady buying me drinks I would have been out of luck. The doctor ordered that I have 3 Power Ades per day but that particular Medication Nurse Joan could not find the order in the system so again "Go sit down!"

My daughter was transferred to this "facility" Saturday on a 72 hold for trying to hurt herself. I drove from Cleveland where she has a mental health protocol to take her back to get treatment. They are refusing to release her to my care and I am a licensed health professional. She is an adult who was just evicted and lost her job, they are threatening to keep her past 72 which I cannot stay past. They do not understand nor do they want to hear that she has no place to go or no support system in Atlanta. She also signed a release so they can share information with me which they have refused to saying they lost it? What kind of one flew over the nest is this place? I have scheduled all of her follow up appointments with her doctors I trust back home in Cleveland. It is Monday and I have not heard one word from a doctor since. I may have to call the police and my congressman to get her home to get the treatment she needs as this place has no history of her previous medication and is giving her god knows what. I have only gotten to see her one time in three days and she seems drugged too much. My insurance company is about to drop her off as she will be 26 and I need to get her home to a social worker who can help with this. Erica the social worker at the facility doesn't seem to understand or care that she cannot stay there and has the support in place back home in Cleveland to take care of her needs. I still have not heard one word from an actual doctor and I am calling my doctors at home to get them to contact this facility. How can you possibly treat someone without their medical history? It seems from all of the complaints this facility is looking for insurance money which I have made sure they will not receive by talking to my insurance administrator.

Kia purposely gave me and injections with size 18 gauge three nights in a row. I Couldn't sleep on my side because of the pain I was in (see photos) She even threatened it didn't matter I complained because she would be working the next day. She's a terrible person and should not work in a care giving position, I still have nightmares till this day. My stay 9/12-9/19/2018. The dude with dread was just horrible to patients and treated them like animals

During my stay at Peachford, staff members who treated me with kindness were exceptions. My counselor screamed in my face when I asked about the option of weaning off antidepressants I'd been on for 5 years instead of stopping cold turkey, and at least half a dozen instances of mistreatment were not covered on my records, for which I later paid in order to check if they were documented. It took me a year after my stay to get medically rebalanced. Like I said, there were exceptions, and I know everyone was just doing their job, but I did not feel like I was treated like a person.

This is the letter I submitted to a patient advocate:
My daughter is a patient in unit 1. She is 14 years old. She, as of this date has been there for an entire week. I have many issues that I am very upset about. Basic "Standard of Care" is not being met in some of these situations. I have been quiet up until now because my daughter is being treated there and I feared she would be treated bad, or worse if I spoke up. But, as a nurse myself, I can no longer be quiet after what I have witnessed today.

I started asking for the doctor to call me 5 days ago. We had immediate family coming from out of town that wanted to see her and one hour was not enough. I did not want to sacrifice my time as her mother, nor did I think it was fair to rotate people who are not local that can choose another day of visitation. I called and called and requested to no avail never got a call back. I could have told the family not to drive from out of town with a courtesy of a simple phone call back. I believe I was patient waiting 5 days for a call back. My daughter is a 1017 NOT a 1013. I brought her there for help. She is not an animal, and is a human and deserves respect. That being said I will list the most recent issue first and move backwards.

