Elgin Mental Health Center

My review would be a verbatim copy of Tommy B’s review. The place is awful. My sister was sent there by the incompetent staff at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Hts. She took an otc sleeping medication, that lists hallucinations as a possible side effect. Within a few hours, a young woman with no history of mental illness, is locked up with legitimately insane people. What an egregious error in diagnosis and treatment! Negligence and malpractice! And what a motley crue of baffoons at Elgin as well!

Please let me say that my rating and review is based solely on historical merit and is in no way intended to be disrespectful to anyone who is living with mental illness or has a family member living with mental illness.
Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane was established in 1869. There are quite a few original buildings on the sprawling campus, many are now unused.
I love historical sites and asked to stop by to snap photos of the old buildings. A quick respectful drive through during the day is fine, but since this is still an active facility with employees and patients it’s not wise to go at night or stroll about like you are at Disney World. It’s now called Elgin Mental Health Center, so above all be respectful if you plan to drive through, I can’t stress that enough.

Be careful people. This one is a doozy. They take a 20 year old girl that has zero history of mental illness, who was shipped over in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT from Northwest Community Hospital without warning because her insurance lapsed by a few hours, which the parents reinstated immediately.
Elgin doesn’t let the parents see her or speak with her. They have «armed guards» or what I like to call police rejects, Barney Fife types, 7 dwarfs… one dumber than the next. The minute you have a question for their professionals, like Dr. Fagata (who NEVER ONCE spoke with the parents about the state of their daughter, but rather dodged them. Instead, he has his poorly educated «nurse» or social worker named Leda deal with it instead) and would you like to know how Leda dealt with it? Instead of coming out to speak with the parents, she calls the 7 dwarf security guards to chase the parents off the premises with arrest threats and foul language… all because the parents asked to see their daughter, and didn’t want to leave without her. The parents wanted to speak with the doctor to see what the state of their daughter was. The doctor never appeared. We aren’t even sure there was a doctor assigned.
It doesn’t stop there. The daughter was kept against her will and when asked under what law are they allowed to keep anyone of age against their will, when the daughter had signed the papers necessary to be released, they send the 7 dwarf guards out to say «it’s the Mental Health Law». Remember now, she has not been diagnosed with anything. Nothing. It was right out of One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest from the minute you pulled your car in to approaching the front desk, to meeting the employees, to trying to see the patient. Then for exercise, you watch patients walking around in circles in the «yard», yes the «yard». It is the filthiest place I’ve ever seen with barbed wire around every fence. And the state calls this a health facility. Really? Don’t ever get caught in this place ladies and gentleman. It’s for criminals both as patients and as employees. This is where they employ people who can’t get jobs in real health facilities, especially the scum bag Paul Blarts of the world who need to kick out innocent people just to prove their worth… which by the way is ZERO. What an experience to observe. Big fat, gross security guards that have nothing better to do then chase reasonable parents away from whatever Elgin might be hiding. Have another donut, boys. Good job! Why this place is even open is absolutely astounding. They’d probably get better help in jail. Good job State of Illinois.

My child was sent to Elgin mental Hospital after having Schizophrenia. They treat you child like a prisoner and lock him and put it in his school record. They don’t help you and they put you on medicines and hit you. If you child complains they will call the police and arrest him. I want this business to close down and I am going have a court case and close this business. This review is helpful. Stop saying it not helpful. Elgin mental hospital should be boycotted and bankrupted and demolished and people are having problems should not go to a mental hospital.