ABOUT THE SID MARTIN BRIDGE HOUSE
Located on a tree-lined street on the outskirts of a wetlands park in Gainesville, north central Florida, the Sid Martin Bridge House offers residential treatment under a therapeutic community model, for individuals struggling with substance use disorder and dual diagnosis. Incoming clients must have had a physical including a TB test within the 30 days prior to admission.
The Bridge House is operated by Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc (MBHCI), a private nonprofit organization that runs 16 facilities in central Florida.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The program at the Sid Martin Bridge House lasts 28 to 90 days, and treatment is based on the 12-Steps: all clients must attend 12-step meetings as well as finding and working with a sponsor during treatment.
Otherwise, the center is built around the therapeutic community model, meaning that residents heal through the community, which provides mutual support and the impetus for personal change. The program aims to address the social, psychological, and behavioral elements of problematic substance use. The Bridge House provides little further detail about its treatment program, though an alum polled by Best-rehabs.com indicated that they received individual and group counseling and left with an aftercare plan, but that the program was lacking in holistic and alternative offerings.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The team includes physicians, nurses, master’s-level counselors, and recovery counselors. The single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the Bridge House five stars for the level of training found in its counselors and for the level of staff support provided.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
The Bridge House offers 44 beds on a tobacco-free campus. There is currently no further information provided by the facility regarding its living arrangements and related offerings, however, the single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility five stars for its cleanliness, meals/nutrition, and exercise offerings, and four stars for its accommodations.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The single alum polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would recommend the Sid Martin Bridge House. Despite noting that they relapsed after treatment and subsequently “got back in the program AA,” they gave the facility five stars for its treatment effectiveness and the overall quality of its individual and group counseling. The facility’s leisure and holistic offerings received lower ratings of three stars and one star respectively.
Secondary sites yielded mixed coverage at the time of this writing: a 2.5-star average rating based on 14 reviews on Google, and on CiteHealth, two one-star ratings and a five-star rating.[1] [2] The negative reviewers repeatedly described rude, unprofessional, uncaring staff, as well as a feeling that the facility pressed clients to take sometimes excessive treatments. “The staff are the most rude, inconsiderate human beings in the room… Oh yeah, not to mention, they WILL force you into treatment after your initial evaluation so they can continue making money off of anyone who didn’t do their research and find a better behavioral healthcare center,” C.A. wrote in a representative review on Google. However, a handful of reviewers praised the staff or the program for its efficacy: “This place has saved my life! I’m a walking talking reason why this place works!” R.S. wrote in a representative review on Google.
FINANCING
Fees are charged on a sliding scale determined according to the client’s income.
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