J’s Story: Day 2

Day 2 Today, Saturday I was presented the most information, not in any pattern just by nurses, counselor sand techs. The morning was spent on my drug prescriptions. Mostly nurses would discuss what I was prescribed before UBH and what was in my file. I had several group therapy sessions. Upon completing my sessions I always went to my room to fest and PUT UP MY SUPPLIES. Early afternoon was spent with a nurse that related to me growing up in Chicago in a alcoholic household. She informed me I was lucky to be alive and if I did not stay in treatment I would be dead in two years. The nurse was sincere, but raised my anxiety level to new heights. I became very paranoid about my employer finding out I was here and losing my job. I went to more group sessions this afternoon, finding one session very relaxing. Just as with my other sessions I went to rest and PUT UP MY SUPPLIES. The soldier I met earlier was constantly consoling me, a wonderful human being. My wife visited as much as permitted and asked to speak with my doctor about potentially not showing the football game on the television, fearing it would be a bad trigger for my unstable state. I told her I wasn’t doing well and sh emphasized this to the staff. Still no contact with my doctor. I got to eat in the dining hall today, we moved in groups of 8-10, locked corridor through locked corridor. In the dining hall servers had no sanitary standards, serving with bare hands and slopping the food on treys. Older patients traded food and I gave mine away. On returning to the community room I said good bye to my wife and went to my room. In a few minutes I went to use the community phone but it was tied up and I didn’t get to call my wife. As I tried to sleep there was rowdy activity in the hall. One of the male patients asked me to join a prayer vigil in the hall were a young female was having a seizure. We prayed, sang hymns and watched as she squirmed on the floor. Eventually a tech brought an antiquated ECT machine and shocked the young girl. We all went to our rooms, I began to pray constantly for peace and help. I was praying to God and my spiritual guide, Rev. Charlie Biggurs. I wrote notes in a notebook as I prayed. I had no concept of time. Once the lights were out I concentrated to sleep, no way! There was a girl walking the floors all night, dragging her slippers. If I rested it wasn’t more than 2 hours. Lack of rest, being CONFINED in this hospital and my mental state had me reeling down with no apparent help or concern.

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Legal Action Against UBH & Mayhill

Here’s a summary to date of all the legal action against UBH/Mayhill that we can find.  We’ve included links so that you can see the cases that interest you.  They are listed with the most recently filed one first.  If you have a case that you’d like us to include in this list, please e-mail us at info@ubhdentonsucks.com.

• Jon Gower, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Aaron Ashley Gower VS University Behavioral Health of Denton, a/k/a UHP, LP d/b/a University Behavioral Health of Denton; Universal Health Services, Inc.,Nishendu M. Vasavada, M.D.  (Filed 9/30/2014). 
• Cynthia Navarrete as Next Friend of Faith Sandoval, a minor, and Kimderly Ann Sandoval, a minor; Cynthia Navarrete as Representative of the Estate of Jose Matias Sandoval, Jr.,; and Jose Sandoval, III VS University Behavioral Health Of Denton a/k/a UHP, LP d/b/a University Behavioral Health of Denton; Ascend Health Corporation; Universal Health Services, Inc.; Praveen Moolamalla, M.D. (Filed 3/19/2014)
• Darlene Schroeder As Next Friend of Helen Porch, An Incapacitated Adult VS Mayhill Hospital.  (Filed 12/13/2013)
• Jessica Rogers-Hall VS University Behavioral Health of Denton a/k/a UHP, LP d/b/a University Behavoioral Health of Denton; Mayhill Behavioral Health, LLC d/b/a Mayhill Hospital; Ascend Health Corporation; Universal Health Services, Inc.; and Raza Sayed, M.D.  (Filed 10/14/13).  
• K.L. VS University Behavioral Health of Denton a/k/a UHP, LP d/b/a Univeristy Behavioral Health of Denton; Ascend Health Corporation; Universal Health Services, Inc.; and Praveen Moolamalla, M.D.  (Filed 9/13/13).
•  Joseph Juraszek VS University Behavioral Health,Assad Islam, M.D.  (Filed 11/19/12).
• Kristen Colston, individually and on behalf of the Estate of William T. Colston, Deceased, and on Behalf of All Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of William T. Colston, Deceased VS UHP, LP d/b/a University Behavioral Health of Denton and Harold Neil Jacobson, M.D. (Filed 9/12/2012).
• Barbara Gochenour VS Mayhill Behavioral Health LLC d/b/a Mayhill Hospital (Filed 2/17/2012).
• Theresa Klein v. Gary Byron Watts, Denton Rehabilitation Hospital, LP d/b/a Mayhill Hospital, and Seniorhealth, Incorporated d/b/a Mayhill Hospital
• Brenda Wells VS Ascend Health Corporation, UHP LP, Atique Khan, M.D. (Filed 1/25/2010).

