Cedar Springs Hospital - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Timothy Zorn (Zorn)

Edit: Don’t work here, don’t go here. Let’s run them out of business, purchase them and turn them into a DAO for the people, by the people.

Original:
Keep in mind that I'm hoping for this program to begin changing for the better.

That being said:

This is a very destructive program. It may be touted as something beneficial for those in need or in crisis - however, the staff members consist of several bad eggs. There are some staff members who actively mock the patients. There are some staff members who completely ignore the patients' needs, to the point where the patients' words/requests are ignored until patients get angry, have an outburst, and then need more drastic intervention.

While I was a patient, there were instances where medications were given when they were not logged. The new doctor seems to really want to help, but his methods seem controlling and abusive - he seems to lack some degree of empathy.

Luckily, there are several techs and a few nurses who are talented and caring, which at least makes the stay for patients tolerable. Without them, the experience would be a living nightmare.

Elizabeth Bristow

Truly wonderful experience here. Even though the reviews are not the best was here on a 72 hour hold doctor gray, Joe, merium and Ariel made me feel so comfortable and taken care of. I feel so much better at the time I am leaving then when I arrived. Thank you cedar springs for changing and saving my life. I would recommend this to ANYONE who is struggling and in crisis

Erica Sapp

I just finished the New Choices program at Cedar Springs and I cannot express this enough - it changed my life. The program is technically a rehab, but the therapist Brooke will get down to the root of your problems and be there to work through them with you. She helped me work through depression and anxiety. I never doubted for a minute that she and the staff (particularly Kayla, Chris, Deb, and Maggie) were there for me and willing to help me process my emotions and get the help I need.

We did offsite meals and attractions every week (movie, hiking, Top Golf, etc.). We also went offsite for the gym six days a week (2-3 hours a day of unstructured self paced PT in a GREAT facility).

My only complaint is staffing issues. Our unit did sometimes get slighted when our techs and nurses were called to other units last minute. Sometimes we had to wait for hours on meds or to go to offsite appointments because there just wasn’t a nurse or driver available. Everybody who is core staff on this program is amazing, issues only arose when they were taken away from us.

Jake Williams

I’m writing this as I leave the facility from a 4 day stint in the Ponderosa unit for severe anxiety and depression issues.

While I was here, I saw multiple safety violations and general inconsistencies in policy.

- Sharp items such as utensils and pens are given out with instructions to return. They are never followed up on.

- the contraband door was left unlocked for some hours before it was noticed.

- there is a general lack of communication among the staff. The competent and caring staff will work with you and take ownership of the situation. However, I witnessed approximately 9 patients (including myself) who were told their personal items were unable to be found for up to a day. The standard routine would be a tech looking for the item, getting distracted, and never followed up on. Unless you are active in asking for what you need, you may be forgotten.

- there is a schedule to follow but it was held to almost never. If you are not in the immediate area in which a therapy group is supposed to start, you may not be notified at all.

The lack of communication and what appears to be understaffing, led to multiple patient concerns not being addressed. In customer service, this is simply a bad job. In an acute psychiatric setting, it is a gateway to patient violence. I witnessed a number of occasions where patients either punched objects, threw objects, or screamed. This is understandable given the mental health issues inherent in the patients. However, the lack of concern by some staff, the lack of communication between almost all, and the unwillingness to address this unnecessarily escalates these situations and will certainly result in patient and staff injury.

Given that the hospital has recently gone through a multi year long OSHA investigation and resultant fines due to safety concerns, this is abhorrent.

The staff that care make it very clear they care and kept the experience from being agonizing. Dr Sims is a fantastic psychiatrist and there are staff that were simply lovely. However, there is a clear organizational issue that has not been adequately addressed. I cannot in good conscience recommend Cedar Springs to anyone outside of an extreme last resort.

Lexi Nelson

This place is absolutely horrible. Do not send anyone you love or care about here. I was in the lowest acuity unit, when a patient threatened me. I don’t feel like suicidal people and homicidal meth users should be put in the same unit. The staff is extremely neglectful and act as if they’d rather be dead than “helping” us. The only “help” we got was getting our doors unlocked to go to the bathroom or getting us more chips/water after asking 10 times. No healing can be done in a place like this. You’re treated like a prisoner who committed atrocities. I was given absurd diagnoses after only being there for 72 hours, when the diagnoses i was given normally takes several doctors to confirm. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the staff do not care and will simply violate your rights and threaten to keep you there longer. This place is the definition of a hell hole. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW YOUR LOVED ONES TO BE SENT HERE.

