ComplaintsforCottonwood Creek Behavioral Hospital

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My child was seen at St. *************** on 5/29 & the social worker, ********, recommended he be admitted to Cottonwood Hospital. We expressed concern that b/c there were only a few days left of the school year &he had multiple classes he was in jeopardy of failing if he didnt complete missing assignments/ tests that being hospitalized would compound his anxiety. She called Cottonwood, then assured us that they had a teacher &that he would get tutoring for schoolwork. We viewed the Cottonwood website. It said *********** services, including tutoring are provided during the school year. Cottonwood behavioral hospital works closely with area school districts to ensure every child is receiving the appropriate curriculum based instruction based on her grade level. We made it clear we wouldnt consent to admitting him if those services werent provid*** I called the next ****************** weekend case manager who said there was no teacher or tutoring & that they did not have the staffing for that service but that he would make a note for the regular case manager, ******. The following day I spoke w/ ****** & voiced my concern about his need to complete schoolwork & get tutoring. She said patients were given a slot of time each day to do school but after that they couldnt b/c there wasnt adequate staff to watch them.She said I could bring his computer,but that he wouldnt be given extra time or help to work on school. I then spoke with his dr who said our son was very anxious about school &wanted to be discharged early & that he would approve it if we wanted to have him prematurely discharg*** We did. However,he failed 2 classes as a result of not getting any help w/school work at Cottonwood. His anxiety has worsened,he cant attend his regular high-school & has fallen behind academically. The *** told me they have since removed the tutoring part from their website as it was misleading& that many staff there only had a high school *** & couldnt tutor patients.

  

  Business response

  04/10/2023

  CCBH has investigated this complaint and found these concerns were previously addressed with ******************* in September 2022.  We made the requested modifications and updates to our website. Additionally,  structured education services are not required at this level of hospital care. However, ***** does provide study opportunities in order to allow students time maintain their required studies while they are inpatient.  This includes supervised study time, access  to resources for online learning,  and with parental approval, coordination with school counselors and teachers.  CCBH would be happy to address any additional concerns ******************* might have with her directly.

  Customer response

  04/11/2023

   
  Complaint: 19868563
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The fact that you made modifications and changes to your website (after my complaint) that deceived parents into believing their child would receive these services demonstrates your acknowledgment that your advertisement was misleading and false. Our decision to admit our child was based on your website stating that educational services,including tutoring are provided during the school year and that Cottonwood works closely with area school districts to ensure every child is receiving the appropriate curriculum based instruction based on their grade level .I asked repeatedly for tutoring for my child without success and no one at your hospital ever offered that they could reach out to my childs school and try to coordinate with teachers. I was told by the *** that many staff there only have a high school education and couldnt tutor patients when I inquired why there was no tutor or teacher as promised.I am not disputing whether study opportunities are required,I am disputing that Cottonwood advertised tutoring would be available to my child when it was not, and no educational services were provided whatsoever, therefore we did not receive services we were told we would. We would not have agreed to admitting if we knew the actual truth.Our child was discharged in worse mental health than when admitted thanks to your deceitful advertising. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Before admitting our child to the hospital, we di*cu**ed her outpatient pre*cription* w/ the admitting nur*e. The nur*e took the pre*cription info, then took it to the admitting dr for approval. He then *aid he had gotten approval for the pre*cription* to be given while *he wa* hospitalized. We gave the nur*e the paperwork reflecting the pre*cription* name*, do*age* and how often to be admini*tered *o that there would be properly documented information for the nur*ing *taff. We *upplied the nur*e with all of the bottle* and he wrote down their name*,do*age* and direction*.We were a**ured the*e would be given to her.However,pre*cription* were not given until over 48 hour* after being admitted to the hospital. We were told by different nur*ing *taff that the bottle* had been lo*t that *he had *lipped through the crack* that they would not be admini*tered unle** new unopened bottle* were brought to the hospital and then finally that they would in fact be given becau*e the pharmacy had *ince approved them. It took over *ix phone call* and over 48 hour* before our daughter wa* given any pre*cription at all. One nur*e *aid he wa* going to give her twice the pre*cribed do*e of one of her pre*cription* and it wa*nt until I reminded him that I had given them the outpatient dr * order* reflecting the correct do*e, that he acknowledged hi* error. He then *tated that the incorrect do*e he wa* going to give wa* *till con*idered a low do*e a* if to excu*e hi* error. The Saturday night *hift nur*e told me that the Saturday *taff wa* not that great but the Sunday *taff coming in would be much better to rea**ure me of my daughter* *************.We then a*ked for her to be di*charged immediately. We al*o a*ked repeatedly to *peak to the Dr who had *een her and did not get a call until 50 hour* after *he had been admitted. We *poke to the RN *upervi*or, who *hared our info w/ theCEO and a*ked for them to waive our portion of bill due to the*e complaint* but were told no.

  

  Business response

  03/23/2023

  Patient care and safety are of the utmost importance here at Cottonwood Creek Behavioral Hospital. To ensure all patients are treated appropriately, our organization has policies and practices in place that are in line with the standards set by our accrediting body along with the **************. These policies include the storage and administration of medications and supplements. When a patient is admitted to our inpatient psychiatric facility,they are placed under the care of an attending psychiatrist who oversees all points of their care while at the facility.
  
  The events surrounding this complaint have been investigated and it was determined that our policies were followed. We would be happy to discuss any other concerns surrounding this event directly with ********************.

  Customer response

  03/27/2023

   
  Complaint: 19600145
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  If patient care and safety were of upmost importance at Cottonwood then multiple nursing staff would not openly acknowledge that prescriptions had been lost miss placed not documentedor that they had slipped through the cracks.Weekend Nurses would not remark that the nursing staff was not that great on Saturday but would be much better on Sunday and patients would receive consistent care by highly qualified professionals. A nurse would not say he is going to give twice the prescribed dose while referring to a hand written note by an unknown author instead of first following a doctors orders. He would not also try to justify his error by saying it was still a low dose! The constant miss management of the prescription bottles by the nursing staff is reprehensible and unsafe. The un mitigating incompetence and lack of communication between them demonstrates that the claim that policies including the storage and administration of medication and supplements was NOT followed and that it took over two days for any staff to locate and administer them. This was an unsafe traumatic experience that disrupted established care. The admitting nurse should not make assurances and guarantees about prescriptions being given that are not kept. Our outpatient family drs orders were not followed or respected either. Nursing director only offered many apologies but no explanation of how or why this occurred or how it would be prevented in the future. We did not receive the care we were told would occur.
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

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