Anonymous

Honest Treatment Facilities Don't Hide

Thankfully, I didn't have to go through this myself, but rather watched my friend whose son needed help and tried to help her as much as possible. Gina's son was trying to get some help for an addiction to pain meds. What transpired was absolutely horrible. And he never even walked through their doors. First, if you do a search in any major metropolitan area for local rehabs, this place seems to come up even though its in Florida. So you call them thinking that its in your hometown. Its not, unless you happen to live in Boynton Beach, FL. They aggressively pursued him. He was ready to go, but had to get permission from his Probation Officer to leave the state. The Probation Officer wouldn't permit it. The Watershed was calling him daily. Several times a day. Telling him he NEEDS to come to their facility now. They called my friend, daily. "If you don't send your son, he's going to die". They prey on your fear of losing your loved one to get a commitment. When his Probation Officer said NO, they said... "COME ANYWAYS". That's right. Ignore the law. Violate his probation. Give them money which is all they seem to care about. They continued to call every day and her son was asking Gina to please make them stop. He couldn't go. He wasn't allowed. While waiting for a final word from his attorneys on whether he should go, they started researching the Watershed and found quite a few horror stories. Some of it quite familiar to their situation with the flood of phone calls. Her son decided not to go. But the calls continued every day. "Your son's going to die if you don't send him to us." Finally, Gina had enough of it. She decided to write a Cease and Desist Letter but she couldn't find any information on where to send it to and asked if I could help her. Go ahead. Google them. Go to their website. You're not going to find anything other than an 800 number, and "info" email, and a live chat button. All of those are for "admissions" aka SALES. I did some research but could only find an address. So I called. To say they were squirrely is being nice. "I'm not giving you my supervisor's email address". "I can't give you the address due to HIPAA laws." Really? A building's address is covered under HIPAA? I think not. A medical provider's address is not protected personal information. I told the gentleman why I was calling. He said, "tell me the name and I will make a note in their file to not call". I told him we were WAAAAY beyond that point. They were already told and they ignored, so a letter is the next step. Just give me the address and I won't bother you anymore. But alas, he wouldn't relent. If this were an honest company, their address would be on their website. They would have information about the company. But its nowhere to be found. Why? Because they want to make it as impossible for you to officially complain or send them a Cease and Desist Letter or, I imagine, serve them with a lawsuit. What I did find out from additional research is that the CEO is Christopher Crosby. Their staff Psychiatrist is Dr. Theodoropoulos. I looked up his license. He got his medical degree from a Carribbean School of Medicine. I found another website listing his certifications. "Certifications include ECFMG (Science), FLEX (Clinical), USMLE 2&3 (clinical)." as it is shown on broward.jobing.com. The way they are written, it looks like these are certifications in specialties. They are not. His ECFMG was required to obtain a medical license due to his foreign medical school. It is solely to ensure that the foreign education meets the standards of education to be licensed to practice medicine. The FLEX (Clinical) and USMLE 2&3 (clinical) certifications are also a requirement to practice medicine in Florida. All doctors are supposed to have them. Further, his license indicates he does NOT prescribe controlled substances. So the Medical Psychiatric Director at a drug rehab which does a medical detox using drugs does not prescribe controlled substances? That doesn't sound right? Their CFO is licensed as a CPA ... in MISSOURI. Not Florida. The point of all this is that this company does everything it can to hide its basic information. Reputable companies don't hide their address and contact numbers. If you call a company and ask them their address, a reputable company would tell you. If you asked for an email address for their corporate or legal department, a reputable company doesn't obfuscate and hide the information. I had to search very hard to find Chris Crosby's email address: ccrosby@***.com. When I emailed the letter as an attachment to the "info" email, it got bounced back because it doesn't permit attachments. But the one to Chris Crosby went through. I did what I could to help my friend. This place is bad news. When you look at other complaints, its the same story, however on some of them a staff member responds and says like a parrot "I do not know the specifics of your situation but we would like to resolve the issue. Please call us...." Sure. Please call the huxsters that have been calling several times a day so they can exert more pressure on you to send your loved one to their facility because if you don't THEY WILL DIE!!! If you value your sanity or your financial stability, find an organization that doesn't hide its most basic of information from the public. Why would a family not want to know the address of where they are sending their loved one? What if they wanted to visit? They don't want you to visit. They want you to put your loved one on a plane where THEY pick them up. By the way, the Cease and Desist letter worked. So if you're having the same problem, try it. Once you have it writing that you don't want them calling you, its harassment if they continue.
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Dellar Cle
map-marker Fogelsville, Pennsylvania

