Timberlawn Hospital - mid 80's

[iamartsy]

I was there from 1987-1988. It was even stricter by then. I was on Unit for 3-6 months with 3 classes, I think. Eventually I got to the next level whatever it was. I never got to grounds. I left "At Patient's Request" and my parents. They were often dismayed by my treatment and the lack of health care. At one point I had untreated bronchitis while they were visiting. People were in restraints for MONTHS on end! It was crazy. I tried to go unnoticed most of the time. I do still have nightmares about the abuse I saw. Then there was room and chair, for life it seemed. Look up the book Bedlam. It speaks about what we went through. http://http://www.amazon.com/Bedlam-Profiteering-Mental-Health-System/dp/0312104219/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306189601&sr=1-7

Much of what is in that book happened right after my incarceration at Timberlawn, but resembles the abuses. Please stay in touch on the board.

[elizabeth]

It probably was way stricter there by the time you got there, however we did have on girl who was in restraints all the time there, and I of course wa sin restraints all the time at Baylor, sounds like your Timberlawn experience wa smore like my Baylor experience.However Timberlawn had alot of us on hard back chair restriction as well I know it was very hard and strict but probablya lot harder by the time you got there.

I have to admit to something here I left something out because Im emabarrssed by it.But uh if you guys didnt get patio parties and cook outs and dances maybe it was in  part the fault of our ward.Yea Ive got a little story to tell you.
Well we had dances like evry weekend, and back then it seems like there was a young adult ward and an adult ward and for some reason who knows why, not only did the guys have dance with us, but ALL Units were allowed to have patio parties and dances and uh,we got invites from other units to go to dances. I just started remembering this her eof late and it scared me too. Uh, yea well the Young adult mens wards started sending requests for adolescent girls to have dances with them,
this is abit long so Im splitting the page in half tobecontinued

[elizabeth]

Anyways, it neevr occured to the staff taht we were underage going to dances with older men. So we were invited and theyd invite us and nobody else,so it was just us adolescent girls with young adult men. I remember being scraed the first time or two, I think it was only once  amonth so maybe 6 times the whole time I was there. I was scared and me and my roomamte went together the first couple of times,we were toegther and danced together and tried to stay away from the guys sort of. But like the second time or so dont remember if she was on guy restricted and restricted to go or if we both just loosened up, but I remember the men telling me to come over there and talk to them,they said " hey baby dont be afraid come over here and talk to me". So I went over and we wer eon the patio i think and I sat at the table next to one or two and talked to them all night, and , we slwo danced together and at the end of the night got hugged and kissed good night, it scared me because I was afraid of older men, and when I remembered it this weekend, I remembered feeling seduced by it, like I was scared at first then when they got me to loosen up and not be afraid, I relaxed and felt like I was being sort of sophisticated and mature for dancing with and hanging out with older men. rthey called us nasty names to our faces and made up nicknames for us that were sexually oriented like young s**ts and baby H&s that type of thing.

Well by my last month I was there, we the girls had just about enough of it, some of us were saying'Its wrong tehy shouldnt be talking to us like that its not appropriate". So some of them went to some eladers at timberlawn and also to their parents and told them about it.

Now I left right after that, so dont know what happened. Now maybe just maybe if you guys wernt getting parties and dances, maybe thats why!Maybe thats why they got so strict?However I have to say that nevertheless even though i didnt have quite the hard time you did, I still had it rough, hey I was 15 living 6 months against my will away from my family and parents inside a psychaitric unit so it was still very traumatizing. Also like I said Baylor physwically abused me while I was in r estraints so oru experiences between Timberlawn and Baylor sound similar anyways.It stole my youth away I was in almost 3 years all together it was scary and horrible. Thanks for sharing with me.