1.) Because no one called me back regarding visitation today and family came, Donte made arrangements for Gracie to see everyone. Gracie was HAPPY! She was SMILING! Something I had not seen my daughter do in a long time. She NEEDED this. I understand we broke the rules, I get that, but the manner in which Andrea, and Paga and Linda acted was inappropriate. Then, Andrea, Paga and Linda come in and FORCE Gracie to choose who will be able to stay and visit with her with 15 minutes left in visitation. My daughter then begins crying and says she cant choose she loves all of us. How inappropriate. If they had been polite, we would have gladly complied. They had an attitude with me in front of my daughter. And, then was rude to my daughter right in front of me. If they act like that in front of me, how do they treat her when I am not there? Unprofessional was not the word for Andrea, Paga and Linda; Linda's attitude being the worst. Linda and Andrea and Paga proceeded to reprimand Donte in front of my daughter and me. Seriously? Again unprofessional. My daughter loves Donte. He is always smiling, and has respect for people and wants what IS BEST for the patients. When no one can talk my daughter down Donte, Brian and Dominique can. My daughter has respect for them, as she said they treat her with respect and redirect her, instead of getting rude and verbal with her. That is appropriate care. The way I was treated, and my daughter and family were treated was unreasonable, and beyond rude. Every time I called regarding family coming, no one called me back. This could have all been avoided with a call back. Or a simple line of communication. Which is not there.
2.) There is an employee there named Jeff who yelled at these girls and said verbatim, "You all are little [censor] and I am only here for the paycheck". When she is telling me this during visitation, other girls heard and piped up and stated that this was true. These girls are not animals. They are humans and deserve respect. I don't know how many time I need to say this for it to sink in.
3.) Gracie was very upset about a situation and she made a choice to punch a concrete wall. I do not blame the facility for this, Gracie made a choice, however, no one called me, and no one took her for an x-ray to ensure that it was not broken. At visitation today, I noticed there is a large hematoma on her hand that is bruised. Rest assured, I will take my daughter for an xray when she is discharged within 24 hours, and if it is broken, we will have a lawsuit. My Step-father is a attorney. This is in no way, standard of care.
4.) Andrea, and Linda and Paga treated both my daughter and myself with total disrespect. Their attitudes were less than professional. Apparently they are jaded to people's feelings and have lost their empathy for patient care and need to find another profession.
5.) Back to lines of communication. My daughter has new scratched on her arm. Has no one noticed them? I know there are 40 girls on that unit, and not everything can be caught, I understand that. But, it should have been noticed at some point and SOMEONE should have called me. No one did. I notice them at visitation.
6.) On a positive note: Donte, and Bryan and Dominique are AMAZING in Gracie's care. All three of these employees have the best in mind for these patients. They are kind, and caring and have empathy for the patients. Gracie only speaks highly of these three employees. They treat these girls and patients with respect. Gracie is not out of control, she is level headed if you just talk to her. She is easily redirected if you just talk to her and these three employees can attest to that. We came voluntarily. Please keep this in mind. In NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM should Donte be reprimanded for doing what was best for Gracie. Those three employees whom were rude are the problem and need repremand. This is not about taking things personal, this is about what IS BEST for my daughter. Donte, had what was best for Gracie in mind!

Not that I should have to, but I am going to remind you that Gracie is MY CHILD, and she does NOT belong to Peachford.

My 22 y.o. son was admitted to the hospital, under dual diagnosis, he was under suicidal watch along with substance abuse. He had overdosed two days before being admitted to the hospital. He was admitted to the Regional Hospital in Athens, Ga on Tuesday October 3rd around 5 pm. On October around 6 am (according to the Regional staff) he was transferred to Peachford. He waited for 7 hours in the waiting room at Peachford. He called me the day he arrived. He told me that he was being administered Suboxone and he was feeling better. I asked him to sign release of information so I could talk to a doctor. He signed it on Friday, and thought that it was all he needed to do, since this is the only customary action in other medical interventions that we have been involved with. They didn't tell him that he needed to call me with the patient ID number. On Sunday October 8th mid-morning my husband called the hospital and they said they couldn't say if my son was there or not without the patient number, them my husband asked what if my son passed away, if they would call us. The person at the hospital said that if our son passed away they wouldn't let us know and we should look in the obituaries in Atlanta to see if we could find our son's name. My husband was very calm on the phone, he was not agitated, and the hospital staff said to him; Sir, don't be overdramatic and beligerant. This is an unexpected attitude from a mental health hospital staff, being that deaths do occur due to overdoses or suicides. I left messages every day that I would like to talk to a professional because I was worried about aftercare. Nobody called me and the first time that I received a call was on Monday October 9th just to communicate that he was being discharged. I told her that I live out-of-town and what was the procedure if the patient doesn't live in-town, she answered me that they could place him in a homeless shelter (my son said that she told him the same thing). I asked the nurse if he was under any medication, she didn't know. I asked to talk to a doctor before he was discharged. Dr. Vaughn called me, he was polite and he told me that he would prescribe him meds. I was a little appalled that after only 5 days in the hospital and being administered Subxone while interned, they were discharging him with no medicine, and nothing planned to deal with withdrawals. After talking to the doctor, he agreed to provide him prescriptions, but there was no information about how difficult these meds would be to find in a normal drugstore. We arrived in Watkinsville around 7pm and spent the next two hours driving around and calling drugstores to find a drugstore that had these meds. This morning there was a call from Kroger Pharmacy that the subscription was missing a registration number that allows Dr. Vaughn to prescribe certain meds, and his number was busy and mailbox was full. I had to call the Hospital Pharmacy (talked to Marcia, THE ONLY POLITE AND CARING PERSON THAT I MET AT PEACHHFORD) and asked what I should do, they called Kroger Pharmacy and finally this problem was solved. It does seem odd to me that Peachford Hospital discharged my son without his meds, without communicating with me how difficult it would be to find these meds and absolutely NO CONCERN that he will be almost 48 hours without taking his meds, which very well could send him into withdrawals. Also there was a certain malaise and a "I-don't-care" attitude, not to mention downright rudeness permeating the whole staff. Being that this a hospital for mental health care, this type of attitude is non-acceptable.