The Watershed Treatment Programs - Patient Treatment Review

I just sent my husband here and after reading some of these reviews i hope it was not the biggest mistake of our lives. No money was asked for. They booked and paid for the flight there. I really pray that he gets back home soon. I mean within a month and his return flight is taken care of. We cannot afford getting screwed over. I do not like the fact that i have no contact with him either. That is unfair to the family and we are going through enough. I really pray this facility is really on the up and up and not out to screw anyone over. My husband needs help and not to be treated like a prisoner. He is my heart.
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2 comments
Guest

Some facilities don't want patients speaking to family members because they want them to focus on their treatment. Hearing about the outside world can interfere with a patient's focus.

Guest

I can totally relate to your experience. Same thing happened to me.

I just can't understand how they keep getting away with this . The rep.

I spoke with one the phone told me my ins.That. company would cover the costs but after I was there for 14 DAYS THEY STATED I WOULD NOT .?

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Anonymous
map-marker Ada, Ohio

Other Product Review

I need to get my daugte out of there..in am terrorified..suziedunson@***.com
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Shine Euy
map-marker Delray Beach, Florida

The Watershed Addiction Treatment Program uses False Advertising

The Watershed Addiction Treatment Program for addicts and alcoholics uses false advertising practices to lure people into their program. They advertise that they are located in your area, but when you call them, they tell you that they are in Delray Beach, Florida. They use fake addresses that all correspond with UPS stores from throughout the country, and pretend that they have locations at these addresses. A simple Google search of the address will reveal that the Watershed is not, in fact, located in these areas, and the address is for a UPS store. Some examples of the Watershed's false advertising: A Watershed Addiction Treatment Center 68 Dorrance St. #120, Providence, RI However, 68 Dorrance St. #120, Providence RI is really a (now closed) UPS store. A Watershed Addiction Treatment Center 3501 Maccorkle Ave SE, #136, Charleston, WV However, 3501 Maccorkle Ave SE #136 is UPS store #5077. A Watershed Addiction Treatment Center 2633 McKinney Ave, Suite 130, #332, Dallas, TX However, 2633 McKinney Ave, Suite 130, is really UPS store #5022. And I could go on. And these are just the falseties in the advertising. Not to mention the lies they tell you on the phone about their amenities, treatment, length of stay, and everything else they offer. Stay far, far away from the Watershed!
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2 comments
Guest

unfortunately, I've found that a lot of places in the Florida area will use these methods to lure people down there, and then try to keep them trapped. They lie about absolutely everything, and then twist everything once you get there.

Once you sign the dotted line, they own you.

I don't recommend anyone go to Florida for treatment. Maybe there are some reputable places in Florida, but not the Watershed.

Guest

The Delray Beach area is considered the "rehab capital" of the world, there are so many centers and competition is fierce. I didn't go to Watershed but another one who also used a local phone # and address here in NC.

The point is to get you on the phone with a HIGH PRESSURE SALESPERSON who makes a fat commission off each person they lure to the facility. Things promised sounded to goo to be true and they were! There was a near riot while I was there, as people begin to realize things promised were false. Examples: Was promised: Free medical detox at a fine facility with doctors and nurses.

Truth: was dropped off at a state-run place for the homeless where no detox meds were given, no medical staff, surly, ghetto employees with no medical background, roach infestation, mice, etc. Was promised: Couples were welcome, they even advertised this on their website. Truth: My BF and I were chastised for coming together and told if we so much as looked at each other, we would be kicked out! Was promised: swimming pool and volleyball on downtime Truth: the did away with both activities my 2nd day there.

Was promised: facility was dual diagnosis with a psychiatrist on staff Truth: no such thing, never even saw a medical doctor!

Was promised: aftercare placement Truth: social worker never had time, in 45 days, to see me Was promised: free ride back to the airport Truth: had to take a $90 cab.

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Anonymous

Ok this the deal. They got him.

My 23 year son is dying. He is killing himself fast with drugs (pick one) He was just admitted 2 days ago. It is late and I am beat down. Thanks for locking him until his cravings subside and his brain clears enough he can reason. Looks guys, it beats prison or death. Thanks for caring enough to get it right Watershed. I now have at least another day on this earth knowing my second child is not dead in a backroom like his former friend that his truely loving parents just buried yesterday from an OD. Wake up you boneheads who are writing negitive posts over money issues and airplane tickets. Ain't no free rides in this world unless it's your last.
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1 comment
Guest

Wow why would you attack a Mother? Parents Love unconditionally and you are right everyone has a right to have an opinion, and to complain so you do not have the right to take hers away just because it is not the same as yours.