Need an attorney?  Click here!

Note:  We have only included lawsuits alleging civil injury or malpractice.

 

Why You Should NOT Tell Me Your Story About UBH

I have thoroughly enjoyed helping each and every person who asked me for help with their situation regarding UBH Denton.  As much as I hated seeing anyone go through the nightmare that I went through, it was vindicating to know that it wasn’t “just me.”

But, please please please…. if you are dealing with UBH at this point in time, do NOT write me or post any comments to my blog.  You see, Mr. John Dozier, of www.cybertriallawyer.com, thinks it’s all in good fun to name everyone who posted something that Richard Kresch and Atique Khan didn’t like as co-defendants in the lawsuit against me.  If you post anything on this blog, even as an innocent comment, you could ultimately be named as a co-defendant as well.  Don’t risk it.

IF you need help or advice, please e-mail me at info@ubhdentonsucks.com with your phone number and ask me to call you.  I will call you back as soon as I can, and then I can give you the name of an attorney who will help you, and, I can answer any questions you have.  But, do NOT write anything on my blog as a comment, please.  You are leaving yourself wide open to have John Dozier try to make an example out of you and I’d hate to see you have to spend the kind of cash I’m spending on a lawyer just because you feel the need to tell the truth about this “hospital.”  I just have to put that word in quotes because it’s NOT a real hospital in the medical sense of the word, IN MY OPINION, WHICH I AM STILL ENTITLED TO.  

As much as I hated seeing anyone else go through the hell that I went through, it has been a pleasure to help everyone who needed me when they had a loved one stuck in this “hospital.”  It made something positive come out of my experience.  And, if I lose the lawsuit?  I still win, for two reasons:

1.  I’ve managed to show the true colors of UBH and Ascend and Richard Kresch and John “Bull-y” Dozier.  (Yes, John, I’m calling you a bully.  Because IN MY OPINION WHICH I AM STILL ENTITLED TO, I think you are one.)
2.  I know, in my heart, I did the right thing the entire way through, and, I did it for the right reasons.

This post, and this entire website, is dedicated to Jack. 

I Just Threw Up In My Mouth a Little Bit

http://blog.polaris.vc/2012/06/04/universal-health-services-acquisition-of-pvp-backed-ascend-affirms-new-model-for-behavioral-health/

Yes, I realize it’s all about the money, but IN MY OPINION (and yes, I can still have one, even if I am getting my pants sued off), that’s kind of how it was when I was in UBH…. all about the money.  That, IN MY OPINION, didn’t do much for the quality of care I got or the success of the treatment.  It was just about the money.  And if you’re a good business person?  That will make perfect sense to you.  Until someone you love–someone who is important to you–ends up in a hospital like this.  Just ask my son.  Or my parents.  Or my then-boyfriend.

And by the way, I posted this comment to their blog post. It is “await moderation” and I’m sure it won’t make it to publication, but, I wrote it just the same and I’m proud of it:

“ubhdenton on June 17, 2012 at 11:45 am said:Your comment is awaiting moderation.

