Reviews of Chicago Lakeshore Hospital (Hospital)

Han Joyce

I came to lakeshore for them to monitor my medication since I have never taken antidepressants before. I arrived at intake at 4 am. I was left in a room with two couches pushed together as a "bed" and was forced to sleep there and sit in the room until 10 am. After being brought up to the 4th floor I was then forced to wait another hour to get into my room. I was given an incredibly brief tour where the staff member didn't really explain anything to me. After having been there 2 days and realizing that this place was doing more harm than good I decided to inquire about leaving. I was told that I could only sign a 5 day release form and that I could not check myself out, despite being told by a social worker that I could check myself out. Although, the two days I had already been there did not count because it was the weekend so it was possible that I would have to stay 7 days. After crying about this they assured me I was having a panic attack, I was not, and continuously pushed me to take an ativan, which I kept refusing. Aside from that at I was only offered medication the day before I was released and that was the whole reason I had decided to go there. The staff, the nurses, the custodians, the doctors all believe that they are above you and that every move you make is close to a psychotic break. The group therapy was a joke and was only centered around addiction and not other forms of mental illness. The staff, who was supposed to be constantly monitoring the patients in the day room would frequently leave to joke around with other staff. There was an event where a staff member was upset with another staff member and went up to yell at them in front of patients. One staff member got into a verbal fight with a PATIENT and then decided to apologize to me afterwards and that he was just "putting him in his place". The kitchen would constantly mess up patients menu selections and didn't care at all about their diet restrictions. This place was absolutely FILTHY and they only cleaned the day room after multiple patients told multiple social workers about the problem. I wouldn't be surprised if they cleaned the shower once a YEAR, it was that filthy, and there was often wet tissue and other trash left in the shower. The staff members were incredibly loud all night while everyone would try to sleep. They refused to turn the heat on because while it was freezing in the rooms and the day room it was "too hot" at the nurses station. Please under any circumstance do NOT admit yourself or anyone else here. I was only admitted here because NorthWestern didn't have any rooms and was certainly not given enough information.

Deja

I was hospitalized here when I was 17. I'm 21 now and I still remember how terrible it was as vividly as yesterday. Intake took HOURS for no apparent reason. I was transported there early in the morning but didn't get onto the floor until later that NIGHT. One girl was physically violent and kicked in walls, and had to be restrained and medicated. also, no one, NO ONE, contacted my social worker about me being there no matter how many times I told them to, and I told them everything time I got to talk to a staff member. they just treat patients like problematic monsters.

Indigo Rodriguez

PLEASE IF YOU ARE SUICIDAL OR DEPRESSED DO NOT CHECK YOURSELF INTO THIS PLACE!! This place is a PRISON or ROOM AND BOARD! I can't say anything about the detox program but for anyone with other mental health issues this is not the place to go. The majority of the staff is rude. The force you to be there. The social workers are lazy and the only way to get released is if they sign the form, I knocked on the social workers door from 8 am until 3 pm and didn't hear from her until the next day. This place is a prison. The group "therapy" is a joke. You just sit there and color and we were told not to talk. The food is inedible. The male custodian workers are perverts, who knows what they do to the mental health patients that are so drugged up that they can't say no. My mother came on 2 occasions from 1 and half hours away and they made her leave without seeing me the 1st time and made her leave after 10 minutes the 2nd time even though I had open visitation via the doctor. Please Please try somewhere else!!

bepos1luv ok

We came in at night and during the intake process, the male(bald) clinician took my daughter's blood pressure. When I asked him what was her pressure, he proceeded to turned the machine around to face me and said, "there it is". I was shocked! How unprofessional, uncaring and lazy. Go elsewhere

Jillian Crawford

I have been here twice for deppression and it was horrible, the other patents where either homeless or just beyond help they stink and the place is always smells like pee, all the groups i went to where about drug usage and they never once gave me councling about depression or anything that has to do with what was wrong with me they just priscriped pills and that is all, I came out of their the same as i came in they didnt help me at all! its a horrible place dont come here.

Eileen Schultz

Family member was a patient and I was appalled at the poor level of care and lack of activities. On weekends ...the patients either sit in their bed and stare at the wall or all cram into one small day room with a loud tv and everyone talking over each other. Bedding is filthy (I had to request they change it) and patients are neglected. Staff doesn't interact with the patients and just show up for the paycheck. Saddest place I've ever seen.

Barbara Lauger

My husband was a patient here twice. This facility did nothing for him except push pills and send him to group therapy, which is their answer to everything. The doctor never contacted me at all over a period of two weeks, and the staff is disinterested and rude. At one point, a twenty-something caseworker called me and told me to show up the next day for my husband's discharge (an 80-mile drive each way), which I was unable to do due to work obligations. A smart-aleck "insurance specialist" got on the phone and spouted psycho-babble to me, and when I loudly criticized him and the hospital, he counted down from 3 to 1 and then hung up on me. When my husband came home and was still seriously depressed, he was returned to the same hospital for the same shenanigans. Only after a short stay at wonderful Alexian Brothers hospital was my husband properly treated and brought back to 100% normal. The people at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital are serious losers. My advice: AVOID THIS PLACE.

Isabelle Griggs

need to improve quality of service..