The Watershed has helped a lot of people and the complaints that I have read are really silly and you can see right through them. People are going to complain about just about anything. Perception is an individual reality and to each is own. The Watershed has been Wonderful to my Daughter and I have not heard or seen any of the complaints on here during my experience with them.

My Daughter sought help on her own and is wanting recovery so maybe that has a lot to do with it. That is why a lot of the complaints on here that I have seen about people being lied to about jet skies and beached and having there personal wallets cash and cell phones taken I was told all of that up front before we took her there and I would not expect any less. It is not a jail there are no gates holding anyone in so they do that as a precaution so that they don't make contact with people to get drugs or pay for drugs.

They searched her things and her person when entering and I would not have that any other way as well. Just my opinion.

Anonymous
map-marker Delray Beach, Florida

The Watershed Rehab - manipulative, deceptive, unprofessional, unacceptable & unethical treatment

I contacted the Watershed Treatment Center, with locations in Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Delray Beach, FL, looking for help with my pain medicine addiction. I had been prescribed very strong narcotic pain medicine from the age of 14, when I was involved in a terrible car accident. I had been in and out of the hospital having surgeries and doing PT for years, and I was in terrible pain all the time, so the doctors were very liberal with the medicine. About a year and a half ago, I began to abuse my pain medicine to get high... I just couldn't deal with my emotions anymore. So anyway, I reached out to the Watershed looking for help. I wanted to get off of my medicine, and I wanted to do it the right way. I had never tried to quit before, but I knew about withdrawal from a course I had taken in school... I knew it would be miserable business. I also knew that I was suffering from untreated depression, and I needed to be somewhere that treated both things. The Watershed was very accommodating on the phone; they took my insurance information, and about ten minutes later, they told me I could come in that night. However, the girl on the phone made it sound more like a resort vacation than a rehab. She told me that the facility was located on the beach, that there were two pools, that they went out on trips every week, went to the beach every day, had kayaks to use, did equine therapy, acupuncture, massage, etc. She also told me that they would customize my detox plan, so that I wouldn't be uncomfortable at all. She went on to say that they had a staff that included full time psychiatrists, and the would help me with my depression and other disorders that I may have been suffering from. It all sounded great, so a few days later I was on my way to Florida. However, when I landed, I had this feeling of dread in my stomach. I had a feeling that this was too good to be true, and it surely was. The guy who picked me up at the airport brought me to an old, run down, silver van. The girl on the phone said there would be a limo waiting for me... But at that point, I just wanted to get there, as I was starting to feel like junk. When I walked in the doors of the Boynton building, I was brought into a little office where I filled out at least a hundred pieces of paper. The girl who did this with me rushed me through it, as I was trying to read each detail. She told me that I would be able to see these things I was signing at anytime I wanted to. She then gave me a shot in my arm, and brought a guy in to search me and my belongings. I was brought up to the third floor of the building, where I was showed to a room with two other people and a camera in it. The girl on the phone told me I would have my own room. When I asked about the camera, the woman (a nurse, I think) told me that it was for my safety so they could monitor me all night when I was detoxing. I went to bed that night, and when I woke up in the morning all *** broke loose. I was told on the phone that they would detox me with methadone, as it would be stronger and more effective than suboxone for me. Unfortunately that was not the case. I was given suboxone, the same doses as everybody else. By my second day I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. I was hot, cold, sweating, chills, throwing up, running to the bathroom every ten minutes, had muscle cramps, and the list goes on. My roommates kept telling the nurses that I needed more medicine, but they wouldn't give it to me. I finally got through detox, and began attending my groups. They were repetitive and uninformative, to say the least. I don't want to know why I abused the pills. I know why. I want to know how to get better. Unfortunately, all we heard during groups were war stories, and more war stories. I don't want to go into my whole treatment stay, because this will get boring, but the staff at the Watershed is unprofessional and deceptive. They will call your family and lie to them, saying that you need to stay there longer or you're going to go home and relapse or die. They will tell your family not to take you home if you ask to come home early. They also tell your family to send you to PHP, which is a place that everyone uses drugs at. They will tell your family in advance that when you call saying that there are tons of drugs at PHP that we're lying. It's all a scam so they can make more money off your family and insurance company. I saw one dude who was there, self pay, for 30 days. It was my second week there, and I had witnessed one guy who wanted to go home. He was coming up on his 30 days, but because his insurance paid for more treatment, he was forced to go to PHP. He had literally no say in the matter. However, the other guy who had paid for his 30 days of treatment himself, and wanted to stay on and go to PHP, but couldn't afford any more, was simply discharged to a homeless shelter. Whatever your insurance pays for, be it 30, 60, 90 or a year, you will be required to stay for every single day. You, the patient, have no say in the matter whatsoever. Your family does though, so they have to be on your side if you want to go home. And you can't just sign yourself out either. I've never ever heard of a place that holds adult patients hostage like that. It's unethical. Also, PHP is really infested with drugs. I haven't been personally, but I've heard the stories from the relapsers - the people who relapsed while at PHP and came back to Boynton... and there were about 8 or 9 of them in my 30 days alone. One guy twice. And those are only the people who actually got caught. Also, everything they tell you on the phone about accommodations is a lie. There are no private rooms, no horses, no kayaks, and they are not even close to the beach. The call center people aren't counselors, theyre sales people who are told to say whatever they have to in order to make the sale. They work on commission for every patient that they bring in. If you're looking for a rehab please look elsewhere. Search the internet for "Watershed rehab reviews". There are hundreds of reviews from people saying the same exact things. We can't all be wrong. Seriously, if you think we're lying, call the Watershed yourself and pretend to be looking for information for a loved one. I guarantee they will say all the same things we say here.
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2 comments
Guest