“I have debated for a week whether or not to post here.  And I figure, “What else can Richard Kresch and Ascend “Healthcare” do to me?”  You’re already suing me for $6 million.

“Mr. Chee needs to seriously look at the business practices of his boy, Richard, before bragging about how he “improves” healthcare services.  I don’t begrude you the right to make such an astronomical profit, but please do not mislead the public about how you did it.”

 

FYI…. they didn’t ever publish my comment on their blog, at least not as of this writing.

Get yer’ Pants On!

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” — Winston Churchill

Four weeks ago today I got smacked upside the head with the lawsuit.   I confess…the first few days I was in shock.  It’s embarrassing, frightening, and unnerving on a good day, but even moreso if you are flying to another continent 12 hours after being served.  Trust me, that is one miserable plane ride.   But, eventually I found a wonderful group of attorneys to represent me and the rest of my trip was delightful and I haven’t lost too much sleep over it since.

As I have proven having survived the last 4+ years, what doesn’t kill me just makes me stronger.   This lawsuit experience is no different.  It’s going to be messy and expensive, but, it’s going to allow the truth to finally get its pants on and catch up to everyone who needs to hear it.  As my buddy Winston C. would say….

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”

Meanwhile, I’m finding lots more great quotes from Winston Churchill that seem to apply to this situation and I’m enjoying reading more and more about him.  Here’s another one I am very fond of:

“One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!”

Okay, I won’t!

Good Words to Live By at This Moment

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

“If you’re going through hell, keep going,”

“Never, never, never give up.”

All of these quotes are by the same wonderful and courageous man, Winston Churchill.  Cheers to him!

.

The Games Begin

On March 7, 2012, a private investigator showed up at my door and served me with a lawsuit filed by Ascend Health Corporation, UHP, LP (d/b/a University Behavioral Health of Denton), Richard Kresch, M.D., and Atique Khan, M.D.  They ask for a bunch of money they know I don’t have, plus ownership of all my websites, which include this WordPress blog and http://www.ubhdentonsucks.com

I have entirely too much respect for the American legal system to drag all the details out here on a blog, plus, that would be kind of stupid on my part. So, don’t look for updates or notices about how things are going.  I guess as long as the site is here, you’ll know I haven’t gotten my butt kicked.  If it disappears?  Well, you’ll know I have shoe prints on my backside.  But, I did think that everyone who chooses to do business with UBH and Ascend Health should know how they operate, in addition to all the other things I’ve revealed on my blog to date.

The date I was served with the lawsuit corresponded with my departure the following day for a three week trip overseas. And in Federal court, you have 21 days to respond to a lawsuit.  How convenient for them that they had such fortunate timing to serve me less than 12 hours before I left for the airport!  I wonder if that unfriendly private investigator who served me had been keeping an eye on me?  I can’t prove that, but it sure seems like convenient timing that I got served when I would be at the greatest disadvantage.

It is my opinion that it was also quite unsportsmanlike of them to refuse my request for an eixtension of time to respond to the suit, given the circumstances.  But hey, that’s John “Bull Dozier” Dozier, the  www.cybertriallawyer.com for ya!

Please note I did NOT make up that nickname, nor am I calling him “names.”  The “Bull Dozier” moniker is featured in an article that he shares on his own website, in an article about being a SuperLawyer (2006).   Apparently he is a Super Lawyer!  Well, I take that back… he was in 2006 and 2007 but not now, at least according to the Super Lawyer website.   (I have to wonder what caused him to lose his super powers?)

There was never any attempt to talk this out, or even to send me a nasty letter.  For those of you who think that our court system is used frivolously, just consider that they filed a lawsuit for millions of dollars that they know I don’t have before simply asking me to stop blogging, which they never once did.

Now Mr. Dozier can call all of this “defamatory” if he likes, but, the truth is never defamatory, nor is a personal opinion.  Everything noted above is either the truth or it’s an opinion I am sharing with my readers.

