Valley Behavioral Health System - Barling, Arkansas

Jimmy Neutron

I took my 13 year old son to Valley to receive treatment for emotional and behavioral issues, and on his first day in, he was jumped and beaten by three older boys, leaving him bruised and battered. They didn't even contact me about it to give me the option to have him seen at the ER. In fact, it was two days later, when he complained of pain in his ribs, before they sent him to the ER to be checked out. He was there for 8 days, and NOBODY called me during that time to tell me how he was doing, and I don't suppose they were ever planning to tell me about the assault on my son. This place is no joke, it's a horrible, dangerous place for your troubled child, and I strongly encourage you to seek out a facility that will take better care of your child than these incompetent clowns will. It will be my pleasure to see them shut down or at the very least re-staffed with genuine, compassionate, caring professionals. There is one exception to my complaints, Mary Beth, she is very professional and seems to genuinely care about people. Mary Beth, you deserve to work in a better place, your professionalism is greatly appreciated. If I can raise the funds, I would like to bring suit against Valley for my son's injuries. I took him there to help him, and they returned him to me more broken than before. Shame on them!

Detective_ fishy

I just got out of here yesterday, It wasn't bad at all. I can say that both supervisors I had the misfortune to know about and meet sucked. (Nicole and Tiffany, may have spelt the names wrong.) Tiffany had managed to trigger an entire classroom in less than 5 minutes causing me and many other patients to cry and have a shit day the rest of the day. There were some great staff members though, (Mac, Sara and one other that I cannot spell the name of.) The patients were very friendly, there were some issues in the unit I was in from some of them but that's expected. The problems were handled, may've taken a little longer than it should've but it was handled. Overall not a bad place, helped me in many ways. May not be the best solution to most but it helped me significantly.

ALDO

Came here for help during a mental health crisis.I'm a father of 3 children I specifically told them I wouldn't be a inpatient because I help my wife at home. If they would have scheduled me for the morning to see a actual psychiatrist I would've gladly came back.They called the cops on me and tried to force me to stay there. This caused me even more anxiety and stress during a very hard time in my life. Don't come here if you're looking for help and a safe place with people you can trust.

Brianna McBee

I went in to get my medications balanced. It turned into a nightmare. I was housed with males, when I was told I would be in an all female unit. I was held for 72 hours, when I was told I could leave at any time by intake. This place was detrimental to my mental health, and I cannot stress enough, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I shouldn’t have to hear a grown man pleasuring himself through the wall every morning, when I have PTSD regarding men. Absolutely horrid conditions, and so under stimulating. It took me two weeks to even get close to my normal condition after this. My therapist was also extremely rude with my husband, using words I said in our therapy session against him. Learn some professionalism, and give a little more care to your patients. It’s obvious from the ridiculous amount of negative reviews that this place either needs to be shut down, or have a major overhaul. The only positive I will say, is that the nurses in Oak made the experience more bearable (Thank you Bryan, Hunter, and Raquel, you guys are rockstars).

Chance Z.

I got a text a couple months ago that was asking for feedback. I was sent a text stating it was noticed that I didn't come to an interview and was asked why that may have been. This rubbed me the wrong way because I had went to an interview for this place. I remember having a bad experience and when this was sent to me, I was so glad to finally say what I needed to. I also decided to read reviews here to see what others were saying and honestly, I feel so glad I never followed up after my interview. Here is my response to being asked about my experience:

"I applied for this a few months prior to the listed date and did show up to the interview. While I was impressed with the interview and the campus, there were some things that made me uncomfortable. During my interview I was brought into an area to speak with other people I'd be working with. I remember one person saying specifically "A job like this will make you never want kids" (side note: this was one of the activity coordinators by the way). Here's my issue with that: this is a place where youth go when they need support. Often times these kids don't have strong support systems. To make a comment like that implies that you hate your job and that the youth are absolutely awful to work with. That was a big red flag for me. I remember leaving the interview and that thing that was said stuck to my mind. Second, I didn't like the hours. This is all why I never responded to the job offer. I have a deep passion for mental health. If im going to work for some place, I want to feel that passion from the other workers. The youth served here need support from people like us and a mentality that's says "A job like this will make you never want to have kids" doesn't say that for me."

It seems like a lot of the issues here lie within the faculty. I understand it's a stressful job, but you have to set aside you're frustrations because you are here for these people. What I read in these reviews tells me that there needs to be more work with meeting the clients where they are at and listening to them. I understand certain laws and regulations impose specific issues to this, but that is no excuse for treating these clients any less as people. I hope in the future, there is a huge tonal shift in how clients are treated based on reviews and what I was told in my interview. We are all human here. Treat everyone with the respect they deserve and have some passion in what you do.

Respectfully from someone with a human services degree (and who takes my passion very seriously), thank you for reading.