[elizabeth]

Sorry about the mis spelled words

[elizabeth]

iamartsy Im so sorry, if they got hard and crazy strict on yall because of us going to those parties I feel I should apologize for soem reason, it wasnt our fault but still I feel like Im responsible in some ways. We did have dances with the guys and I slow danced with my boyfriend and we cuddled together, maybe they thoguht our whole party thing was out of control or something maybe it was our fault?i hope you know I sympathize with you after comingt out of Baylor I know its scary terrible to be treated that way . But Im glad I remembered that whole young adult men thing this week maybe thatll give you some answers as to why they were the way they were.

[elizabeth]

Well Im gonna be off the net untill Thursday ir Friday, my computers down and Im getting wireless for this computer to take over to my apartment. Anyways before I left today justw anted to say and I know this may sound stupid and goofy;But when I was at timberlawn I got use to getting hugs from people all the time everytime I turned around ti seeme dlike I was askign for a hug or someone was asking me for a hug. So if anyone wants an internet hug Im sending out internet hugs for anyone and everyone on this thread.............who wants one......... :hug:

[elizabeth]

The thing about the situation with the older male patients is this. I never felt violated or abused or traumatized by ti sure it was scary at first but in the end I sort of liked it it was ok. However and I was in Timberlawn in 1982 not 83 sorry got my eyars confused. The thing about Timberlawn in 83 is that it really seems like the staff uh made it more into a  party and turned the other way and really kind of englected us more or less.The parry with the older male patients wasnt that big of deal but obviously tehre was some sexual insinuations going on that they invited us only wioth noone else, the fgact that the staff laughed it off and looked the other way is that they really put us ina  dangerous situation,now luckily nothing happened to traumatize me I wasnt abused, but I lucked out it couldve happened, so the fact that they ignored such situations put us ina dangerous situation.

The fact that they ebcame much more abusive and stricter in later years tells me this. they were still the same old staff that didnt want to take responsibility for didley squat and didnt want to work for their low wage paytcheck and they just did this. They said well weve been in trouble for letting thinsg slip out of control in the past such as the sutuation with the dances with older men and adolescent girls and so they got into trouble for it and they still didnt want to do their job, so what did they do, well we'll just put everyone in restraints and on hard back chair restriction that way we can go back to what we were doing before which is nothing but laying around on their buts not working for their paycheck and sense their all tied down in their rooms they dont have to worry about them getting into trouble and such! thats what it sound slike to me sorry.


Thats my take on the situation!

[Ursus]

Anyways, it neevr occured to the staff taht we were underage going to dances with older men. So we were invited and theyd invite us and nobody else,so it was just us adolescent girls with young adult men. I remember being scraed the first time or two, I think it was only once amonth so maybe 6 times the whole time I was there. I was scared and me and my roomamte went together the first couple of times,we were toegther and danced together and tried to stay away from the guys sort of. But like the second time or so dont remember if she was on guy restricted and restricted to go or if we both just loosened up, but I remember the men telling me to come over there and talk to them,they said " hey baby dont be afraid come over here and talk to me". So I went over and we wer eon the patio i think and I sat at the table next to one or two and talked to them all night, and , we slwo danced together and at the end of the night got hugged and kissed good night, it scared me because I was afraid of older men, and when I remembered it this weekend, I remembered feeling seduced by it, like I was scared at first then when they got me to loosen up and not be afraid, I relaxed and felt like I was being sort of sophisticated and mature for dancing with and hanging out with older men. rthey called us nasty names to our faces and made up nicknames for us that were sexually oriented like young s**ts and baby H&s that type of thing.

Well by my last month I was there, we the girls had just about enough of it, some of us were saying'Its wrong tehy shouldnt be talking to us like that its not appropriate". So some of them went to some eladers at timberlawn and also to their parents and told them about it...

What a nightmare. Allowing and enabling older patients, ostensibly in greater command of manipulating the social dynamic, to verbally and psychologically demean younger and more vulnerable patients is never okay. Moreover, the fact that this went on in potentially dangerous circumstances, given the apparent lack of supervision, indicates a flagrant dereliction of duty on the part of staff. I'm surprised this place didn't get sued, whether or not anything really bad happened.

