I was at CATS about 20 years ago for Alcohol Detox about three times. Of course a detox is not fun to go through. But I give CATS good credit for their support through these lowest experiences in your life. We had well educated spokes persons explaining about addiction etc. I am very thankful having experienced to learn and understand better about it all. And yes, CATS is not a five star Hotel. It is a very good and safe place for Detox. Thanks lifelong :-
I was going to give 3 stars, but I can't bring myself to do it. Unfortunately, I'm a 3 timer at CATS INOVA. I'm grateful to be 3 years into sobriety now, but the CATS experience was a nightmare. Nurses are condescending and rude. Doctors are there to ask you two questions a day and sign your RX list already predetermined by one of the two there. They don't listen to you, they tell you what you need instead of individualizing treatment. To add, their aftercare programs are awful. Essentially, they send you out the door with a "good luck." I understand it's the addicts responsibility to seek ongoing treatment, but the whole point of detox is to continue staying sober afterwards. The social workers are all way over their head, and often a year out of college. Not a lot of experience there and it shows. INOVA has one of the highest return rates in the state. It's declined so badly in the past years, and now it's just an antidepressant mill, churning out addicts just so they can come back in a month. The facility is nice, but it's glorified jail. Be prepared not to see the sun for a week. It takes a massive toll on your mental health.
If I could give the CATS a zero star rating I would. I spent four days there. It took me seven hours to get through the emergency room process before being transferred to the CATS unit. The intake nurse at the CATS unit was very rude as well as the medical assistants involved in the intake. Once I was on the unit, the nurses were horrible very condescending, rude, uneducated on on the detox process, as well as the medication prescribed. A couple of times I was almost given the wrong medication because the nurse had the wrong patient medication pulled up on her computer, once I told them “No those are not my medication’s” then they quickly would , say oh, I’m I was looking at another patient’ chart. Had I not been proactive and recognize that they were giving the wrong medication to me I would’ve naïvely taken it. Thankfully I’m very proactive with my healthcare. Dr. Alathari is a very good psychiatrist and in charge of the CATS unit I give him nothing but a five star rating. However, they really need to reevaluate the nursing staff and counseling staff. I am an RN myself, and went into nursing, because of the horrible care patients can receive if they can’t advocate for themselves. I experienced the worst nursing staff of my life. The night staff would be sitting at the nurses station, laughing so loudly throughout the night you couldn’t sleep. I was appalled at the condescending comments coming from the nurses and treating me very disrespectfully. They view you as low level trash because you’re coming in for detox, they have zero respect for you. We’re all human and deserve equal treatment. Especially when you’re in the hospital detoxing you need kind, compassionate nursing care. All of the RNs there need to assess what career path they have chosen, and choose another one because they aren’t fit or qualified to be nurses. I documented my experience fully and asked to be contacted, as of today, I have heard from no one. That doesn’t surprise me, however, I am going to follow up with the hospital administrator, as well as the nursing supervisor of the unit and voice my frustrations, and care that I received with them directly. Their unit is an accident/lawsuit waiting to happen. I would seek care someplace else.
I am sharing the painful and heartbreaking experience we had regarding medical situation for my brother. He agreed to get detox treatment for opioids+benzo from CATS program Inova hospital of fairfax,Gallows Rd. This well reputed facility has very strict rules for visitors and personal belongings. He got admitted on 4/8,11pm. After his medical clearance he was transferred to CATS. He was doing okay the first day. We tried to visit him during the visiting hours 5:30-6:30PM on 4/10. He was experiencing intense withdrawal symptoms and was not able to come to the visiting room. This the medical staff cut off Benzo cold turkey. Which is extremely dangerous that can leave permanent damage to brain or loss of life. We spoke to the nurse briefly. I tried to get a hold of him later that night. After multiple attempts of calling the CATS department I learned he experienced seizures, difficulty breathing, pain, heart rate went up to 160s and dropped to 30s. Because he missed 3 doses of medication without replacement, his body was not able to keep any oral meds. He was transferred to MCU for 4 days for medical treatment after the trauma. He was released on 4/18. Based on our personal experience. I do not recommend CATS program for being irresponsible and ignorant regarding my brothers intense case. We almost lost him due to the lack of attention from so called professionals certified medical team of Inova CATS Program. I hope the team improves their service to at least bare minimum qualification to continue providing humane services to our communities. He also experienced unfair bedside manners from multiple members of staff and nurses during his admission in CATS. We were not expecting a well reputed professional medical facility to mishandle critical condition of my brother and abuse our trust. It is stunning to see how dangerous is to trust the medical team’s to handle the life of our loved ones.
