ABOUT TERRELL STATE HOSPITAL
Terrell State Hospital is a psychiatric inpatient hospital operated under the direction of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and located 35 miles east of central Dallas. The hospital serves three million residents in a 19-county region, and offers acute and intermediate inpatient care for children, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics who are struggling with mental and behavioral health disorders, including substance abuse issues.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The center’s mission is to provide “quality, evidence-based psychiatric care in a safe and compassionate environment,” free of restraint and seclusions.
Treatment begins with an initial assessment conducted by a psychiatrist and a physical exam conducted by a medical doctor. New clients also receive evaluations from nurses, social services, pastoral caregivers, and sometimes, psychologists who perform specialized testing.
The center publishes minimal information about its treatment programs, but Best-rehabs.com reviews indicated that the program uses individual and group counseling, and does not have a strong focus on exercise, leisure, or holistic options. The center’s website also notes that clients’ families are encouraged to participate in treatment, and that the center works to recognize the effects of trauma on an individual’s mental and behavioral health.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Staff includes psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and pastors. Both reviews submitted to Best-rehabs.com gave the staff’s level of training and experience low one- and two-star ratings.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
This is a 288-bed facility on a large, grass-filled campus, with a chapel on-site. The facility is tobacco-free. The two individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center one- and two-star ratings for its accommodations, meals, and cleanliness.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
The single review submitted to Best-rehabs.com by an alum to date was negative. “TSH, made it so you were drugged up for weeks after you got there, they kept you drugged up. It was a horrible setting,” L.K.H. wrote, indicating that they relapsed after being discharged 15 to 29 days into treatment, and giving the center just one star for its level of staff support and the facility’s cleanliness.
At the time of this writing, secondary review sites yielded mixed coverage, with average ratings of 3.6 out of five stars based on 48 ratings on Facebook, and 3.4 stars based on 23 ratings on Google.[1][2] Both the positive and the negative feedback tended to be vague: “Best hospital in Terrell,” Guadalupe wrote, and Denise added: “I love TSH!!!!” However, Stephen wrote: “I Would Give It 0 Stars If I Could. Because, It Is 1 Of The Worst Places On Earth.” Another reviewer also complained about the center’s food.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would not recommend treatment at Terrell State Hospital. “It is a state facility and is state operated and the state needs to get out of the business,” the anonymous reviewer wrote, giving the facility three stars for its overall treatment effectiveness, two stars for its family programming and its counseling options, and one star for its holistic treatment options and its treatment of co-occurring disorders.
WHAT STAFF SAY
At the time of this writing, secondary employment reviews sites yielded mixed feedback, skewing positive: the center had average ratings of 3.8 out of five stars based on 31 reviews on Indeed, and 3.7 out of five stars based on ten reviews on Glassdoor.[3][4] Reviewers repeatedly praised the center’s mission and their coworkers, and claimed that they received good benefits; however, numerous reviewers also noted that they sometimes faced aggression and threats to their physical safety from clients. “The hardest part of the job is letting people pretty much assault you while trying to keep from doing anything in return. You will have objects including chairs, tables, DVD players, and from time to time bodily fluids thrown at you… The most enjoyable part of the job was the floor teamwork and making a difference in peoples lives,” a former psychiatric nursing assistant wrote in a representative review to Indeed.
CONCLUSION
Terrell State Hospital accepts Medicare. As a state facility, it is also intended to treat the uninsured. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date on the center’s affordability gave it three out of five stars.
In May 2016, Dallas News reported on the state of disrepair of many of Texas’s state psychiatric facilities, including Terrell State Hospital. The article noted that the state’s psychiatric units need up to $1 billion of investment, and cited problems at Terrell including dangerous door and wall fixtures that pose a suicide risk, as well as a mold problem. The article includes quotes from officers at Terrell State Hospital confirming the disrepair.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terrell-State-Hospital/116052131753139?fref=ts
[2] https://goo.gl/6BgpTm
[3] https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Terrell-State-Hospital/reviews
[4] https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Terrell-State-Hospital-Reviews-E120955.htm