Sarah Vajda

Terrifying place unknown to society. Avoid at all costs. I was abused and assaulted by patients/staff. :'(

Adam Flugel

This hospital is appalling - I had a loved one go in for drug rehab, and I couldn't believe how the place was run. Everyone on the staff seemed extremely callous, constantly annoyed, and utterly uncaring. They were extremely suspicious of me and downright rude to the patients in almost every interaction I witnessed. The facility is dingy and run-down, and no one ever seemed to know what was going on. It's run about as well as a DMV, and every time I visited I was shocked that a hospital could run this way and not get shut down. It's worth noting that the patient kept a great attitude and really didn't complain about anything. It was rehab, so obviously she wasn't going to be happy there. My complaints are not the result of someone having a hard time getting off drugs. This is my assessment as someone who visited the hospital 5+ times. Most egregious issues: 1. The staff failed to relay multiple messages left by the patient's father for days on end. She had even signed a release to give him full access to her info. She tried to call him a few times but didn't catch him at the right time, and she thought he was avoiding her and got very worried. He ended up contacting me because her messages made it obvious that she was not aware that he was calling back. This is utterly inexcusable and negligent. There were at least 2 days where she thought her father was ignoring her, just because the staff didn't deliver any of his messages. 2. The first 2 times I visited, it took them over 20 minutes to get me to the patient I was there to see. It's a very small hospital, and there is absolutely no reason for it to be so disorganized. It appears as if there's no centralized system to keep track of patients or even check if someone has been admitted (or the staff just doesn't care enough to check). On the first day, they instructed me to get in the elevator and sent me to the wrong floor with no guidance or anyone escorting me. I ended up on an ICU floor and had to find staff to ask where to find the person I was visiting. They didn't know who I was talking about and got angry with ME for being in the wrong place. They sent me to the other ICU floor where the same thing happened again - they didn't have any record of her and they got hostile with me for "just wandering around here". It turned out she was still waiting in a kind of holding cell for the intake process. I don't know why the front desk was unaware of this fact. Again, it is a small hospital... and computers were invented quite some time ago even if the staff can't remember the 2 people waiting in intake. She had been in there since 5:30pm and they didn't start the actual intake process until 11:00pm. 3. When they moved her from one floor to another, they didn't bring her clothes and refused to go get them when she asked... She asked a few times over the course of a day, and the horrible director lady (she seemed the most uncaring of anyone I met) called her "a bug" and told her to go away. The attitude is disgusting. I had to bring more clothes in during visiting hours because they were too lazy to take a 1-floor elevator trip to get her clothes. 4. They didn't provide vegetarian options despite her telling them before every meal that she's a vegetarian. They didn't provide soap or shampoo for the shower, and when I brought soap they were extremely suspicious and the director wanted to throw it out (luckily a lower level staff person stuck up for me). The whole thing was insane. The doctors did seem to know what they were doing with medical detox (hence the 2 stars... they did one thing decently), but then they released her to an IOP that didn't actually accept her! On the whole, the staff here are uncaring and cold, and it's a travesty that people are treated so poorly. Many of the patients have no one to stick up for them, and they're being handled like animals by irritated and jaded staff who always seem half-asleep. Truly terrible. Avoid if at all possible.

Brittany Rothe

Lakeshore hospital is the WORST place that I have ever been! The staff are so trans-phobic, it's not even funny. They, the nurses, montitors or what ever those Africans are; were so disrespectful and mean, I had to leave early because of the way the treated me! I couldn't even finish my detox and left sick. Fortunately, I was able to get into The Women's Treatment Center where I was treated with respect, dignity and received the care that I needed. They simply do not like transgender people at that hospital!!!

this that

Ok so the staff is overworked and probably underpaid. They can be difficult. However, think of the patients they deal with every single day. I will say that the food was decent and they saved my life more than once. On the other hand, there was feces on the wall and my roommate thought I was Casper the friendly ghost. It was not really run by staff, but more as a triage run by patients.

Karina Johannes

Horrible facility my friend went to this place and the staff there had forgot to give her charger and the extra set of batteries for her chochlear implant! Now she cant hear this place is ridiculous very careless the staff there and always loose items.

Jacob Hofstetter

Restore Counseling & Recovery, Inc., as an outpatient mental health provider, our relationship with Lakeshore Hospital personnel has been great! They have been very helpful, providing a lot of good information as well as being one of our premiere referral sources for those needing inpatient care for drug & alcohol treatment.

Riley Tinny

On the 2nd floor which is detox, half of the staff is amazing and the other half not so much. Ive met some really amazing counselors and other staff members and in my experience had a really good time with other patients. The food is hit or miss... Lakeshore if your not acting like a moron is a decent place to go get yourself clean. For me it works.

Ishmael Cares

This place is run by psychiatrists who are probably bitter they couldn't work at Rush or Northwestern. They are hard to get ahold of, they are dismissive of concerns, and worse, the psychiatrist does not freaking know how to write freaking prescriptions. Pharmacies will not fill orders because they are hard to understand and are written incorrectly. Forget about calling Dr. Mengele or Dr. Frankenstein; they won't fix anything! They will basically tell you that you are no longer their concern once you walk out the door. I wish they'd close this place down. You are better off at Reed, Madden, or even Stroger.

Debbie Grove

My brother brought things there and they lost his stuff. We had to make 2 trips there to see if we can find it. The staff even admitted that they loose stuff. Then when they decided to release him. They didn't call the family, they just turned the mental patient out onto the street with no wallet, because they lost that, and no money and no way to get money. About 8 hours later a lady called us from a dinner theader place and said that she had my brother. He had been walking all day. We finally found him and brought him home.around 11:00 pm.

ML Magee

If there were a Hell on earth, this would be the lowest pit, where human imagination would simply fail to comprehend the level of torture and abuse. More traumatizing than helpful - I would actually joke with people that I needed therapy for the trauma suffered in “therapy” at this place. My memories of it are nothing but horror stories. Avoid it like the plague.