I have always been completely candid and transparent about who I am and why I’m doing this.  I’ve helped a lot of people since I launched this site in September of 2010.  So, even if I lose… even if a judge orders me to stop blogging about this company?  I still win because I did the right thing and I stood up for what I believed in.  I also stood up for myself against a bully.  My family is proud of me for that, my friends are proud of me, and I can look myself in the mirror and sleep well at night.  I wonder if the plaintiffs in this lawsuit can say the same thing?

Apologies

As you can see from my recent posts, I’m on the receiving end of a lawsuit field by UBH’s parent company, Dr. Richard Kresch and Dr. Atique Khan.  In the interest of not feeding the trolls, I’m declining to post any new stories or comments on my site from any third parties.  If you have written me, please forgive the lack of response, and accept my sincerest apologies for not being able to correspond with you personally.

If you feel that you have been injured by ANY hospital in Texas, I strongly suggest using this section of my site to take proactive steps towards filing a complaint regarding your experience.  Please do not be afraid to speak out!   It is only by speaking up and sharing your experience that you can make a positive difference in the quality of health care received in the future by you, your friends and family members.

Suffering in silence, and letting dangerous or neglectful actions on the part of any medical provider go unreported devalues you and others like you who have been mistreated.  Do not let your negative experience be ONLY negative–use it to do some good, to make some positive changes and improvements in the medical community.  That’s what I have tried to do with mine, and while it’s perhaps costing me something in the short run?  I know I did and continue to do the right thing, and I can look myself in the mirror and know that I did what was right.

Bullying Me Again?

Okay, so let’s say you are Ascend Health care.  And, you have let my site exist for over 18 months.  Suddenly you think I’m conspiring against you and the things I’ve said are false, so you need $1 million and you need to sue a single mom who works for a living to prove your point?  

 

Here’s the latest story sent to me:

 

I am very sorry for your experience. I posted mine on your website in hopes that it will be reviewed by others so that they do not feel alone. We all depend on these people who went to school for years to take care of our most precious family members, when their young, old, shaken and disturbed by life. As a home health provider, I am left alone with old people ALL the time that depend completely on me for their life. It is sad to see this dependency abused. I would like my case reviewed by an attorney, as I am, also, going to file with CPS because this happened to my 14 year old daughter. My daughter was in the hospital, had some words with another girl, and had her head bashed into a wall as she was walking away. There was no one supervising to stop the argument or the physical attack that took place afterwards. My daughter was crying for me all night and never allowed to call me. If they were still awake in the game room or lounge, then it still should have been early enough for her to call me, especially in this situation. Also, she was taken to be seen by a nurse – another reason that it was serious enough for me to be called. It was Saturday, and the visiting hours were from 11-12, I believe. I was in school and could not attend. On Sunday, I had a co-dependent session during the visiting hours (I was not avoiding my daughter, but she was upset with me when I visited because of some things I would not tolerate at home), so I tried calling several times during the day to talk to her because I missed her. When I got out of my meeting and was eating dinner, around 7:30, Sky called me and told me what had happened. The girl was not even in restriction and she was throwing furniture around and Sky said she was still hitting other people. I had the police meet me at the hospital and pressed charges. I withdrew her immediately that night (AMA) and they would not give me any prescriptions for her. It took me two weeks with her primary psychiatrist that she’s had for two years to get things straightened out. She was on meds that they had put her on two years ago at UBH by Dr. Islam. When we went in this time, Dr. Jacobsen sneered at the medications she was being given (Zoloft and another one) and said, “These meds are for adults, they should not be given to teenagers because they do not work.” Did he realize he was speaking about the meds Dr. Islam had prescribed Sky two years earlier? Sad. He immediately sat down and wrote out a whole new set of four medicines, Celexa, Abilify, Trazadone and some other one. Now she is down to Geodon and Adderall since coming out of the hospital. My daughter’s incident was probably considered minor compared to others, but she is my only child and I am furious that she went through this completely alone – ALL NIGHT. I was not called and, if a nurse was called in to check her – I consider that grounds for me to be called. If my daughter is hurting and crying for me – I consider that grounds for me to be called. If one of the patients that I watched had this happen to them, I would have been on the horn with a family member immediately. I felt like they were trying to get Sky to cover up what happened and hoped she would play it down if enough time passed by.

