Back when they wouldn't admit just ANYONE... by Laura W. at InsiderPages
Thursday, July 10, 2008
As an adolescent, I was treated at Timberlawn inpatient from December of 1984 to September of 1986. The program helped me tremendously. There is no way I could be where I am today if I had not gone through this long-term treatment. It changed my life. Although back in those days, Timberlawn was the 3rd Best Hospital in the Nation. And Private meant Private. We were involved in meaningful structure and worked with exemplary staff and doctors. I lived on the Girls' Adolescent Unit. This unit held twenty females ages 12 to 18. We were like a family. This was long term treatment and nobody was discharged inside of a year hospitalization. We had Division Meetings with the staff and nurses every day; our doctors saw us for rounds, we had our own therapist, and group therapy. I suppose long term treatment in the present day is defined as a three-day thing. No wonder it's dirty and the staff are irate. Healthcare has changed - it's a free-for-all. You don't get what you pay for anymore; nobody's maintaining the components. And doctors have to follow treatment plans that are implemented by some MBAs and Business people. But at least I can say that my experience in the 80s is something for which I am grateful. If there were politics or friction within the hospital administration and associates, I never saw it. It was a professional institution focused solely on the care and development of mental health patients. In the earlier days, the center was named Timberlawn Sanitarium. When I arrived there it was named Timberlawn Hospital. The different housing units were named (to the best of my memory): Children's Unit, Boys and Girls Adolescent Unit, Bloss (adult), Berkett I and II (those 2 were the newer white buildings), also Chevins (adult women), and Witt (adult men). The food was first class; there was no turnover in staff. It was the real deal. If anyone had the Timberlawn exper