Terra Jones

I can't complain too much because coming out of here I did feel a bit better. I was going through some really rough times, and I just didn't have the coping skills to deal with all the stress. I was attracted to the place because on their website they advertise the program called Valeo, which was a LGBT oriented mental health program. It turns out that that is completely a lie. They are not consistently running that program. I expected to have the staff be culturally literate on matters that affect us as transgender people. I witnessed several very questionable acts on the part of the staff. Not the least of which was referring to another transgender patient as "it" and "thing" which shattered any semblance of credibility the program had in my eyes. However unethical conduct on the part of the front and staff made me wonder if I'd made a mistake. The intake nurse the night I was taken in ask me the standard questions. I answered them but when we got to the part about while I was there I mention that I was a survivor of an abusive relationship. The nurse asked me to elaborate about that relationship and I described that my partner abused me by cutting me off from my friends and family and took control of my finances. He then proceeded to ask me if I consented to that. I said yes. He then told me that I chose to be abused. I was utterly appalled at his callousness and his lack of understanding of victims of abuse. I brought it up with his supervisor and he even admitted it and Justified it by saying it was just his opinion. These people are the first people that people in crisis meet. The front and staff both going in and out were consistently terrible to me and other patients affirmed similar stories. A mental hospital is an inherently scary place which is why you often see it used as a setting of horror stories. There's a very ugly history of abusing LGBT people through hospitalization. I would expect the staff in the front end to be courteous and reassuring. Instead the first impression everyone gets at the hospital is that it's dirty and the people who work there are tired and impatient and jaded. Other patients reported that they were moved to a high-security wing because there wasn't space on the second floor which was the lower intensity floor. Because they were on the higher security when they were subject to bullying on the part of Staff members and were put in contact with patients who were violent and dangerous. This violated the patient's right to a least restrictive environment. So much of the program was designed for the convenience of the institution and not the patients. For instance as I mentioned before the Valeo program is not being conducted, and the staff did not seem to be trained on dealing with transgender patients despite advertising this on their website. It was explained to me that they don't have the resources anymore. I responded that perhaps they should stop advertising it on their website. Another feature was the ubiquity of addiction programming. The first couple nights I was there I was forced to attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I don't do drugs. I'm not addicted to drugs. Most of the workshops that I was sent to were oriented towards people who were addicts. I have compassion for addicts but I'm simply not one and it goes right back to the programming being designed for the convenience of the institution rather than the individual patient. When they finally figured out the error, I didn't have to go anymore but the same time there was no programming in its place. This hospital has numerous issues that need to be resolved. I cannot recommend any LGBT patient go to this Hospital. The Valeo program is a complete lie.

Cassandra L

Extremely traumatizing. Staff don't care at all. Very dirty, insects everywhere, ceiling falling down in my room. I was there for suicide intention on a ward with developmentally disabled people who peed on the floors and played with their feces - then touched my food tray! Nurses won't talk to anyone, they just turn on TV and hope we zone out. Med students come by at mealtimes to poke and prod. "Come look at the misfortunate!" I got an infection while staying there and Dr. Ribeiro (who should lose her medical license) gave me a throat lozenge and cranberry juice. Did I mention staff don't care at all? Place should have closed thirty years ago. The state of things. It's all so degrading and dehumanizing. Chicago Lakeshore doesn't help or heal, they hurt. Isn't the #1 rule of medicine "first do no harm"? Go anywhere else.

Brittany Alston

I have never written a review for anywhere. Ever. But this place takes the cake. I went in to inquire about the Intensive Outpatient Therapy program they have. They admitted me to in-patient. I was locked in this hospital for three days. The rooms are disgusting. The staff is incredibly unprofessional. The psychiatrists don't really care. The social workers don't really care. This is probably due to how understaffed they are. There are one or two nice counselors, but over all the groups are unhelpful. Only go here if it's your absolute last resort. If you can, please, go literally anywhere else.

Rozalia Jurczak

I visited a relative who had tried to harm themselves due to diagnosis of permanent ailment. They did not consult my loved ones physician about what medications they where on and put them on what they pleased. The nurse was rude and they continuously dodged our attempts to speak to who was administering drugs. My loved one was cooperative. The conditions where filthy and if anything did much more harm than good as my loved ones first attempt to get help. I do not recommend this facility to anyone who hopes for any shred of compassion and humanity.

Jeremy Roberson

I was there a few years ago, I went twice in 30days and have been clean since. They do more then most. Get clean is up to you not the place you go to!

Vitas Zukowski

Intake to the hospital took over eight hours of waiting, including being left alone in a room for hours at a time. In the intensive unit all the staff was completely dehumanizing and condescending save for one social worker. Group sessions are led by nurses, never actual therapists. Art therapy is pretty much just having a bucket of crayons thrown at you. Found cockaroaches in my room. Paitents have to "earn" the privilege to get to go outside for a half hour each day. Psychiatrists in the outpatient program literally give you sample boxes of pills from a filing cabinet rather than giving you an informed medicinal option. Chicago Lakeshore in no way deserves having "hospital" in its name.

sandy ware

They are horrible. If you need help, this ain't the place. I have a suspicion that they are stealing patients medications too. They need an investigation and I'm going to do my best to see that they get one,

Len Ciannamea

My son called me from Lakeshore , stating he relapsed And needed to be weened off from anti anxiety medication , when I called the hospital of course they Could not give me any information because he is an adult. But I had asked if they could have someone call me and after 3 straight days of calling My wife and I decided to drive down to Lakeshore from our sw suburban home an hour away. We were able to see him and talked to a social worker Jillian who was nice enough to give us information on his status but said We needed to talk to the social worker assigned to My son. Her name was Anna and she was not available which was understandable since we arrived Without an appointment but never returned our several calls we made. Her demeaneer sounded as though she was irritated, again after 3 days of calling To talk to her and not getting any information on our son that we had to drive down. She also was suppose To find a place for him before he was discharged, she didn't discharge him until 6:30 in the evening after his Docter cleared him at 2:30. I had to leave my job to pick him up or would have been out in the street in the middle of winter. This hospital also tried to give him Unnecessary tests just because he was on our Blue cross PPO. Stay away from this hospital!

