Willingway Hospital's Online Review Report Card

Worst place EVER! A young male patient committed suicide after some of the patients told the nurses that he was threatening suicide and a nurse who was supposed to be watching him at night, closed his door, sat in a chair and went to sleep. This NEVER made the news. The executives of Willingway came down a day or two after the suicide but the nurses would not allow any of the patients to talk to them. I can only surmise that they were just trying to cover it up. He should have been watched diligently or taken to get help. There are none of the advertised amenities there and it is not a very clean place. The patients are cursed at, treated meanly and lied to. The parents of the patients are lied to daily about their child's well being there.

I definitely would not ever recommend this place... I got to say the staff is awesome and was very nice to me my counselor on the other hand I would not recommend him... There was an outbreak of bed bugs and the ceiling is pouring in the dining room where they serve food it is disgusting there's roaches in the kitchen and if you decide to leave they will not let you call nobody they will walk you outside the gate and leave you there!!! HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE WASTE OF MONEY GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

Sorry this is so long, but it's necessary to be as detailed as possible so you can understand what happened and perhaps save yourself the horrific experience I had. When I arrived at Willingway in 2015, I was seeking treatment for, and immediately started detoxing from, an addiction to two street drugs and alcohol. The doctors, in their infinite wisdom, decided to take me off of my depression medication, completely against my will, at the same time that I was detoxing from hard drugs and alcohol. The results were not only disastrous, but completely predictable. I was 25 at the time and had been battling depression for well over 15 years, hence the necessity of antidepressants. The doctors had what I now believe to be a absolute quack theory, in which it was a good idea to get me off "all substances", including my depression medication, so they could assess whether I actually had depression and therefore needed to be medicated for it. I STRONGLY argued against this. I had been under the care of various psychiatrists and psychologists for over 15 years, all of whom had recommended and prescribed medications for me. Nevertheless, the doctors began to ween me off my depression medication simultaneously as I detoxed from opioids, alcohol and other drugs. By day 5 I was off my depression medication completely, a medication in which the recommended taper time is at least a month. Again, this was against my will, and I requested to receive my medication every day once it was discontinued which I was denied. As the days went on I began to get physical symptoms of withdrawal from the depression medication, including brain zaps, chills, mood swings and, most importantly, drastically increased depression and suicidal thoughts. When I would complain about these things, the doctors would tell me it was opiate withdrawal, despite the fact that opiate withdrawal essentially lasts three days, and by this point I was well past that. My depression, predictably, got worse, and I began to have more suicidal thoughts, some of which I notated on a work sheet given to me by the facility, which I proceeded to turn in to them, honestly not thinking much of it. The next thing I knew, the doctors called me into my room, telling me they had read the worksheet. Without talking to me first, they instead unilaterally decided to transfer me to another facility because they "didn't have the capability to take care of a suicidal person". I was being transferred immediately, had no say in the matter, couldn't contact anyone to let them know what was going on, and didn't receive any information on weather I could come back to receive the treatment I needed. This, all over a "suicidal" answer to a worksheet question. The doctors told me specifically that I wasn't being 5150'd (5150 is a code in hospitals for a patient gets placed in an involuntary psychological detainment). They insisted that where I was going wasn't a psychiatric hospital, and that I could leave any time I wanted once I arrived there. These all turned out to be bald faced lies. After an uncomfortable, 3 hour ride at midnight in the back of an ambulance, I arrived at my new treatment center only to find it was in fact a psych ward and I was in fact under a psychological hold. This was an incredibly traumatic experience that made me distrustful of rehabilitation institutions for many years. It all could have been avoided had these so-called doctors not taken me off my depression medication, and it still baffles me to this day that supposedly highly educated men couldn't predict that things would go the way they went. I've since gone to a different treatment facility, one with more competent doctors who told me they would NEVER take a patient off a medication that quickly, let alone against their will. At Willingway, they are more interested in shifting liability and making money than helping people save their lives with dignity. Their doctors are incompetent, and will lie to and manipulate patients, who are denied a say in how their treatment goes. Disgusting. Stay away.

Abusive, incredibly neglectful. Still recovering from the 3 1/2 year experience I had there. Deeply demoralizing and isolating.

My 22 yr old son has been struggling with addiction for 6 years. We have tried countless treatment centers and sober livings, nothing stuck, it was a constant merry go round. He is currently living at the Men's Lodge, Willingway's long term sober living program for men, and I can honestly report that he is doing better after 2 months there than he has in the entire last 6 years. WW has a proven formula and combined with amazing and supportive staff who have been through it themselves, they have created an atmosphere and structure for success. The rest of our family is also supported with open communication with his house manager (shout out to Mason - an angel on earth!), therapists and drs, local continuing care support groups etc. We have REAL hope for the first time!

I have been a clinician and in recovery for over 30 years. As such, I have had the opportunity to work with Willingway and its staff for most of that time. They have always been a stable, straightforward and clinically sound program. During my own early recovery I had a terrible reaction to be told what to do. I believe the negative interaction is due to that fact. People are always looking for a way to avoid accountability, responsibility and getting honest with themselves and others. In my opinion, Willingway is one of the best treatment programs today with a reasonable fee structure. We need more programs like Willingway. I am proud to be a fan of Willingway. Carol A. Lawyer

I got sent here as a 17 year old and I have been to many treatment centers in the past year, struggling with a raging addiction I relapsed at my sober living and got sent here to detox. IT WAS THE WORST TREATMENT CENTER I HAVE EVER WENT THROUGH! The therapists seem to only be there for the paycheck and don't seem to actually care about any of your problems. The air container system in my room had black mold growing in it and they didn't even care they just shook there head and that was the end of it. The food is sub-par and always made my stomach hurt after. If you think about sending someone you love here just know its not what they tell you it is. Its a fraud and a waste of money. The only thing that will come out of it is severe depression from not being able to contact your family and loved ones.

Have worked with their team on many cases over the years and always experience great communication and the clients receive quality care!

My life was In shambles when I went to Willingway in February 2021. I went to Willingway specifically for the extended treatment mens program - The Lodge. I spent 11 months in totally in statesboro and learned how to live sober. I mended relationships and got my life back together all with the help of Willingway and their incredible staff. The guys that run the Lodge genuinely care about the patients and want the best for us and our families. I would highly recommend the lodge for anyone that is struggling with staying sober and had tried various 30-90 programs. For me, I needed to go to extended treatment and rewire my thinking and actions. I will be forever grateful for my time at the lodge and what I learned and the strong recovery foundation I was given there.

when I got to willingway I had no idea what my life would look like four years later! They took a hopeless drug addict and guided me to my full potential. I would recommend willingway to anyone struggling with drug addiction or alcoholism.