ABOUT MOUNTAIN VIEW HOSPITAL
Mountain View Hospital of Gadsden, Ala., has a storied past. Prior to becoming a behavioral health hospital that offers treatment for addiction and bipolar disorder, it was a tuberculosis sanatorium, an alcoholism treatment hospital, and a nursing home.
Currently, Mountain View Hospital offers residential and outpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment for children, teens, and adults at the Gadsden facility. It also operates satellite outpatient clinics in the nearby communities of Anniston, Fort Payne, Opelika, and Montgomery.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Mountain View Hospital’s website notes that the center’s treatment philosophy is based on a holistic approach that includes a nurturing, supportive, and highly structured environment.
Four types of residential care are offered at Mountain View Hospital: the Child Center, the Adolescent Center, the Adult Center, and the Intensive Care Center. Regardless of the program, all clients receive a comprehensive evaluation, including physical, psychiatric, and chemical dependency assessments.
The Child Center is for children up to 12 years of age, and treatment includes a combination of education, recreation therapy, and behavior modification.
The Adolescent Center is for teens ages 12 to 18. It offers tiered levels of care and privileges, giving clients the opportunity to earn greater freedom as they progress. Educational services are also provided in association with the Summit Academy. The program includes education, recreation, behavioral and chemical dependency therapies, and positive peer pressure.
For adults, care is individualized. The goal is not only to help achieve sobriety and a healthy lifestyle, but also to provide tools with which to respond to life’s inevitable pressures. Treatment includes individual, group, and family therapy, as well as recreational therapy and aftercare planning.
The Intensive Care Center is for individuals with severe psychiatric disorders. The locked unit provides 24/7 supervision as clients are evaluated, stabilized, and given appropriate treatment.
Outpatient services and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) are also available at the Gasden location. Although, they are provided through Grandview Behavioral Health Centers, an independent practice of clinicians. Services at the clinics include case management, medication management, psychiatric assessment and diagnosis, family and individual therapy, and employee assistance services.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Mountain View Hospital employs a variety of professionals, including physicians, clinical psychologists, professional counselors, registered nurses, psychiatric technicians, recreational therapists, social workers, and dietitians. Mountain View’s website notes that it employs more than 230 mental health professionals.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
According to Mountain View’s website, the hospital has a 68 bed capacity and a 40 bed unit for adolescents. The five alumni surveyed by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave the facility 3.4 out of five stars for its accommodations.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The five alumni polled by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave mixed reviews, and treatment effectiveness averaged four out of five stars. One anonymous alum claimed that the “doctors, nurses, and counselors were very caring,” but noted that there was “absolutely nothing to do but sit in a room and color.” Other alumni surveyed by Best-rehabs.com gave above average ratings for the treatment for co-occurring disorders and the admissions/discharge processes. Lesser ratings went to exercise, leisure, and extracurricular opportunities. “My aftercare consists of indefinite therapy. The staff was quite supportive,” wrote another anonymous alum.
The 14 individuals who left ratings with Google had mostly positive things to share about Mountain View Hospital and left star ratings that averaged 3.4 out of five at the time of this writing.[1] A review from Doug, a former client, was mostly positive, praising one physician in particular. However, he mentioned in his reflective commentary that other staff members were “weak links.” Another alum wrote: “Came to this hospital depressed and suicidal, and left with a whole new outlook on everything.”
Similarly, on the facility’s Facebook page to date, there are eight ratings that average 3.4 out of five stars, where the most vocal reviewers complained about staff poorly managing medications.[2] Maurine gave one star and wrote “…they put me on the wrong medicines and I kept saying how much I was hallucinating but none of the staff listened to me,” and Nisan, who also gave the lowest possible rating, said, “…the doctors will refuse to listen to you and will take you off meds cold turkey, and in return will prescribe and prescribe until they turn you into just another mental health zombie.”
CONCLUSION
Mountain View Hospital accepts private insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare, and will negotiate sliding scale fees based on individual and family circumstances.
Note, a 2011 article in the local Gadsden Times raised concerns about the behavior of young patients, reporting more than 10 assaults over several months. Best-rehabs.com found no follow-up reports on how these security problems were addressed.
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