Yaritza Barcenas

i just to go there because i just to get bullie by 3 girls and i cut my slef and i wanted to killmyslef about im fine know thank god about ik that in all schools theres is going to de mine ppl i get bulle at my school i cry i tell my mom and she help me thank you lakeshore to help me when i needed help:)

Arnold Riddle

As a former psychiatric patient who was duped and sucked into the system, I learned how nearly all my issues and my so called "bi-polar diagnosis" were merely induced by the very SSRIs and Antidepressants I was irresponsibly prescribed by reckless money hungry physicians. Here is how to become educated with information from the International Coalition for Drug Awareness - drugawareness. org

Heidi Otter

Horrible, horrible, horrible place. Doesn't even deserve 1 star. The adult inpatient units are a disgusting excuse for Mental Health care. Gross and dirty conditions. They don't care about the patients when they are admitted into their care and they make no effort in helping you be discharged either. If I didn't have the good enough mindset to advocate for my discharge, they would have left me there. I live outside of Illinois, so they ended up discharging me to the street instead of helping me get home.

Cibele DaSilva

This hospital is terrible. My mother is a patient here at the moment and every single time I call I am told that they can neither deny or confirm that she is a patient, but they can leave a message. She calls me and tells me that they have not told her that I called. She also stated that they feed hee "slop" and askes if I could bring her something to eat. They lock the bathrooms so that she has to ask everytime to use it or to take a shower. They say I cant speak to her without an extention to her, but there is only one phone... she describes this place like a prison.

Juan Valdovinos

Came for help left with a traumatizing experience, thanks I now know 1st hand what hell feels like, this place should be shut down, all they do is drug you and let you walk around in a long hallway with nothing to do besides sleep, food sucks and the heater was broken so I had to carry around a 20 pound blanket most of my time In here, I luckily got out in 7 days felt like 30 years, never again and won’t recommend anyone here

Denise Evans

My daughter is at this hospital I call several of time so I can talk to her the lady at the front desks wouldn't give me no information or tell me if my daughter is hear or not this is cray cray I have to wait to somebody call me back an they never did call back

Mary Lascola

DO NOT GO HERE!! STAY AWAY!! This was the most disgusting facility I have EVER seen. I was recommended to this facility by my care coordinator through my insurance. I was trying to get off of prescription benzodiazepines and was fearful of withdrawal and possibly seizing. I sat in intake for 9 HOURS. Because of "budget cuts" , we had to keep our foam cups and put our name on it! This is absolutely unacceptable for a hospital setting. They were extremely understaffed. There was only 1 housekeeper for the ENTIRE facility on the weekend. The floors were so sticky your shoes would stick to the floor. There were times that our only source of water would be from the faucet. When there was fresh water, there would be 2 pitchers for 34 patients!! Midnight mental health workers would be leaned back in there chairs sawing logs, sound asleep while the charge nurse was sitting right in front of them. Don't even bother contacting the patient advocate if you have any type of issue. I left a voicemail on a Monday, and I left on Wednesday. I NEVER heard from her! So much for patient advocacy. Unfortunately, because most patients are going through detox from either alcohol or drugs, (This is on the 2nd floor), they are too sick to advocate for themselves. They probably are thinking that the treatment they are receiving is how its supposed to be. Honestly, the day after my discharge I contacted the Illinois Department of Public Health. So watch out Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, the state is coming for you!!

Kelsey Grant

I was hospitalized and treated very poorly here. DischargedMonday. .without insurance I owe almost 5k and the doctor riberio wrote me a script for my medication which is almost 1k for my pills. Nobody is helpful here I've had the run around and wasted 4 days of my life inside a disgusting hospital ran by unprofesional lazy people who dont care about your needs. I'm very disappointed and mentally I'll without my medication I dont know what I'm gonna do. Dont go to this hospital If your reading this dont go here

Mariel Vergara

Not the best, not the worst. A few specific staff are very helpful and caring but this place is understaffed and most of them are too stressed or busy to care.

Randomie Personie

Don't ever send anyone to this hospital. It's poorly managed and the staff don't even care how/why you go there. Some of them were even creepy. It stinks and no one cleans the place. All they do is twist your words even though you tell them you're not suicidal anymore. My words of advice: stay away.

Adriana Romero

Worst place ever

Gem Gell

They are the worst facility! I would give it 0 star if I could. My husband took our friend there and had to wait 12 hours before they could check him in! Nurses and staff are the worst! If you don’t do drugs, you definitely will turn to drugs from all the frustrations and aggravations!

Alexandra Eliades

They care...a lot. If you're not prepared to spend 5 days in "lockdown" so to speak, then you're not ready. Their food is decent, the groups are very helpful (especially art therapy, lol, I got to be a kid and I'm coloring as a distraction and loving it!) Disregard the bad reviews. Its not about going out for a cigarette or a 1st class meal ticket. Its hard but they do their best to make it feel noninstitutionalized but lets face it, for 5 days, you are theirs. Slap on a nicotine patch and look at the view from the big room. This is a psychiatric hospital so it's different than a psych ward or detox in a regular hospital. Things are weird but they have to abide by certain laws. They saved my life in different ways...twice. I'm grateful for the staff at Lakeshore. I owe them my sanity and my life.

caitlin cole

My experience with this hospital as a patient of course it sucked. I felt betrayed because my parents gave me no clue I was one a one way ride to "the pound". I felt hatred for them. And what a day to write a review. I was released on Friday the 13th. Of course I didn't appreciate it because I was a kid. I laugh at myself using the techniques they taught me in my day to day life. That is why I turned to them for help with my 13 year old son. He has been at River Edge hospital and what a dump and the staff sucked. I will definitely call on them. Today.