[iamartsy]

First off who is the gatekeeper? Getting back to the dances, we had one at Halloween on the unit. The staff was thrilled that an older man kept asking me to dance. That night i used dancing to manipulate them. I did not care about him. They all were ready to let me date him. Me, I was like, eh, whatever?The place stole my youth too. We did have chair time on hard chairs and controlled bathroom usage. It was insane! IAmArtsy.

[Mr. B]

I was there 1986-1987 ( 1 year to the day) and lived first on Bloss then was transferred to the newly completed adolescent unit. It was a surreal experience for me and i try not to think about it much, however the memories do circle back from time-to-time. I was sent to Timberlawn after a series of bad behaviors and poor decisions as a 17 yr old kid with average problems. In hindsight, it was probably a good place for me at the time, however, we all agree that my parents got caught up in the 1980s chic of inpatient therapy. They also had great insurance ( another topic).  I was there too long and spent way too much time in the wrong treatment plan.

Drove by the place not too long ago after a very vivid memory of my stay there. Place has change so much in 25 yrs.

[iamartsy]

There was no newly constructed adolescent unit that I recall because the adolescent unit was  attached to Chevens. Burkett Was the only new newly constructed unit at that time. Burkett 1 & 2 were adult units.

[Mr. B]

Well, my mistake on the new construction comment. The unit was the "newer" building located behind the white house... boys on the north side... girls on the south. At any rate, it was nicer than Bloss. It might have been a waiting list or age issue behind my being placed in Bloss from the start.  Dr. Madigan  was my attending PhD. on Bloss and Dr. Ackerman once I transferred to the adolescent unit. No complaints about either doc other than the indoctrination they were under in the 80s.  Anyway, thanks!

[iamartsy]

Mr. B.,
I had no idea that was a newer building. i thought they were all as old as Cheavens. Cheavens had no hot water and 1 bathroom for every 8 women. Dreadful. Simply dreadful.

[N.O.S.O.B.]

[Oscar]

Dallas mental hospital to close before state shuts it down
January 20, 2018, CBS 7 (AP)

DALLAS (AP) -- A psychiatric hospital in Dallas says it is voluntarily closing its doors just after state officials threatened to shut down the aging treatment center because it was too dangerous for patients.

The CEO of Timberlawn Behavioral Health System, James Miller, wrote Thursday to staff saying the intention to close the facility comes after "completing a comprehensive, careful review." He told federal health officials the hospital is expected to close in February, the Dallas Morning News reported .

Miller said the hospital made the decision to close back in December, before the state threatened to confiscate its license and fine it $600,000. The hospital is appealing the sanctions.

He cited a decreased patient population and the cost to refurbish aging buildings on the campus as reasons for the closure. He also said management thinks Timberlawn has fixed its safety problems and now complies with federal regulations, though the results of a Jan. 10 government inspection aren't yet available.

Investigators found that in recent years the hospital has faced a series of safety issues. In 2014, a suicidal patient was left alone and killed herself. In 2015, a female patient reported she was raped by another patient. Last year, a teenager who was a victim of past sexual abuse reported another teen patient entered her hospital room and raped her.

The owner of Timberlawn, Universal Health Services Inc., operates a number of mental health facilities in the country and faces many government investigations. The company since 2012 has closed two residential treatment centers for adolescents that faced regulatory sanctions in Virginia and in Illinois.

A 2016 data analysis by the Dallas News found that more than a quarter of over 150 Universal Health hospitals were facing serious safety problems. A spokeswoman for the company did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the newspaper Thursday.

Colette Riel, the sister of the Timberlawn patient who died by suicide, said the hospital's closure means no one else will get hurt at the facility.

But the closure is just "a drop in the bucket," Riel said. "What about the parent company that owns all of these hospitals nationwide and their record and recklessness?"