OC Specialty Health & Hospitals - Aliso Ridge Behavioral Health - Aliso Viejo, California

Felicia Raprager

My son was admitted here for voluntary inpatient treatment after an emergency visit and referral from CHOC. His father and I were initially told that this facility would be more restrictive than their facility at CHOC due to the various types of patients being treated here. However we were assured that our son would receive the extra care that he needed to help with his heightened levels of anxiety and depression.

At first we felt that everything was going well for our son. Doctors were communicating well and keeping us updated on his condition. As we began to visit with him and discuss his experience, unfortunately he started sharing some concerning issues. I was very concerned to find out that upon arriving in the middle of the night, he was strip searched for drugs and or any other contraband unbeknownst to us. Since it was in the middle of the night, all we were told is that he would be admitted and we could not see him until the next day. They did not inform us that this would be happening is upon his check in, the only thing they confirmed was asking for permission to give him Benadryl to help with sleep if necessary. I understand the children have to be given a physical check upon admitting. They do a similar exam at CHOC but not where the child is completely stripped naked, only down to their underwear. But my son was very uncomfortable being stripped down completely naked, and even having to squat and cough. It was akin to a prison check in, which is completely ridiculous because this is supposed to be a mental health treatment center. He was not being admitted because of drug use or anything like that. But if this is part of their process, I still feel that we as parents should have been informed that this will be happening and that we should have also been asked for permission to be doing such a check.

The nursing staff is not the greatest nor are they very caring. They treat the teens like prisoners and delinquents, being unsympathetic and talking down to them, even using foul language on them at times. They seemed to forget, or really not care, that the children are there to receive help for their problems. A lot of these patients are already dealing with enough at home, or personally with their mental health, and for nursing staff to treat them like that does not help them in their journey to recovery. It only continues to make them feel worse and causes them to lash out. With the exception of Jorge, George and Evan, who were personally identified by my son, he said those nurses were the only ones who really seemed to care and treated them very well. He also expressed to us that he felt his assigned therapist didn't seem to do much for him. It was more of a quick check in every day and she didn't really give him time to express any other issues he may be having. Because he wasn't feeling the greatest at times, he felt that he just had to do what he had to in order to get out of there sooner than having to stay any longer. Which basically meant going by their system of earning points by their participation in group therapy and other activities. He enjoyed group therapy, and the psychiatric nurse practitioner Anthony was helpful as well discussing medication options and administering it to him. But other than that he just felt he'd be better off just coming home and continuing on with his aftercare. Which he is doing well with, but the experience at Aliso was not great at all for him and he is going to make sure to do his best to never have to go back there. And also to warn other families that they should consider other options for their children's mental health care.

erika ampaya

Unfortunately my brother was admitted to this facility because they were the first to respond with a bed available. My parents experienced a nightmare. Absolutely unacceptable lack of communication of relaying messages or trying to contact a doctor/psychiatrist. There is only 1 listed for the entire facility - how is that possible ? The nurses are the only ones that will have anything to do with your loved ones care. Pray that they will be compassionate and kind, however with the revolving shifts they don't usually see the same patients on a weekly basis.

Your "case worker" does not call or give any updates. After leaving 5-6 messages we finally received a call back.

This place is a scam and it's so sad to see the lack of care and unprofessionalism in a medical facility.
The state of California is in a sad state in regards to the reality of mental illness.

Peter L

Honestly this experience has been such a nightmare, but thanks to a few staff members here at Aliso Ridge it made it a little better. First off I want to give a special shout out to Isabel the front receptionist for being firm yet understanding. I understand that she gets all kinds of request and demands from her and she has certain protocol she has to follow. I just appreciate the fact that she is kind and caring. I know she wants to help and want to ensure that parents are able to visit their child. Sometimes she has to say no but that’s just her job. Thank you for making an effort to speak out for us and find us support. I took away one star due to the fact that there’s a lot of different workers here and they have to take better notes. We have to constantly repeat our concerns with different staff members. Also the fact that it is pretty difficult to get updates because the workers here are swamp. Thank you Mike for taking the time to address our concern. I also want to thank others at the facility as well

T. H

My loved one was hospitalized at Aliso Ridge & surprisingly had a decent stay. I was told staff were nice & food was good. The facility is very clean. Major downside is trying to speak with staff to discuss treatment as the nurses were often busy, requiring multiple phone calls. Social workers were nearly impossible to get a hold of & do not care to return your call. The psychiatrist or Nurse Practitioner are never available to speak to family for updates nor do they return your calls, & appear inept & incompetent misdiagnosing & prescribing wrong meds all to run up the insurance bill & make $. There seems to be no collaboration with loved ones. Completely atrocious!

