Aurora Psychiatric Hospital - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Josh B

I liked most of the staff and program. Group was good. But one of the nurses in the PHP program treated me with such a low level of respect, I almost quit the program on the spot. Never have I been dismissed for my diagnosed disability to this extent. I have never felt so dehumanized.

Malachite Rose Health

The facility was very dirty; I didn’t even feel comfortable enough to take a shower because it was obvious that it wasn’t cleaned before I got there (hair, etc). They took several hours to get help when asked, even after several times of asking. Some of the staff members were openly making fun of several patients in front of me and other patients; which was incredibly rude and disrespectful. They didn’t have the correct information in handling people with disabilities. The staff were mostly queer friendly, but didn’t acknowledge when another patient would harass a queer patient. This led to several queer patients (myself included) having meltdowns/shutdowns and/or panic/anxiety attacks. The groups were not very structured and there was a lot of interruptions between patients that staff didn’t try to limit. I will not go back, I felt very uncomfortable the whole time I was there

Mike

It's hard to rate this place. Some of the staff are legitimately nice, caring people. Just make sure you're seeing an actual Dr. The nurse practitioner are a joke and have no idea what they're doing. Scheduling here is completely and utterly flawed beyond belief. Until recently, I had been scheduled with a Dr just to wait months for the appointment, then get there just for them to tell me the person who scheduled the appointment made a mistake as they aren't taking patients for my issues. They're always overbooked because the people that actually run the place only care about money and booking as many appointments as possible even if they can not accommodate the amount of people they schedule. So, not only may to have to see a nurse practitioner rather than a REAL psychiatrist, but you'll probably be rushed in and out super quick because the spot is double-booked. It took me a too long to realize this myself, but you DO have the right to make decisions about your care, so keep stressing to them you want to see a real psychiatrist and they can get an appointment scheduled even if it's a few months out. Make sure you do it though because the nurse practitioners are a complete joke. They prescribe meds when they have NO idea what they are doing. When I started seeing an actual Dr they literally laughed and shook their heads because the treatment plan/medication changes by the NP were so ludicrous. It will become clear pretty quickly which people actually care about the patients so I recommend when you find one, you try to bring your issues to them and have them help you get set up with a Dr. you are comfortable with. Don't settle when it comes to your mental health like I did for so long. I just went along with whatever I was told and kept seeing whoever they sent me to even though I was not happy/getting proper care. That's obviously partially my own fault but it can be difficult when you're already in a vulnerable situation and you are assuming you can trust everyone here with your care. Sorry for the long review, but your mental health is so important, so I can't stress enough, be assertive and make sure you are 100% comfortable with the people in charge of your care and that they have your best interest in mind, not just cramming pills down your throat. Whether you have a good or bad experience here will completely depend on who is treating you as they have some truly great Dr's and therapists, but they also have some of the worst of the very WORST. So, If you are not 100% comfortable with your care, it is your RIGHT and also your responsibility to voice your concerns until you are set up with the proper care, don't settle if you get stuck with someone who doesn't care at all.
Edit: I know this is already super long, I just wanted to say that most of the therapists for the partial hospitalization and outpatient programs are very kind and considerate, you will only be under their care very briefly though (a few weeks tops) so it's when you're working with them that I recommend you address any concerns and ask them to make sure you are set up with a GOOD Dr after moving on from their level of care. I keep adding to this just be I don't want to see anyone struggling when it isn't necessary, in fact it's plain wrong. I know first hand it can be hard, but make sure you are advocating for yourself and the BEST level of care!