My father was voluntarily admitted 1013 he is manic depressant schizophrenia . He has had several episodes in his life time and admitted to places such as Laurel wood and formerly known GMHI . This recent admission at peachford Hospital 11/2014 was the worse experience for my father and my family. So called Dr.Dutta was very rude and hateful . My father has had adverse reactions to a medication Halidol which is given intramuscular injection . When we found out that this so called Dr Dutta was prescribing this to my father which was causing him to have violent outburst I called him with concern.. His comment to me was and quote " who in the hell told you this ### about Halidol ! I was shocked and told him he would not speak to me like that! He was very rude and from the previous reviews I had read on this facility made me fear I had made matters worse for my father and it did with in minutes after Dutta told me he was to busy to speak with me any further my father was calling upset saying they where no longer going to give him his medication... Not to mention my father ALS has heart issues and other health factors that he needed medications for . Luckily Dutta had to all the sudden leave the country thank god and my father was appointed another physician . The staff is rude and unhelpful and the reviews are true ! The bathrooms are locked you have to get a staff to unlock them to go use the restroom meaning whenever they felt like it. They do shine a flash light in your face every 30 minutes while you are trying to sleep . It's true patients are given shots of whatever mysterious drug and so sedated they can not function. My father did say the staff was rude and hateful and would push patients buttons to get a reaction. This place is horrible every horrible thing you read is true . Then they discharged my father to a unknown group home when he was accepted into a nursing home without notifying us. We had to find our father and luckily the bed was still available and the nursing home helped us fight to get him to the right location. Stay the hell away from peachford they need to be investigated . Can any one tell me where and how to go about filing a complaint . Dr.Dutta should not be practicing . Peachford needs to be rebuilt . There needs to be help and fair treatment for the mentally ill.

My son was left in dirty clothes for 32 hours. I did not receive regular contact from the doctors. I was not informed about all the legal ramifications of admitting my son. No medical history was taken. Below is a detailed description of my experience with the hospital.

I took my adolescent son in for depression and suicidal thoughts on Monday, April 21 at 5 pm. We waited until 1:30 am Tuesday, April 22 morning to be admitted. The admission was voluntary and not mandatory. Upon admission the following transpired:I
was told that I would speak to the doctor once he evaluated my son. NO ONE ever called. I called 4 times and left 3 messages to speak with the doctor. Finally at 5:30 pm I heard from the doctor. He was nice and informative but rushed off the phone. That same Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 PM I went to see my son during visiting hours. He was still in the same dirty clothes from Monday morning. We had dropped off 4 bags of clean clothes that morning at 9 am. During visitation when I spoke to my son, he told me the young children are housed with the older children, two children have had money stolen from them and the children were fighting. He went in there depressed but he expressed the fact that he did not feel safe due to theft and the volume of children.

I was a patient at this hospital twice in 2013. I was trying to safely take myself off antidepressants that were making me suicidal. I had checked myself in this hospital to receive some help. I was put in the stabilization unit by mistake. I was treated as if I were criminally insane. The staff acted as if they were police officers. The patients would get into fights with each other. I watched the staff laugh at them. If I asked for anything like a toothbrush the staff was annoyed with me. If anyone asks to go outside to smoke, nobody can go outside. I saw staff members allowed to smoke. I was threatened by the staff like if I don't like it there I can go to the state facility. Then, to top it all off the billing department is not capable of sending out the proper billing. My husband & I spent a lot of money out of pocket. My account was turned over to collections months before the amount was due. Not only did I get to see patients get treated as criminals. I also had to pay a small fortune to this company so my credit is not ruined. I would never go to this hospital again. I definitely will not recommend them to anyone having problems in their life.

Sincerely,

Brooke

My cousin was a patient here and she was discriminated against because of her religious formality. She was there 3 days and wasn't approached until the 3rd day to remove her hijad (Muslim head dress). They were very rude and threatened to move her to the stabilization unit if she did not remove it. Worst of all, they recommended that she put a sheet or a pillow case over her head instead! She was singled- out because of her religion. They could not provide a written policy of this requirement and would not compromise as she is perfectly normal and does not have a severe case. They wanted her to compromise her religion with no formal rule, but they wouldn't compromise. The staff was rude and unprofessional. No one should trust their loved one at this facility for ANY TYPE of treatment. I am a communication professional and this is the WORST medical care I have ever witnessed! We are in the process of suing this facility. Stay tuned...

I was just getting over a stomach virus that was sweeping the hospital and two MHA's decided to open mine and a female patients room to be used as a general public restroom when myself and the female patient confronted said MHA's we was told that they could do that without asking for our permission; they then stated that we had no patient rights cause we in their for mental health then after closing our rooms they then proceeded to open two more patients rooms to be used for a public restroom; they also stated they they opened the rooms so they wouldn't be going down the halls to open up patients rooms every 5 mins; the 2 times i was there before i had no problems from the hospital but after this time I'll differently won't be coming back; my cousin who has my power of attorney will be suing Peachford for this

Peachford is a very scary place to be in. The only good thing was when they let the dogs and cats come to visit. My "doctor" was a [censored] from hell. I went so long without sleeping I was starting to hallucinate but they wouldn't give me anything to sleep. I was having panic attacks the whole time. Thank you to Angela and Colleen from Texas wherever they are (fellow patients). They are the only ones who got me out of that place alive.