Gretchen Guenther-hutchens

I wish I could give them zero stars and that this "hospital" would be closed. My son's experience there was very traumatizing. He was physically and verbally abused by staff. Staff was often unprofessional, for example instead of calling my son by his name they nicknamed him "Light Skin" because he is a lighter skinned black person. After getting him transferred to another hospital for his safety we reported the abuse to DCFS. The investigation found our charges of abuses as founded. This place needs to be closed down!

Stuff No

I got discharged very recently of this hospital and when I was in there, I had seen some scary and sad things that I shouldn't be seeing as a 16 years old. I did like some of the staff. The staff was nice to me only because I was on good behavior. However, I have seen some abuse that has been happening and I didn't like it. I also had problems in the intake room and it made me anxious because of how isolated it was. It felt like an isolation room. One time, one of my peers(my friend) was "pushed" by one of the staff. She got really upset and started saying, "Hey! Why did you push me?" She was really upset. My other friend saw that and she started yelling at that staff member. They were shouting at each other, while the rest of us were in the day room, hearing the shouting and talking about it. We were all upset. My friend, who got pushed, came into the day room and started crying. My other friend, who had a room next to mine, and I came to her and was comforting her because she felt violated and was crying. Then one of the staff yelled at us saying, "Stay away from her! Mind your own business!" I understand why they made us focus on ourselves, but it wasn't ok to touch a patient without their permission or even physically abusing him or her. Then, they told us to go into our rooms. My friend, who has the room next to mine, started crying. After I had my visitation, I came to my room and she told me, "I can't move my legs." I said, "Why? What happened?" She told me that due to what happened with the girl who got pushed and her getting yelled at for showing empathy to that girl who got pushed, she tried to kill herself in her room. I was terrified and I was angry. Very angry. I give it three stars because of the abuse from the staff members that has been happening during my hospitalization and the beginning process in the intake room. I understand the safety procedures, but it made me feel a little vexed because of the rules.

Is Ro

Good staff and administration. Lousy when a loved one is trying to get information especially when I have POA. Furthermore, no one knows nothing and they always say you need to speak to his nurse, or his doctor, or his psychologist. When trying to get information or a hold of someone, no returned calls. Jazmin the case worker is horrible at returning calls. I feel up in the air trying to get information as my uncle is a little slow, there is a lot he doesn't understand when someone is trying to talk to him. So I have to be told directly from doctors etc when it comes to his health yet no one is able to provide any information and when trying to speak to the right person I am always treated as though they are not concerned about my concerns. I got ZERO information or results or even suggestions. Again my uncle is NOT in the right mind or capacity to make decisions on his own due to his mental state. They did NOT evaluate him thoroughly otherwise they would have helped me (WHICH A WAIVER WAS SIGNED TO RELEASE INFORMATION TO ME IN REGARDS TO HIS TREATMENT). HE WAS JUST A NUMBER! He was treated good by administration but that is as far as it goes. Treated good with no concern. Again, he was nothing more than JUST a number.

Debra Reese

The Staff here are very knowledgeable, compassionate & helpful. I'm so grateful for the referral to Chicago Lakeshore Hospital for their excellent partial hospitalization program & would highly recommend their services to family members & friends.

Kissa Deff

Although they are understaffed and therfore overworked, most of the employees really do care about helping you conquer your addictions. Charles is funny, lol he will mess w u but he has a good heart. Art therapy and plenty of groups available, but not forced on anyone. Been here twice and although the food n physical comfort may hv declined, the genuine intentions of the workers have not. The custodial worker is very thorough, does an excellent job on the rooms to keep them clean and sanitary.

Timothy Shepherd

My experience with lakeshore was and is complicated this is not a daycare facility if you want to lay back and be "fixed" ya got the wrong place you get what you could expect from an overworked underappreciated staff too many times I have and I have seen individuals treat this facility like a Winter getaway disrespect to staff blatant disregard for the rules....To what? Get out and relapse no wonder they can be pretty strict the Care is better than you can expect on the street or for that matter what some of us can expect at home your treatment is in your hands the best way I can explain it is in the words of a very dedicated staff member and I quote ten simple words that have so much power "if it is to be it is up to me" thank you for everything for some of us you are all we have

Alexandra Chrabaszcz

Staff

Drayton Fleming

My 18 year old son has been here twice. Compared to other places (Alexian, etc), Lakeshore is really bad. The staff is non-caring, it is dirty, and my son was almost raped. Stay away from Lakeshore.

L Knox

Chicago Lakeshore Hospital is the North Korea of healthcare ... if I could leave a half star rating I would! An adult special needs relative was just discharged to an alcoholic, abusive relative with a criminal record. Case manager Elyn M. and Dr. Lerman cooked up this harebrained plan with full knowledge of prior DCFS contact with family, protective order history etc. After the discharge, Adult Protective Services was on site next day, my relative was then banned from the abuser's property by the abuser. Inside this facility you'll witness a human wasteland of adults who sleep 12-14 hours a day with fluorescent lights in the hallways. During a visit, my relative complained of flu-like symptoms, I requested a temperature and blood pressure reading from Ola the nurse, only to learn no cart was available on the entire 3rd floor. (And that's concerning, because this place is where you get your passport stamped for Benzo City!) Remember, your loved ones cannot check out AMA, even if self-admit without homicidal or suicidal ideation. Takeaway: get a Medical POA ASAP (google the form) and designate Chicago Lakeshore a no-fly zone. My relative developed soaring blood pressure, delusions about Marvel super heros & fountain-like urinary incontinence on Chicago Lakeshore’s prescriptions, but is now recovering in a hospital setting. Some positive reviews here seem to normalize the filthy conditions, impoverished environment, rude and untrained staff, and lack of patient input into their prescribed medications, treating physicians and care plan. Somehow, it’s “for your own good.” To those individuals I say, having mental health, behavioral health and addiction is NOT a crime! You need treatment, not punishment. You are worthy of respect and hygienic conditions, not ill treatment and filth. And a few kind, overworked employees like Charles cannot salvage a corrupt and incompetent institution. That’s not entitlement or “shopping for a country club.” It’s what the rest of the developed world takes for granted.

