The Vines Hospital - Ocala, Florida

Franklin V.

Muy buena atencion en todo sentido, Individual, grupo, medico, terapia, personal, comidas

Brunilda H.

El trato fue bueno hacia el paciente. Nos trataron muy bien a todos los miembros de la familia. Gracias.

Greg B.

Poor Communication and Major Gap in Care
A family member was residing at The Refuge, a partial hospitalization facility in Ocala, FL starting on 5/16 and was put under a Baker Act and sent to The Vines on Saturday 5/17. After a nearly 10 day stay was transported back to The Refuge to restart the PHP process.

Within a few weeks it was clear that patient was still not doing well in the open environment and was once again sent to The Vines on 6/10/2025.

The patient authorized me to have access to their treatment. Multiple times over the weeks I would call to get information from nurses, therapists, doctors that I was authorized to have and would not get a return call after leaving multiple voicemails/emails.

The disregard for family and supporters who will be soley responsible for their 'after care' once discharged was sub-par and very frustrating. As the person responsible for aftercare it was critical that I not only speak to the doctor(s) treating them but also provide the therapists information regarding the history for a better diagnosis.

On 7/6/2025 a nurse at The Vines noticed the patient had bad lethargy and was concerned that patient needed to be assessed at the ER for bloodwork levels. The nurse contacted me (I was surprised to actually hear from someone) who told me of the issue and that patient would 'return to The Vines' after he was cleared at AdventHealth Ocala. Within about 2 hours the patient called me from AdventHealth ER and stated the following.

"The ER has discharged me and I don't have a ride."
"What do you mean you don't have a ride?" I asked.

Patient stated the ER was not responsible to transport them back to the Vines hospital where patient was under psychiatric care. I called the ER and confirmed this to be true. I then called The Vines immediately and spoke with a nurse superintendent on duty who stated "It's not their responsibility to pick patient up because he was in a 'voluntary' status'. We live 3 hours away. Patient was sent to the ER with no money, no phone, no shoes on, heavily medicated and after clearing the ER was discharged from Advent Health. The Vines had not yet discharged patient nor had given the patient or us any indication that discharge was imminent. Clearly having been overmedicated and sent to the ER there should have been simple questions asked about transportation to and from or if he had family in town. I guess The Vines figured the patient would just walk out of the ER and back through a city the patient doesn't live in with no shoes, no money or phone and safely return while sedated on anti psychotic medication.

How is it possible that The Vines, a registered and licensed state facility treating someone for a psychiatric issue for nearly 30 days could initiate an ER visit and then just 'hope' that patient walks out of the ER and has the wherewithal to hitch a ride or know the direction to walk the 3 miles back to the Vines? We immediately got on the road and drove 3 hours from Tallahassee hoping patient would stay at the ER and wait for us to arrive. Luckily the patient did and when we got there patient was sitting outside in a sedated state and according to patient upon questioning, wearing the same shorts and t shirt for the entire stay at The Vines. We drove patient home 3 hours wondering how on earth this was possible trying to imagine the patients who did not have a family member or friend to pick them up and return them to The Vines for proper care and processing. They could have picked patient up in 5 minutes and safely returned them to continue care or at least could have asked "logistical questions" prior to sending to the ER. This is an abject failure and I can only imagine how many other patients have been stranded in this scenario with loved ones who are not living in Ocala. When I have to convince the patient daily on the phone to 'trust the professionals' and work to get better while under the care at a facility such as The Vines, I'm entrusting that the process has no gaps.

We were wrong to trust that.

Danny H.

This ward was the worst experience of my life. I was a younger patient they would threaten my family and not let them speak to me. Some of the people there were very kinda and compassionate but other then that it was hell. I would never recommend this hospital for mental health because of the poor help they provide. All they would do is have you in there watching the same movies over and over again and there would be many therapy groups that would go on altho was nice to connect with people who understood my situation some of the workers there straight suck.

Alexandria R.

If I could give zero stars I would. DO NOT check anyone in here. You are better off working through your own mental health then being held hostage in this poor environment. My sister was checked in here Friday because it was the only place that had a bed available and she waited over 24 hours to see a doctor for who saw her FOR 3 MINUTES and said she needs to stay longer. The doctor did not evaluate her and just prescribed her medication. My sister is sitting in there watching people table spiders to the walls and is just watching movies until they allow her to leave. They are holding her a hostage for money. I spoke with my boss who is a lawyer and she agreed if she didn’t have insurance they would have let her go by now. You guys are awful and do not give a rip about your patient load one bit. If I could give -100000 stars I would.

Jeffrey R.