Please do yourself to avoid this "hospital" at all cost!
-staff is not concerned with your well being, do not bother asking questions, you will only be talked down to if recognized at all
-doctors will heavily over medicate ex. Every patient will be prescribed heavy sleeping pills, not because of insomnia or other disorders, but to sleep because of the terrible conditions
-I was there for ten days and was allowed one hour of recreational time. I gained ten pounds
-staff is extremely unprofessional and will talk about seriously personal things in an obviously loud and inconsiderate tone. Patients literally heard them talking to other staff about my roommate, " he had the smallest p**** I've ever seen"
- do not expect to attend meaningful group sessions because they are all thrown together by the extremely ###ic staff members
- the doctors will keep you for as long as your insurance will possibly allow because this is a for profit hospital

This is not the treatment facility that you would like to send yourself or loved ones!

when i left peachford and decided to attend the php(partial hospitalization program) there during the day it was recommended by my doctor that i stay at a recovery residence in the area. he said i should stay at one called breakthrough run by a cat by the name of chris jacobs. so i met with chris and decided to do so, although i had some misgivings because this was all sight unseen. i thought that it would be like a halfway house. it turned out to be morelike a quarterway apartment building, but at least i reasoned they provided transport to and from the hospital for php. php turned out to be a total waste of time as we spent all day in brain numbing lectures and group therapy. niot only that but my first night there the "founder" of breakthrough came in to join us for rap up group and he came in yelling at 2 young guys and telling them how screwed up they were and that they were damn close to getting kicked out. i couldn't believe they disrespectful way the "founder" screamed at these young men. i knew right then that this place wasn't for me - i mean i've already done bootcamp and these guys were paying $325 per week to be there and some that were already through with php were paying $5, 000 per month to attend the breakthrough program. out of this money each person received $60 per week to buy groceries with - you can't feed your dog for that. before i left the hospital to go to breakthrough my mother and i discussed the payment with chris jacobs; "founder and ceo" of BRO (breakthrough recovery outreach) and since i hadn't even seen the property( which turned out to be a couple of apartment bldgs that mr. jacobs leased from a large apartment complex), mr. jacobs agreed that if i didn't want to stay he would return the money for the second week which he asked us to pay in advance. after his temper tamtrum the first night i was there i pretty much decided to give it a couple more days, but it only got worse so i left after my third day so i forfeited the first weeks rent, but should have received a refund for the second week. needless to say we have spoken to mr. jacobs 5 or 6 times since i left a month ago but we have yet to see the first dime back from jacobs. every time we call he says he's in a meeting, and once he told us that we were not due a refund and that he and my mom had never discussed it which is of course a total lie. this is the craziest setup i have ever seen, and a big fat cash cow for mr. jacobs who has proven to me that he has traded his addiction for drugs to an addiction for money - especially when it doesn't belong to him. he is a scam artist and i found out later that he is on the board of directors for the hospital so of course the doctors who work for him are going to recommend that their patients go to breakthrough for further treatment. i also recall seeing mr jacobs on several occasions walk into a unit and pick up a patients chart and start reading it. this is a violation of hippa laws, and if his business ethics are supposed to be an example for his clients then they should all turn out to be fine greedy little crooks. but hey at least they won't be high. jkacobs is a third rate counselor at best with little or no certification who verbally abuses his clients and i wouldn't allow him to babysit my cat much less take care of my son or daughter. he is very unprofessional and should have his licensure if he has an revoked and peachford should be put on probation and warned to keep chris jacobs away from charts and/or patients. most of these people were abused to begin with and don't need any more abuse at the hads of their would-be rescuer. sincerely, thomas v holland

PeachFord Hospital has the worst staff, they aren't friendly, nice, or overall fit for there job. They don't know how to treat the kids. I'm 14 and I had to be there for 3 days and it was horrible. It was like I was in hell. I knew it wouldn't be a 5 star hotel but this place isn't even 1 star. The beds were like wood, for all I know they could have been. The staff was absolutly rude to all the patients. It was absolutly unbelieveable. It was also very very dirty. I was disgusted at how gross everything looked. The therapy sessions didn't help at all. They would constently tell you that you were wrong or whatever you did to get into there was stupid and immature. They hurt your feelings and it defintly lowered my self esteem. It made me worst. I do NOT recommend sending anyone there. Its the worst place someone could go. DO NOT SEND YOUR LOVED ONE THERE.