ABOUT AIKEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTERS – AURORA PAVILION BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES
Located in Aiken, South Carolina, on the campus of Aiken Regional Medical Centers, the Aurora Pavilion Behavioral Health facility offers short-term inpatient hospitalization, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) for adults struggling with psychiatric disorders, chemical dependency, or co-occurring disorders. This facility also offers treatment for seniors, a feature of just 16 (14 percent) facilities in the state, and youth, specifically-tailored programming that is offered at only 49 (43 percent) South Carolina treatment centers. Note, in 2016 in South Carolina, 3.06 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 needed but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility for illicit drug use.
Additionally, medical detox is available on-site.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
To help clinicians determine an appropriate level of care, patients first undergo an initial behavioral health assessment. To stabilize patients struggling with chemical dependency, the behavioral health center utilizes evidence-based treatment approaches, such a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), peer-led support groups, and medication-assisted therapy (MAT).
The inpatient program offers a structured schedule of individual, group, and family therapy, and patients are introduced to the principles and practices of the 12-Steps. Medications such as Suboxone and Vivitrol may also be prescribed to minimize withdrawal symptoms and help curb cravings. As indicated, patients struggling with co-occurring mental health issues also receive ongoing psychiatric evaluations and medication management.
Psychiatric treatment consists of pharmacological intervention, as well as individual, group, and family counseling sessions and psychoeducation groups.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be used in some cases of severe depression. Patients also participate in music, recreational, and pet therapy. The adolescent and children inpatient programs incorporate classroom studies.
The goal of the inpatient program is to stabilize the patient so they can step down to a less-intensive level of care. The partial hospitalization program is held five days per week for six hours per day, while the hospital’s intensive outpatient programs are held for three hours per day, three times per week. The IOP for chemical dependency focuses on stress management, 12-step involvement, building communication skills, and relapse prevention.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The facility employs a large, multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, master’s level counselors and therapists, credential teachers, mental health technicians, and recreation therapists. The two loved ones who evaluated the staff when surveyed by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing gave the facility three- and four-star ratings out of five for its staff’s level of training and experience.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Separated into age-specific units, Aurora Pavilion Behavioral Health accommodates up to 62 patients, offering much more room than the national median for hospital inpatient treatment which is 13 clients at a time. All of these unites have 24-hour access to nursing and medical attention. The two loved ones surveyed by Best-rehabs.com to date both gave the facility four out of five stars for its accommodations and amenities.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
While Best-rehabs.com has yet to receive reviews from facility alumni, secondary sites reveal neutral to positive opinions. On Facebook, which the facility has the ability to monitor, 12 reviewers to date provided Aurora Pavilion Behavioral Health Services with an average 3.4-star rating. There were mixed viewpoints about family visitation policies, which some reviewers feeling well-connected and some feeling isolated. The only point of praise listed on this site was the ability to detox.
On Google at the time of this writing, the facility received a slightly above-average rating of 2.9 stars from 23 users. Overall, written commentary was quite critical, such as J.G.’s remark that he was “treated like a criminal.” Other negative reviewers listed loneliness and unkind staff as the main reasons for their dissatisfying experiences. On the other hand, positive reviews, like that contributed by T.M., made note of “a wonderful staff.”
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The two loved ones polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave Aurora Pavilion mostly positive reviews. One anonymous loved one praised the facility’s admissions procedures, listing this as a strength alongside “Cooperative toward visitors.” However, this individual was less satisfied with their loved one’s discharge, writing, “Unhelpful in follow up care/arrangements” when prompted about facility weaknesses. Giving treatment effectiveness, exercise & leisure offerings, and counseling options all mediocre, three-star ratings, this loved one commented that the treatment at this facility was “Highly generic.”
Loved one J.B.B. gave slightly more favorable feedback, awarding treatment effectiveness, exercise & leisure offerings, family participation, counseling options, and affordability all four stars. Giving just three stars to the center’s connectivity policy, J.B.B. listed “Phone use is what i hear” when prompted about weaknesses. He added, however, “Seems to really help.”
WHAT STAFF SAY
The sole staff member to provide feedback to Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing appreciated the “dedicated nurses” but worried that the facility was “short of personnell.” This employee gave a few high, four-star ratings (to the connectivity policy, the center’s counseling options, and the admissions and discharge procedures), alongside a few low, two-star ratings (to exercise & leisure offerings, family participation, the facility’s effectiveness in treating co-occurring disorders, and whether or not the treatment is worth the cost).
FINANCING
According to the facility’s website, most private insurance plans are accepted, in addition to Medicare, Medicaid, and TriCare. Military insurance and Access to Recovery (ATR) Vouchers are also accepted, according to the center’s HealthGrove page.