Negative stars here. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR FAMILY OR LOVED ONES TO ENTER THIS FACILITY!!! What we experienced here amounts to legalized kidnapping. In our case, what was supposed to be a voluntary 24-hour observation turned into an involuntary 73-hour hold. She arrived at midnight on Thursday night (Friday morning), saw an unnamed psychiatrist for five minutes Friday morning, was taken off her medication and given a new prescription and told she would be there until at least Saturday. Saturday morning she met with Dr. Matthews via video conference. Even after signing a request to be released, which states on the form that she would see a doctor in less than 24 hours and be released, she was told by Dr. Matthews that she would not be going home. No reason given other than we need to keep an eye on her after changing her medication. MAJOR ISSUES: 1. How do you make the determination to change someone's medication in a three-minute consultation. 2. How do you make any kind of diagnosis or medical decision based on a three-minute video consultation. 3. The doctor refused my request to contact me to discuss the case. I did eventually speak with a social worker on Saturday who did agree that my daughter did NOT need to be there, but she was not able to override the doctor's orders. I also spoke to my daughter's nurse who also agreed that my daughter did not belong in this facility. My daughter spoke to one of the tech's on her floor and they said that the nurses and doctors at that facility do NOT care about the patients, and everything is geared towards collecting insurance money. Unfortunately we have one of the best policies for mental health treatment and they were fully aware that my insurance would cover a 72-hour stay, regardless if it was in my daughter's best interest. This experience, as well as the experiences I have learned from others has inspired me to take the bull by the horn and work towards making a lasting change in not only this facility, but also the mental health care system as a whole. The law allows facilities like the Vines to pillage insurance companies for a minimum 72-hour hold. All they have to do is provide the correct documentation --accurate or not -- and the insurance companies will pay. In short, doctors should not be able to force anyone to do anything against their will in the name of psychiatric care or mental healthy treatment, based on a three-minute observation. One last point, where there is smoke, there is fire. You may chose to disregard this post, and I'm sure the Vines will post a claim following this that it has investigated my claims. But these things are true and accurate. Space will not allow me to post much, much more about my daughters experience. Sadly.

Justice (.

I came to this facility voluntarily, hoping to receive help for my mental health — but unfortunately, my experience was very disappointing.

To begin with, the intake process was extremely slow, taking over five hours just to be transported to a room. That long of a wait while someone is already in a vulnerable state is unacceptable.

Once admitted, I was shocked at the lack of cleanliness throughout the facility. The day room, where therapy sessions were held, was dirty — the walls were scuffed and in need of paint, the windows were filthy, and the overall environment felt neglected. Even the rooms lacked basic cleanliness. dirty rags left behind from previous patients. I'm not expecting deep cleaning, but even basic hygiene standards weren’t met. Housekeeping needs to be more thorough and consistent.

A major concern is the windows in the patient rooms — they were painted black, blocking out all natural light. I understand different units may have different rules for safety, but if someone is in a calmer, voluntary unit, there’s no reason why the windows need to be blacked out. Natural light can play a huge role in improving mood and overall mental wellness.

The atmosphere was more like a detention center JAIL than a therapeutic environment. We were expected to walk in a single-file line, constantly spoken to in a condescending, belittling tone, and treated more like children or inmates rather than individuals seeking healing and care. The staff often personal conversations amongst themselves about their own lives but we were still able to hear conversations— topics that were completely inappropriate for a professional setting. There was no sense of peace or privacy, which is crucial in a mental health facility.
That said, there were some staff members who truly made a positive difference. I want to recognize Drew, Sade, Mario,(Mario's crew) and a tech whose name I can't remember but her first initial is “L” whom worked Friday morning— she always smiled and was incredibly kind and full of energy, Kim (the nurse) and Penny (from intake) were also wonderful — calm, professional, and compassionate throughout. Their demeanor stood out in a very chaotic and emotionally taxing environment.
If you’re struggling mentally, the last thing you need is to be in a chaotic, emotionally cold environment that adds to your stress. The only positive aspect of my stay was the food and the professionalism of a few nurses. I want to emphasize that this praise is strictly for qualified nursing staff — not the techs, who were mostly disengaged and unprofessional.

I hope this facility takes real steps to clean up, re-train their staff on tone and compassion, and create a truly safe space for people in crisis. Mental health care should be healing, not traumatizing.

Vinn

I came here on a baker act. I attempted suicide and was brought to the ER and two days later I was brought to the Vines, but the transport arrived two hours early, leaving me alone and my family devastated as my father and sister came to visit me with food only to find out I wasn't even there. Then I was transported TWO HOURS away from home, away from anyone I knew, away from my family and loved ones. There was drama, fights, and the food wasn't that great. We always got yelled at or punished for something that wasn't even our faults. This place didn't even try to help my mental health. You only get five minutes to call one person at night and only two days of visitation, and it's hard for children with split parents. This place also gave me a UTI so isn't that swell? I got yelled at for crying numerous times all because I missed my mother and they didn't give me enough time to talk to her. Everyday I was there I cried myself to sleep and the staff did nothing, they never comforted me, they never checked to see if I was okay. All they do is stuff you with meds and isolate you if you act out of shape. They threaten you and manipulate you with fear in order to do something and everything is considered contraband in this hell hole. I got my period and it took them two hours to supply me with a pad, and then I was told if I wanted more I wasn't allowed to because it was contraband by Ms Antoinette, now she was just the worst. Constantly yelling despite it being a harsh trigger for many children that were there. She threw away my journal which held many notes, drawing, and letters for my family and friends. She threw away paintings I was going to give to my family. My roommate never let me sleep and would yell all the time and they did nothing about it. This place is horrible. The bathrooms are dirty, my room literally had bugs in the bathroom. We were spoken to like inmates and treated as if we were in jail. This place gives me nightmares.