Belinda Orozco

Be aware of this facility!!!
If you have the misfortune to have a beloved one battling depression and requiring a lock down unit, please avoid the transference to this place because they do not provide patient-centered-care. They have a standardized practice of keeping patients on lockdown for at least 5-7 days instead of the mandatory 72-hour hold regardless of patient readiness for a lower acuity or outpatient care. The standard procedure after the hold is only two options: "Voluntary” extended hold or against medical advice (AMA), and their providers will not write a referral to residential, lower acuity care until, or outpatient unless you agree to their 5-7 day quota. This is, in my opinion, absolutely unethical, and it should even be illegal.
My teenage daughter has been struggling with depression, so she left our home to seek refuge with a family friend. As she also reported desire to end her life, she was placed on a 72-hour at CHOC and later transferred to this facility. On telephonic intake interview, I asked about discharge planning, as requested by our insurance. I was told she could stay longer, but I clarified I only wanted to stay based on necessity. Next day, one of the nurses informed me that there is only 2 options “voluntary” extension or AME. Once her hold expired, the facility’s nurse practitioner (NP), Anthony Fernandez, agreed that she was stable and ready to be transitioned to a lower acuity level of care, a residential facility, and he proposed to do it 3 days later, but I did not agree to the delay, and requested the referral to be made the same day given that she was ready for the transition. The NP agreed to complete the referral but did not process it as discussed; it was delayed 3 days. Meanwhile, on every attempt to follow up on the referral, I was bounced from one person to another until they had secured their 6-day billing. 6 days in which my daughter was only allowed to 15 min family visits from 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM. She had no chance to have family members or friends visit her in such controlled visitation regime.
I wish I could prosecute this place for kidnapping because that is certainly how the extra 3 days felt like. Unfortunately, I do not think that is possible. Nevertheless, I am processing a complaint against this place and requesting an investigation from the state, and I strongly encourage anyone else who has had an experience like this with this place to file a complaint.
The only good thing that I can mention about this place is that there are a few people working there who empathize and reassure family members during the nightmare of the “voluntary” extended voluntary hold. Social worker Francisco; Nurses Evan, Jane and Alisa. Thank you for the care you guys provided my daughter and the reassurance and guidance you provided me while dealing with the facility’s unethical practices. Some of the staff members are the only reason I gave 3 stars instead of 1 to this place.

Sandy Kreidel

My granddaughter was treated so badly by staff here! So incompetent that they couldn’t even send her medication to the right pharmacy and she went without her meds. They have a women only unit which we didn’t find out about until the night before she was discharged and she was two weeks post partum, breast feeding and should have been placed in the women’s section! She was humiliated.

Laura Ashley

The only reason I’m giving this place two is because some of the staff was very helpful. I don’t know if it because this facility is new or what’s going on, but there seems to be a lack of resource, a lack of housecleaning, a lack of communication and a lack of staffing. The House coordinator is not there for the patient but for the profit of the facility. Patients are given limited resources, despite the fact that most facilities provide far more blankets and towels than this facility does considering how nice it looks on the outside. I was very disappointed with my care here and I would definitely not recommend coming here. If you love your family member.

After speaking Mya about my concerns…she informed me this isn’t supposed to be a “warm and fuzzy experience”. Keep in mind, this is a behavioral health clinic not a prison. Every other hospital I’ve ever been to for mental health provides 2 towels (one for the floor that gets wet from lack of curtains and one to dry off). Blankets are sometimes limited but not if a patient is Legitimately cold. I’ve never saw or spoke to the psychiatrist that revoked my voluntary hold and falsified information to put me on a 5150. My stay here was traumatic and I do not feel Mya cares about the complaints she is in charge of managing. Poor communication, lack of empathy, and prison like policies seem to be the common theme of this prison ward…I mean psych ward. Please don’t traumatize your loved ones by sending them here. They do not care about you comfort or mental wellbeing. They will not comfort or remind you you are worth living. This is a disgrace to mental health hospitals in the area. Any College hospital is better than this facility.

zyme yellow

my experience was okay the food was good. I made good friends there. The staff were nice to me they respect me. And also I had a mental breakdown and one of the staff said act like an adult stop acting like a kid like that’s was messed up. I was literally crying on the floor.