Angelia Stanton

This place is a joke. Places like this don't need state funding . Our tax dollars need to be used for provider that do care and take the time to fix our children instead of drug them and send them home.
I was straight out lied to was convinced to switch my child insurance to be in their 3 to 6 month program. It was a straight up lie. There was no beds to be available i was even told by the nurse there wouldn't be a bed. So I reached out to Mary Beth. Whom apologized for and told me the nurse never should have said that. Insisted I change insurance a bed would be available by the time insurance kicked in. It was all a lie. I explained my dr don't take this insurance the switch was only to pay them.
Now I have no dr no councler, she is being discharged on meds that do not work for her she sleep all day. Of course she been doing good she sleeps all the time.The dr says oh she good to go. My question is how is she going to get a education and prepare for her adult future is she not awake to learn it.
So my daughter is coming home drugged sleeping all day. And ready for school and all the daily events a 15 years old is to do.
Places like this need to be stopped they are causing more harm to our children than fixing them.
Red alert don't ignore the reviews. Do NOT send your child here.
They went against everything o told them. The nurse called me and told me I had to choose a psyic atypical med. I begged her to not do and anti psychotic drug she said I has to choose one because the dr said. I asked why anti psychotic she had been on over 11 they dont work for her she said pick one told her I didn't know what to do she said choose one. This nurse would be April she is rude. not about the benefit of the children but she is the one that advised me Mary Beth was wrong my child wouldn't be staying there. She knew better she attends the staff meetings. So she a good med pusher I guess you could say. Needless to say that converstatuonwas recorded also. Now I realize she bullied me into something I didn't not want my child to have and told her my serious concerns.
The.outstanding DR Kendrick whom never speaks t o the parents is not the dr you want. Kind of strange he will perscibe your child meds before making a diagnosis but don't have time to speak with the parents who raise and know the child.
Contact the state DDS turn this place in. Together we will make a difference for our children. CALL people they will listen.
Contact Roy Wynden or contact Sarah Sanders personally. She will listen and she wants to know our concerns
This is serious people document everything and record your conversations . It for you and your child protection.

Lesa Elliott

This is the very first time. My daugther is in there, and we have been told so many different things by this facility, that we don't know what to believe. My phone call with my daugther was suppose to be 10 minutes and between workers arguing and me trying to clarify what my daugther can do regarding the phone they tried taking a couple of minutes from her, due to arguing with each other and me clarifying. To the point I got huffy and told them that they took some of her minutes by arguing about getting the code from me just so I could talk to her. And her dial said, I had been on the phone for 7 minutes. Well that 7 minutes was part of you answering that phone and arguing with your coworker.
My daught said she was not watch she was to kiss a boy and let that boy touch her inappropriate. THIS OLACE IS HORRIBLE. Daugther went for help came out worse.
Guys dont just file a review here. Go to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, and file complaints.
There is a whole lot more to the story, but just giving google reviews is not helping.
I called my daugther then called my pastor's wife to let them know she was gonna be calling. Then my daugther called me back and did not even talk the rest of the time. They are suppose to be helping, and not our family members feeling intimidate. There is no communication with the workers. Once they get your family in their it is like you don't even matter.

Rebecca Gasparotto

I was admitted under "AWOL" during my intake. I was given a small carton on apple juice (a dietric) and nothing else until mealtime the following day. I was taken to a shared room and told someone would come back with a pillow and blanket. No one came back that first night. My vitals were not taken, and I slept on a cold, thin mattress curled up in my shirt, shivering from alcohol withdrawals. I had to use my hand to scoop water from the sink faucet. The following day, I asked for a Tylenol and was denied (no doctor on staff to prescribe it). I submitted a complaint. It was 2 to 3 days later before the patient advocate Sheila visited me.

Sheila told me "AWOL" was cold turkey there. I told her people died from alcohol withdrawals, and she shrugged and told me this was just how they did it there.

My initial stay was a mandatory 72 hr hold but turned into a week because they do not count the day you come in or the weekend. On my day of discharge, they finally conducted the assessment and then put a date on it from days earlier and submitted it to my insurance along with other awol services that were not rendered.

During intake (I believe I remember her name was Taylor), I took an expensive ring from me and did not list it on the inventory worksheet. Instead, the staff member put it in a zip lock bag with my name on it and assured me it would go in a safe as she was slipping it in her pocket, she did not put it in the safe and I never saw that ring again.

Because of weird jurisdiction laws police would not do anything. The risk assessment officer either refuses to review the cameras or has and will not do anything to rectify the situation.

They have some sort of contract with the county jails and receive inmates. They housed male inmates with the females. They have no regard for the safety of their female patients. I complained to a staff member that a particular male inmate who slept across from me made me feel unsafe and was told I was the aggressor. Nothing was done to make me feel safe.

If you had chapped lips, they gave you a used container of Vaseline that everyone else had dipped their fingers in. Several other patients had nasty herpes sores on their mouths. If you didn't have herpes before you did, if you used the Vaseline. (They did eventually bring us chapstick)

They hygienic esthetic is deplorable. For the life of me, I had no idea if it was black mold growing in the shower or if that was years of body grease accumulated on the walls and drains of the shower. There were patients that should have been housed in long-term care facilities as they were completely unable to clean up after themselves. If we had housekeeping, I never once saw them. I doubt we did since the common area was covered in debris and spills left uncleaned. They asked some of the more stable female patients if they would clean the commons area. Why should they expect the female patients to clean up after everyone? Nope. Lol. This isn't the 1950s, I am not a slave and I am not they mommas. Lol.

I became very angry (who wouldn't have given these conditions) and mouthed off to staff and cafeteria workers. As punishment, they took away my cafeteria "privileges."

Let's talk about the food for a minute. The cafeteria served what I would consider as slop (I'm sure they would not call it that). They gave you large quanties of this highly processed and mostly void of nutrients food, but it was eat at your own risk. This food would give you explosive digestion problems and leave you hungry an hour later. It took my body weeks to recover after I was released.

It wasn't just me that suffered problems after a meal, just a stroll down the hall after mealtime, and you could calculate nearly half if not more, of the residents were dealing with the same reactions to the food served.