Nathaniel Butler-ludwig

Worst example of the privatized medical system ive seen, every corner is cut, they’ll hold you as long as possible and feed you as many drugs and write you as many prescriptions as possible as to charge your insurance the maximum amount possible. Basic human amenities barely and sometimes not met whatsoever, awful staff, avoid until absolute last resort!!!!!!

Eddie Carrasco

horrible

jesus perez

Excellent place

Abbey Pokorny

The food was good compared to most awful cafeteria stories I've heard from mental health places. I stayed here for a week-long period earlier this year and I feel this review is long-overdue. I first got there for suicidal idealizations, minor cutting on my calves, depression, etc. Anyway, they eventually put me on a few different medications, including one for anti-anxiety. The name escapes me know, but it started with an A. What they failed to bother telling me was that there was a high risk of this medication causing bad cases of lockjaw, and the very next day my law was stuck in an extremely painful condition. When I asked for help, I was pleading and crying at the front desk asking for someone to just help with my problem. They ignored me, they literally pretended I didn't exist, and the two that didn't just started snickering to themselves about me. I told them I was having severe chills and asked if it was because of my medications, again, they ignored me and didn't even answer. When I got lockjaw, twice from that medication before I found out why and they changed it, I ended up chipping a few of my teeth. The second time I got lockjaw I wasn't being disruptive, I wasn't screaming, I wasn't touching anyone or acting in any way threatening, all I was doing was crying from the pain and asking for help. So they brought in two huge orderlies, held me down and injected me a few times with something to make me pass out, and when I woke up, I still had lockjaw, and nobody helped me. I only got help when one of the doctors came the next day and I complained to him, but even he thought I was being a little dramatic.

Tomachia Singley

I was well taken care of..been everywhere, this one works!

Jacqueline Holloway

My grandson was there not a month ago...we stressed that he was paranoid and had been violent in the home..The doctor and the social worker saw fit not to hear us the family and discharged him without medication or follow up...well tonight that violence escalated.. He attacked someone...if you care about your family please seek help somewhere else...THIS IS SOMETHING THAT DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN...SHAME ON YOU LAKESHORE AND YOUR DOCTORS.

Nicky Bartak

I went to chicago lakeshore when I was 16. That was 9 years ago and it seems things haven't changed much. As someone that suffered from depression and extremely bad anxiety, I would not have picked this hospital. It was a bunch of kids in the same ward with mental health issues, anger issues as well as dependency issues, all intermixed. For the first 3 days I was laying on my bathroom floor vomiting from a nonstop panic attack. Staff came to my room only twice a day but were never rude and always tried to help, they were just very understaffed. I couldnt eat so they gave me boost 3 times a day and brought me in the hallway at night by the nurses station to help with night time panic attacks which i appreciated. The groups didnt really help, we talked about the same things every day basically because we had new people always coming in. I remember waking up one night to two girls across the hall fighting until they were given sedatives. It was actually more tramatizing than helpful. There should have been different wards for mental health, dependancy and behavioral issues. I was there for a week and a half. A week after being discharged I was sent to linden oaks. The lack of staff and amount of downtime just gave us more opportunity to dwell on our own thoughts and feel worse in a chaotic enviroment.

athena2nd

I'm reading a lot of these reviews, and understand why many are upset as they are not medical health professionals, or mental health professionals, and therefore feel powerless and confused in this environment and feel as though they've been wronged. Some things should never happen, such as losing belongings, this is true. Other things, I believe many of just misinformed about. If you call, you will be told no information over the phone. Hospital personnel have no idea who you are, who you claim to be, and the identities of patients are protected. Why? HIPAA, as well as countless times an angry ex, or someone trying to hurt the patient, is trying to pry information. And, often, the patient doesn't want even family knowing all of their treatment details. They encourage the patients to contact their loved ones personally. There are free phones, numerous on the units, for the patients to use. It is up to the patient to contact family and release information, not the employees. It takes time to see the patient, because the safety of the unit has to be secured. The hospital is allowing individuals out of the unit, to come on the unit. They do not do body checks. Many times, unfortunately, cigarettes, lighters, drugs, and other paraphernalia make it on the unit, that wasn't there before, magically, after visiting hours. Do not feel violated when precautions are taken to TRY to eliminate these risks. Its not personal. And they cannot pick and chose who to enforce it on, and who not to. its across the board for safety reasons. If you pick up your chart, you will see several assessments, including the mental status exam, mini mental exam, and several other scales and assessments as needed (CAGE, AIMS, etc). When intelligence, insight, and judgement is assessed, there are indeed criteria for each. Mental health professionals know the criteria, and if you merely google these exams, you will also see the criteria. Someone who is developmentally delayed, knows nothing about their schizophrenia illness, and has poor judgement (e.g., not return a wallet found on the ground after seeing someone drop it), leads to "below level intelligence," "poor insight, " and "poor judgement." Again, not personal, and is for the purpose of delivering specific care. Care for this individual is vastly different that someone who has "average intelligence, good insight, good judgement" and is having an acute episode of schizophrenia. I can tell you, from the standpoint of both a medical and mental health professional, that this facility provides great care. I have seen a few other facilities and practices, not tons, but a few, and lakeshore is great. Medication selection is where I see the greatest difference. Patients will come into this facility on psychiatric medications that are completely inappropriate for several reasons, and lakeshore, really, cleans up the mess. They stabilize the patients, prevent EPS (google it if you don't know), simplify medication regimens, and most importantly, use Evidence Based Practice Guidelines! So many, SO MANY, places do not. They prescribe and manage because thats "always how its been done." Clinicians at lakeshore are current on prescription and treatment practices, and make the correct diagnosis, as well as treatment plan. I had to post to defend this place reading some of these reviews. I hope in time some individuals develop a greater understanding as to why things are a certain way, or that they never find out because they never need hospitalization again, that would be optimal. But know that there are practices in place for legal reasons, and safety reasons.