Delilah Mcintosh

My daughter went through this program.PHP a few times. Nurse Yvonka and Dr. Ballinger are a terrible combination of resources for our children. They do not listen to the parents or the governing outside physician. Their communication is disturbing and demeaning to a parent who wants change for their child. Dr. Ballinger should not be providing care to the mentally challenged especially if the parent isn't educated on many levels of mental health. The PHP group is a complete money making unbeneficial waste of time. Transportation for the child is not set up with sufficient use of time. When your child is in this program they spend most of the day ringing your phone bothering you more than the child's behavior. Terrible resource

Eugenia Seeling

This is not a 2 star hotel nor a place to seek help for very specific hard to treat illnesses where the patient is not in crisis. Did I have to wait for the nurses sometimes a longer time because there was a lot going on? Yes. But they're always willing to work with you if you just tell them what's going on. Was it very basic treatment? Yes, but that's what crisis stabilization is. People were there from all over the area from other institutions, and I heard horror stories about them. This place has overworked staff but it's not the staffs fault, there are few mental health resources and there's a constant line out the door, which is why if you're not suicidal, self harming, or in addiction, I wouldn't recommend this place for complex long term problems. I'm an otherwise functioning adult who got crippled by my alcoholism and this place absolutely saved my life. I barely saw the therapist it was like a 15 min visit but that's an insurance issue, not them. There are caring people here who will help and yes there was lots of coloring and very basic things, but this place is for a crisis, not intensive topnotch life couching. You will get out of it what you put in, might have to wait 5 minutes sometimes its not a hotel. Melissa and Leah definitely have huge hearts and care, they're usually doing a million things. Special shout out to Venzel, he finally said things straight up to me, hard truths, that woke me up to my broader issues and really helped me instill frameworks that made recovery stick. I'm 6 months sober after drinking heavily for ten years and life is better than ever and I credit this place and the people here! (And they would tell me I should credit myself because I was willing to listen to them) ?

Jon H

I had to go in for a handful of days to detox and this is the location I chose, not really sure why.

Pro & Con - 90% of the staff are incredibly friendly, understanding and patient; you have to be when you're dealing with this type of folk. The other 10% are there, miserable, collecting a paycheck and can't be bothered to have any kind of empathy.

Con - The food. Rehab/Detox HAS to be at least an 8 digit business so they possess no right to serve the type of "food" that they have on menu. The best way to describe the food is the kind of food you get at an MPS school who gets little to no financial assistance; maybe Aurora's mantra is "Drunks and junkies will be happy to eat anything." and that is an utterly appalling approach.

Pro - My fellow residents, those who left their rooms anyways, were all very friendly and inviting; wanted to get to know, wanted to talk to me about their and my experiences with our problems. This isn't prison, so if you, for some reason, choose this location don't expect to go in and get mean mugged, get your food stolen or shanked.

Bed related Con. - Exhausted by the 2+ hour assessment procedure I was happy to finally be let in to see my room. I shoulda just detoxed at home. Again, 8 digit industry, and the bed felt like sleeping on expired angel food cake, and the pillow was so flat it felt like I was resting my head on nothing.

Big, big, BIG bed related Con - 2 big ol' pieces of Mouse poop on my bed; numerous occasions during my 3 day.....purgatory, there was constant talk about an ant infestation; seems totally legit for a HEALTH CARE facility.

Again, I honestly have no clue just WHY I chose this place; desperation to be somewhere safe for fear of the worst possible alcohol withdrawals I suppose, and they did keep a very close eye on me, I just wish they would pay as close of an eye to the food, the INSECTS AND MICE, and the comfort NECESSARY for a good night's rest; but I suppose if you're not sleeping well, they can always pump you with 4 different sleep meds.

Do not recommend.

Mikaela Kinosian

Edit: got the paperwork back from the complaint and neither staff member got any repercussions for this. Literally nothing happened. Filed reports but they are asking me to keep silent about this and I will not stand for that, something needs to be done and I will do everything I can to have people see this. There is no more help out in the world. So sad. They caused more ptsd and hopelessness, what a loss for mental health in this world.

Erika Sayles

There was a nurse Named Leah She was very, very sweet and nice She was on the kid floor but I think she is now on the adult and kid floor. I love how the kid layout mental health is inpatient For mental health They need more places for children For mental health. They help a lot here. Everyone is pretty nice. The therapist Diane She was a sweetheart. But if you could I would make another mental health treatment Place for children. Because there's not a lot out there. I would give this a 4 star rating