Gina Mischlich

Thank you Christina R. For the amazing care you provided to my family member and I. We are grateful for your professionalism, and warm caring approach. I can tell you enjoy your job, and you really want your patients to be comfortable and placed at ease. I hope more people will trust their loved ones at Cedar Springs. I know I do.

Sarah Svoboda

I was recently on a 72 hold on the Ponderosa unit and it was the most stressful experience ever. I felt so neglected and like no one really cared. The whole weekend I was very nauseated vomiting and diarrhea and intermittent stomach pain but they didn’t care. One night I was on the floor crying because of stomach pain and they completely ignored me and didn’t help me and walked right passed me. I was completely ignored. My first day I was crying uncontrollably and hyperventilating so hard I couldn’t breathe and I told somebody and they just ignored me. They make you feel like a prisoner I was appalled when they wanted to put a tracker on my ankle I said no. I am not a prisoner or animal only prisoners wear ankle monitors! Never ever go here for inpatient treatment!!!! It harmed me and didn’t help me at all!!!!

Mariya James

I was an voluntary patient in the ponderosa unit and I arrived there around 11pm from ambulance from being in the er for 9+ hours. I was incredibly sick when I got there and was hungry due to throwing up all day. When I asked if they had anything to eat I was brought orange juice and oreos. I couldn’t even hold a bite in, by midnight I was able to head to bed after lots of paperwork. First full day I was there it was honestly the best day there was because they held group at each time they were supposed to. Personally I thought the food was awful so don’t expect much but that’s not the point. This is also the day I talked to the psychiatrist and I believe I was put on unnecessary medications; antidepressant, sleeping med, anxiety. The first two I understood why but I’ve never once have suffered from anxiety. It felt hard to talk to most staff, the workers behind the desk would spend minutes gossiping before I could ask my questions but would get attitude if interrupted. It feels like they purposely want you to flip. This same night when I went to bed I got my first dose of sleeping meds and started to feel dizzy like a drunk feeling. (Mind you I’ve been throwing up consistently for 30+ hours with very little food) I leaned over the counter because I thought I was gonna fall and I was told to go lay down. Moments later I was on the floor of the bathroom throwing my guts up with no doors obviously 🙂 I went to ask for another blanket but since I had 2 already I wasnt allowed another because it wasn’t in my medical. Day 2 was the worst imo from 6:30am when I woke up to 7pm when shift swaps started I got the worst attitude I’ve ever received from staff. I’m still sick this day and I have to go in and out of my room to use the bathroom. Each time I went in and out which was like every 3 minutes I had to ask for my door to be unlocked. Yes I understand if no one is in there it needs to be locked but I kept going in. After about the 4th time it happened I asked if we could leave the door unlocked because I’m still very sick. The tech then told me she couldn’t do that because it’s not on my medical even though she has followed me back there to see. This same tech purposely had aggression behind her voice to get rises out of patients. She would repeatedly slam doors after seeing how we reacted the first time and asked if she could be more gentle. By 8am I was calling my mom balling because I was not being taken care of. By this point I’ve been throwing up for 3 days and I know I was dehydrated. It was to the point I wanted to be taken to the hospital because their lack of care. I lost 8 pounds in less than 72 hours, it felt like physical health wasn’t a priority. I do want to give a heads up the water pressure is hard, it felt like rocks hitting my body. It was hard to get through when they didn’t hold any group or therapy, all we had that day was each other. I know discharges are crazy but each patient felt neglected. I find it weird I only talked to the doctor for 10 minutes and wasn’t informed about my medications. They blamed my throwing up was from anxiety when it was my body trying to recover from an od and said it was because I was “refusing” medication because I said I want to understand why I’m on this when I’ve never struggled with it. My last day here I was finally done throwing up and for the most part all went well. It was a bit frustrating to find out they kept some of my stuff even after I’ve asked if they’ve had it all and supposedly had inventory of it. They had my phone lost for a little bit, I was able to get that back but never received little things like my brush or unopened deodorant. After being home for 24 hours and reporting this back to work I’ve come to find out they didn’t send me all of my documents home such as what medicine I was on in there or where to go to get them. Overall I don’t recommend this place for yourself or a loved one. The staff felt irresponsible, uncaring and aggressive. As a sensitive person myself this place gave me more trauma. I don’t feel like I got all the help I needed.