 

This is my story. I am still contacting Child Protective Services because I think it is important for them to know. I, also, know there is the same agency for Elderly Citizens and I encourage every person that has had a family member hurt while in the care of UBH to contact the appropriate agency to file a complaint. 

 

ATTENTION ALL VICTIMS OF UBH DENTON/ASCEND HEALTH

I previously misrepresented the facts surrounding the lawsuit filed against me by Ascend Health.  I stated previously that they sued me for $1 million, and, I want to make it clear that my statement regarding that was made in haste, and, was not accurate.  My apologies to Ascend Health.

As it turns out, they are actually suing me for $5.5 million plus attorney’s fees.

Again, I apologize for the mistake I made in publishing this information.

Victims’ Meeting

A strategy meeting is being planned now for all the victims of UBH/Mayhill.  If you have any interest in the meeting, please e-mail info@ubhdentonsucks.com    to express your interest.  You will be contacted later with the details.

This is a grass-roots movement meeting.  No attorneys are organizing or sponsoring this meeting.  However, if you have legal representation that you would like to accompany you, you will have a chance to register that person to also attend.  At this stage we are determining how many people will want to participate and then making arrangements accordingly.  Please let us know how many people you will want to include in this session.

Calling All Witnesses!

We are looking for current and former UBH employees willing to serve as witnesses to the types of things that go on in the hospital.   If you or someone you know can provide verification of anything that happens there please e-mail us at info@ubhdentonsucks.com     You do not have agree to testify in court or go “on the record,” but, every piece of information we can gather at this point is crucial to preparing a case.

Let’s Sue the Bastards… POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

If you have been a patient at either UBH Denton or Mayhill Hospitals, and held against your will (especially after signing yourself in voluntarily), it is imperative that you contact me immediately.  E-mail me at info@ubhdentonsucks.com   with a brief summary of your story.  I have at least one attorney (and am talking to others) willing to listen to you, and, consider representing a large group of you.  Hey, my lawsuit didn’t work out, but your’s just might!  There is strength in numbers in the legal system, the more of you that come together, the better.

The bottom line is that UBH is billing, now, $2,100 per night.  Every night they can force someone to stay at their facility, that’s another $2,100 in the bank.  Even if the insurance companies that reimburse them only do so at a rate of 50%, that’s still $1,050.  And, let me assure you, as someone who has been on the inside, they aren’t providing any services or facilities that are remotely worthy of such charges.

If you ask to leave… or your parents want to take you out.. they hold you against your will for just “one more day.”  Sometimes two, or three… and always under the promise that they will get a court order to keep you.  <SENTENCE DELETED>

<SENTENCE DELETED>  Why health insurers keep putting up with this I’ll never know, but my guess is their insureds aren’t telling them what’s happening.  After all, it’s embarrassing enough to be in a psychiatric hospital in the first place.  It’s even more demeaning to be held or commitment.  By the time most people get out of this poor excuse for a hospital, they are so broken and worn out they just want to put the experience behind them.

<SENTENCE DELETED>  They let them walk  as soon as they insisted on leaving.  So no, you weren’t crazy.  And you didn’t deserve to be “committed.”  <SENTENCE DELETED>  Plain and simple.  Don’t be embarrassed, or ashamed.  Be PISSED OFF.

Even if no lawyer takes this case, I assure you, there will be strength in our numbers.  I have e-mailed tonight every person who has ever contacted me privately about their experience to ask them to send me contact information.  It is time to pull together and it is time to find someone who will be your voice.  We’ll find that person, and, if we don’t?  We’ll create our own voice.  I promise you, I’ve already figured out how.