Amanda Forrest

Do not send your child to this hospital. My daughter had a suicide plan, but thankfully hadn't tried to yet. Our ER got her placed at this hospital. The staff were rude and cold. Only a couple staff members were kind and caring. My daughter suffers from depression and is 5th generation for this. She is a quiet girl and needed a calm, safe environment. What she got was rude staff that kept forgetting to give her her personal clothing from home to make her a little more comfortable...for 3 days! The other girls in her wing were like wild animals, with violence issues and lashing out, not listening to authority, her roommate having to be sedated with 2 shots in the butt. Cursing of patients to staff members and vice versa. It was more like a juvenile detention center. On weekend they just "hung out" and did not have therapy or see doctors. What a waste of time and money! She isn't any better after them making us leave her there for "a minimum of 5 days". Pure hell.

Donald Baldwin

I disagree strongly with the reviewers who share negative accusations about Lakeshore hospital staff being uncaring and unhelpful. So it isn't a country club hospital - get over it! Trust me, there isn't one person on here who has been a "guest" of Lakeshore whose addiction or behavioral issues set a standard of elegance in the first place. How now can you be so unfairly critical about events which took place while you were either half-baked or half-lucid - or both. Seriously! I Stand here right now a sober and changed man because of Lakeshore Hospital and the people with humongous hearts - like Joe Camper, Julia Kamenetsky, Jennifer, Charlotte, Andre, Ryan - and many others. And every single day, once I have accounted for everything I accomplished . . . I remember them with gratitude because its only because they were there that I was able to come this far. No it isn't a 5 star resort recovery palace - deal with it. Its a place to get sober that will see you through and help you out by you just walking up an asking for it. Pick up some humility and put down some attitude. If you could afford Club Med you could be writing a crummy unfair review about them instead. Lakshore not only saved my life . . . they gave it back. How can you rate something like that in stars?

Jia Bella Bradley

Staff were very nice and caring I got help I just got discharged today amazing room's great place to stay in food is good good groups shout out to these people Ms Kate, Mr Jeff, Ms Jazmine, other Ms Jazmine, and Ms Samantha

Sally Jennington

absolutely awful, NOT trans-affirming, they refused to provide hormones that had been prescribed to my client, and completely misgendered the entire time. overall it was a pretty traumatic experience. go somewhere else.

Pasquale Delcore

A big thank you to the third floor staff.

Amy Powers

I have stayed at this "hospital 3 times to help get over a drug addiction the staff is very over worked there are a million bad things I could say about this place but I won't because it does help if you want it to . For those of us that don't have private insurance you get what you pay for I guess but a huge warning to parents that have children with mental issues that are thinking of this place for your children do not send them there it's no place for a child your children will be locked up with people with huge drug problems I'm a parent myself and being a patient there is no walk in the park this is no place for a kid with issues no matter how bad please parents do your homework!!!! But if your an adult needing help they will help you some of the staff members are wonderful people some are not such is life .Thank you lake shore hospital !

Kolbot Khmer

I have never seen the hospital treat patients like prisoners or criminals, very rude and loud. Bad place to go to..........

H Q

I can't believe this place is still standing. Needs to be completely reevaluated. Thinking about reporting them to the state. Pharmacist called them to verify a doctor who wrote a script for a patient and the person who helped her said " You're a pharmacist you should be able to use google and look up the doctors office and call... they will remember they wrote it" UNBELIEVABLE! super unprofessional! My whole career I have never heard anyone say this!

Megan Weldon

I called on an extremely hard day mentally for me to see if I checked myself in if I would be able to check myself out and the woman who answered the phone who's name I believe to be Alfreda or something similar very literally laughed at me and said "you can't just check yourself out because you want to." I can't even begin to explain how insensitive this is to someone in a fragile state.

Chuck Painter

The only reason im giving this one star is because i have too otherwise I'd give 0 most of the comments I've read are true i was here twice and recently left. I will say their are some counselers there that are good people as well as some Doctors but the facility itself was filthy and saw a huge cockroach while in group. For the amount of money they are charging the least they would have is cups and fresh water to keep you hydrated which is essential for detoxing. If you plan on goin here be prepared to wait atleast 6hrs to 15 i waited 9 and my gf waited 15hrs and was sent to the wrong floor. I really was dissapointed this time and anyone that is trying to get clean i would say go someplace else but they did give me subutex that helped there is really nothing there to do but if your looking ro get clean then experience it for yourself they do help with aftercare just some of the staff are lazy af and rude which is not good for someone detoxing.