Yes! Horrible horrible place!

I wish we would've researched just a little more, and immediately we would've known not to come here! They lie to get you to come, and have horrible environment to rehab in! Fortunately my fiance was only there for 10, people getting in fist fights, and pretty much left on their own to deal.

Very unprofessional counselors, and it seems the psychiatrists were a joke, either never around when needed or horrible to the patients! Almost wish we could sue, but just happy to be done with that horrific place for now!

Guest

100% CORRECT. The watershed is nothing but a flop house that preys on the weak and sick so they can make as much money off them as they can. my 18 yo son was a patient at the watershed in may of 2013. they treated him horribly, like a little child, when in reality my son has been working since he was 14 and has been financially independent since age 16. how many kids nowadays do you know that are like that? and it wasn't any of our doing either - he just has an amazingly strong work ethic. I've always offered to pay his car insurance, cell phone, AAA, etc. and he won't let me he has too much pride, he's like his father and grandfather.

so imagine how much courage it took for him to come to me and say that he was struggling with roxys? I was devastated, but I could see that he was absolutely desperate for help and 100% serious. the watershed was the first website that popped up in google when I searched for roxy rehab. we called them and like this person says above, we were lied to from the minute we started talking to them. I have health insurance and so does my son through his work (union laborer) but we decided to be discreet about his treatment so it wouldn't be on his medical records. we paid cash for his treatment, 30 days in advance because we were told the program was 30 days.

around day 15 the calls started coming (and I mean really coming sometimes five time a day) saying my son was going to relapse if he didn't stay in treatment longer. I was horrified. my poor baby boy. but how could these people absolutely kow for certain that my son would return to using drugs? and everything they were saying was in direct conflict with what my son and his therapist were telling me. they said he was an outstanding patient and doing extremely well.

I did a little research on the place and found hundreds of reviews atoning to the nastiness of the watershed. the next time a call for money came I flat out refused. they kept calling, six or seven times a day relentlessly but I simply didn't answr. on day 30 my son was discharged 'against medical advice' even though he had finished his original agreed upon treatment time.

this place is no place for a loved one who is suffering. I wish we would have done more research instead of biting on the first place we found. please find a better place to get help.

oh, and it's been about three months and my son is still clean and doing amazing. he does groups for four hours 3x/week at a place here at home and goes to NA meetings. also, the watershed still continues to call us, sometimes 3x a week and they email too. just to stir up problems.

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Anonymous
map-marker Delray Beach, Florida

Former Employee

I worked there for several months over a year ago and can tell you that the Director (a woman) was really Rude to me as an employee and very unprofessional. When I had to call off sick she told me that she didn't care and that she needed to have a full staff. When I applied I was told that I would be doing one thing and even trained to do a certain job (Medical Records) and then they made me a receptionist. My job consisted of shredding old paperwork and taking messages. I talked to several BHT's (techs) and they ALL complained about their jobs. They were not allowed to sit down and had to follow patients constantly. I witnessed several patients leaving the grounds and the staff DID keep their belongings and the Police were called nearly every day for incidents. I would NOT recommend anyone to work there. I also witnessed several BHT's fired on the spot.
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