Absolutely amazing experience. Loved every shift. Everyone was supportive and helpful. Highly recommend them!! And to people complaining about no TV.. yeah there aren’t any in the rooms but one stays on until midnight in the common area. We’re not there for entertainment. We’re there for detox and to get sober. There are also puzzles and I recommend bringing a book!
This isn’t coming from a patient who is struggling with substance detox. This is coming from a mother of a kid struggling with alcohol detox. My daughter was extremely overlooked and labeled as “mental”. She was day three into detox and they started “tapering down” from detox and suffered from alcohol delirium. Instead of treating her they sent her to the ER for mental issues and waited in the ER until they found a bed somewhere in VA for psychiatric care. The doctor told me specifically that her condition was not detox related. My daughter was shackled to a bed in delirium. It wasn’t until an independent Dr observed her and put her in the care of Mount Vernon Hospital where she was diagnosed with alcohol delirium from withdrawals. She was treated there and the next day my daughter came back to me. Please don’t put your trust in this facility. It’s an in and out care and not concerned or worst yet trained in humane treatment for the patient.
It is hit and miss with the compassion the nurses provide. Especially night nurses, they seem almost annoyed with patient questions. My day nurse was no better. Apathetic and nonchalant. I get it's no spa, however it's dehumanizing. I had to check out a couple of days ago. However.. There's one particular nurse whom I will never forget; My first time there in August. 1st She took the time with me as I checked out and was very patient. She even helped to escort me to my ride. She said she'd pray for me. Also, the intake staff/nurses were amazing that time, too. The three stars is simply for the excellent medications provided. If benzo/opiate detox, you will be taken care of. ~ D Allen
I understand I did this to myself, the state I was in when I went in was my own fault and that's what it is. They wouldn't listen to me, told me my reaction to Suboxone panic attacks and weird overall reaction was unheard of and just increased the dose. This lead to a full fledged panic attack. The had to sedate me, and even whilst the medication they were giving me barely took the edge off of benzo withdrawal. I don't know. Years and years ago the program was wonderful. It seems to have fallen apart. I was writhing in discomfort and crying and the nurses just came in checked my vitals and walked out without saying a word. I'm not one to seek attention, but I just couldn't believe the level of apathy and rudeness by some of the staff. I understand it's a stressful job, but if it's not for you then go find a different position. At one point I thought I was going to die, as I started becoming delusional after the Suboxone treatment. Just... I don't know. They kept me two days longer than normal then send md home with 2 weeks worth of Suboxone despite my horrific reaction to it. The only reason for the two star instead of if being a 1 is for one particular nurse named Kimberly, she was educated in pharmacology and once knee what I was detoxing from made it so I could actually sleep one night. She was empathetic and knowledgeable. Aside from that, go at your own risk. I legit thought I was going to die there.
I took a friend there via the emergency room like they tell you to do. The ER staff were great. Then a CATS nurse came and handed us a phone to talk to someone - I don't even know who she was - some kind of intake coordinator? She was extremely condescending. We high tailed it out of there. I work in health care and have never heard of a patient being treated with such disrespect. The CATS nurse was also very odd and condescending. It was a somewhat bizarre experience.
Awful experience. Was accused of continued drug use, even though state tests were ALL clean and I was NOT using. I was forced to sign a contract saying that I would behave, even though I wasn't doing anything. Then when I called the state to have a test taken because I was being accused, the State called CATS, and the director and my counselor came down on me even harder. They rode me every day I was there until I "coined out". My counselor was kind in the beginning, but quickly turned on me and wrote a scathing discharge letter that both my psychiatrist and my therapist both said was dripping with personal issues against me. I have yet to read it because I'm sure it would send me through the roof. Go to recovery meetings, AA, NA, SMART...find another program like Bridging The Gaps in Winchester. CATS is awful.