Yvette Porter

I would give this place a negative star if the rating was available. This place is not suited to call themselves a mental health "care" facility. Care being the operative word. There is no care provided here and the staff doesn't care that there is no care. When I asked a staff member about seeing the doctor, she responded that she didn't know when he would return nor did she control his schedule. She didn't offer to take a message, get him a message. Nothing! When I asked if I could leave a message, she took my name and the name of my family member. I had to remind her to take my phone number. I don't think the doctor got the message because he never called back. If someone you love needs care; DO NOT bring them here. It's day #2 at the facility and my family member has spoken to the psychiatrist twice. Each time for about 90 seconds in the hallway. I guess no therapy sessions held here. He dispensed a pill and left. When I asked why the sessions were so short, I was told by the supervisor that if my family member needed more time, it should have been requested. I asked what's the protocol for sessions? I was told that the doctor was only human and that perhaps a mistake was made and then the supervisor lectured my family member on how to ask for help if needed. Do you believe this? Really!!! What if the patient can't articulate their needs? Then what? Group sessions are supposed to be a part of treatment. Upon intake my family member was never told about the sessions and how to participate and therefore hasn't attended Get this....the staff told me that if my family member had come down to the group room to hang out they would have been notified. Staff had the audacity to blame my family member for being asleep in the room during sessions.....sleeping is a side effect of the meds. If that's the protocol, why are there no signs posted letting patients know that if they want to attend sessions (part of the therapy) they should come to the group room. Why were the processes and services offered not explained during intake? My insurance is being billed for services NOT rendered. Fed up, our family made a decision to remove our loved one We voiced our concerns and asked for an administrator. We were sent a supervisor. We voiced our concerns again, offered to sign out our family member and sign any papers that would remove their liability. We were told that it didn't work that way, there were laws and they weren't breaking the law for us and informed us that the doctor would have to process a discharge. Mind you visiting hours are from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and the doctor was long gone. I requested that they call the doctor, they did. He refused to discharge as he would have to see the patient to do so and that would require him retuning to the facility. I asked for his boss, he refused a discharge as well. I asked for the CEO and was told that the doctors don't report to him. I was told that the patient has a minimum 5 day stay which doesn't include weekends or holidays and the doctor would return tomorrow (Saturday) and perhaps we could discuss a discharge then. Ok. What if the doctor isn't around during visiting hours? Then what? Well, they are not even sure if the doctor will see my family member tomorrow. This is by far a living hell for the patient and those that love them. It's impossible to receive quality care and impossible to leave in less than 5 business days if you are not satisfied..

Nathan Simpson

Today my girlfriend and I had to go over the medical records from her stay at Chicago Lakeshore. She came here seeking an outpatient therapist for her depression a few years ago. When, during a preliminary interview she was asked if she had ever thought about suicide (who hasn't?) she, believing it to be a philosophical question and not an admission of self harm, said yes. Immediately afterwards, she was--roughly and against her will--escorted to some kind of holding tank. She was then left there alone for hours on end with no explanation, and when she finally was approached by an employee of the hospital she was treated extremely rudely. She explained again and again that she misunderstood the question about suicide, was not seeking hospitalization, and simply wanted an outpatient therapist to talk to about her anxiety and depression. Almost everyone at the hospital treated her with utmost suspicion and implied multiple times that she had a substance abuse problem with no evidence, assuming her guilty until proven innocent. She did not, nor has she ever had any sort of issue with chemical dependence. A drug test later revealed that she had absolutely no drugs in her system other than her depression medication, and still she was treated childishly, with disdain and no regard for her dignity. Though at first she was assured that she was only being held for legal reasons and should have been released after 24 hours, this facility held against her will for FIVE ENTIRE DAYS before being released, with absolutely no reason to have ever admitted her in the first place. Her insurance was billed for treatment for bipolar disorder, alcohol abuse, and--get this-- a broken ankle, none of which she had, nor has ever had. She was denied coverage because of these false claims by this ridiculous hospital, and had to fight tooth and nail to get them dropped. This afternoon, we reviewed her records from this time in the hospital. Quotes from her "Progress Notes" interviews include: "I am being held here against my will"; "I do not belong here"; When asked what her goal for the day was, she replied: "I just have to try and remain calm about my release date" In one interview, she said that she consumes 2 alcoholic drinks per week. The rest of her paperwork from that point on indicated over and over that the hospital believed her to have a problem with abusing alcohol. Seeing as first of all, this conclusion makes no sense, and second of all, it had nothing to do with why she was admitted, it seems that the hospital was reporting its paperwork inaccurately. I also saw a page of admittance paperwork marked "Mental Status Examination." Under the subheading "cognitive functioning," in the section "Intelligence," the paperwork includes three boxes: "Above average," "Average" and "Below Average." Other sections, marked "Insight" and "Judgment" contain three boxes marked: "good," "fair," "poor." This boggles my mind. Based on what definition? Based on what quantifiable data? To her memory, she was not given any tests that could provide data with which to answer these questions. The employee (I am wary to use the term "doctor") simply looked at her and made these judgments based on his own opinion. Besides this examination being completely unscientific, the simple fact that this hospital could boil down something as complex as a human being's intelligence, insight or judgment to three rudimentary boxes is appalling. Here are three boxes I would check for Lakeshore's treatment of my girlfriend: [ ] Lazy [ ] Unprofessional [ ] Unethical. She was kept here against her will, treated extremely poorly and rudely, nearly billed for treatment of conditions she didn't have, left embarrassed, humiliated and worse off emotionally than when she arrived. She is doing well now, thankfully, but in no part due to her stay at this facility. Based on the stories I have heard, and my own experience of visiting this place (dingy, unclean, rude) I would never send a loved one, or anyone there.

Michael Durkins

I've been there 2 times it was horrible

A Smith

An uprofessional work enviornment. Manager in Medical Records is unprofessional and terrorizes all staff within the department. HR does not enforce accountability, and thus there is nowhere to turn for improvement or relief. High turnover rate. The story remains identical for almost all other departments. Please stop enabling bad habits in unprofessional staff. This story must be exposed to promote and encourage positive change and betterment of policies and procedures. My purpose for writing this review is not out of spite, but out of empathy for my fellow man. I truly hope and pray this facility undergoes a radical change. It is well overdue.

Richard Gee

This place should be shut down due to unprofessional conduct and incompetent practice of staff. It is a horrible place that would make the patients even worse. It is unbelievably terrible environment for anyone who needs help. Please don't go.