Brunswick Hospital Center - Amityville, New York

Kennedy P.

let me preface this by saying: i was extremely fortunate during this experience, i got lucky with the staff i formed bonds with and i made so many good friends and met some HILARIOOUUSSS personalities. i already miss the silly patients and the staff i bonded with tbh. even still, i really would not recommend this place.

the food isn't worth discussing. it's really bad, and gave me and my friends heartburn. a lot of us compensated by only drinking coffee LMAO. the occasional snack times were nice, except for when they would bring out those god forsaken graham crackers.

there is virtually no entertainment. my unit had three extremely small and old TVs in the dining room, with three xbox 360s. it's better than nothing, but added with the 2 broken controllers and limited amount of games, it was very much a last resort. still, better than nothing. there was also a TV in the dayroom but: limited channels, having to ask for the remote every few minutes because we couldn't keep it, extremely small selection of movies (we watched spiderman 5 times). an extremely sweet PA, her name was valerie, would bring out the movies for us though. she had the softest and sweetest voice, and she was so patient. an absolute sweetheart (a floater PA, named myra, also brought us a TONNNN of new movies. she was great too). other than that, my friends made a bootleg monopoly and we played lots of uno and card games LOL, even made a tabletop rpg. if you're desperate and creative enough, you can find something to do.

again, i was extremely fortunate. i had the opportunity to bond with the staff, make jokes with them, and genuinely they were one of the only things keeping me sane during my stay. however, i did see the way they would treat other patients and it wasn't always great. the facility denies patients of a lot of their basic rights, though i wouldn't blame that completely on the staff. one of my friends, a muslim, was told her bonnet got "lost". they didn't allow her to shower in time for her to pray, and she became increasingly anxious. "practice of religion" is meant to be a guaranteed right in these clinics, and she did not get that whatsoever.

the temperature is either way too hot, or way too cold. you can ask for extra sheets and blankets, but i needed 3 of each to keep warm. there's a book cart with limited and bad options, and the only other thing we got were groups. the art ones were nice, and the music was cool i guess. all of the group leaders were cool, but ashley in particular is responsible for the talk therapy sort of things. she is so attentive and sweet.

WORST OF ALL, THE REASON YOU WILL GET STUCK HERE: the social workers. they are a hot mess. please be aware and prepared for the fact that they will not be attentive and you will rarely see them. i was cleared by my doctor (dr. khan, he was great) for a week and a half before i finally got discharged. i had to beg to see my social worker every single day, and still never saw her. when i finally got word, it was from her INTERN, and i'm almost positive it's only because my dad called from the outside. please pray you don't get sasha or alex.

the only thing that will keep you sane are the people. PLEASE interact with who you can, the ones who are open and friendly and safe to be around. sitting in your room all day only works for the first few days, but then you start to get even crazier. i don't regret going in, but please remember that i got really lucky, was voluntary, and just needed a general break from the outside.

if you can avoid this place, please do. there's no treatment, only stabilization with your meds & a general break from the outside world. your best bet is getting an intensive outpatient program. may u all be healthy and happy <3

Kai O.

My name is Kai and I’ve had a terrible experience with this establishment. My girlfriend of 2 years got sent here. She was in a previous hospital and they told her she was going somewhere else and then they sent her here at the last second. Their website says you have 10 mins to talk to the patient and im lucky if I even get 5 mins and when she says hey it hasn’t been 10 they tell her get off right now it’s been 10 mins. Which is stupid Im literally on a iPhone I can see how long our call has been. I hear the staff sometimes over the phone and sometimes it’s like they don’t even see her as human like they will yell at her to get off and treat her like a dog I get being tough but they’re human too. Not all of them but it’s very unprofessional. She would call me everyday or I would try and call her. Their visiting hours are from 2pm to 3pm so it makes it really hard for me to visit due to my busted knee from getting hit by a car. She would call me everyday and we would talk about whatever or her day or how much we missed each other like normal stuff so we’re talking so one day we’re talking like normal and she says she would call me later when she can like usual. Then she just up and vanished. I thought maybe she wanted space and needed time. So I called the facility and they told me she was still there. Fast forward a week and I call again asking hey can I speak with her idk what happened. They basically tell me sorry we can’t because of hipaa and I get that but I’m confused about everything here. She would call me everyday and it’s like she vanished like a ghost. I called there and I’ve had many different patients tell me she’s not there. I can’t tell if they are just like that or telling me something because it’s every patient. I call the facility the next week and they tell me she still there. I ask about the situation and they tell me to talk to her social worker Lauren. I call. Never picks up. I HAVE LEFT SEVERAL VOICE MESSAGES AND THEY NEVER CALL BACK. Then im told again it is because of hipaa. I talk to the front desk then they tell me she can talk to me because I’m asking about visitation. Which I was told from before I was able to see her whenever I want just in that time frame. I call the social worker again doesn’t pick. Another week later I finally able to visit her. So I drive out 30 mins to go see her and talk to the front desk worker. I tell her about my situation and she laughs about it and just said I can’t do anything but u can leave. Now I get upset and call her out for her shitty behavior and then they threaten me with the cops. I now haven’t heard from her in a month and I don’t know what happened to her. It’s like she disappeared and never existed. Keiry I hope you see this one day because I haven’t stopped trying and I still am. IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE LIKE IF YOU TRULY LOVE THEM PLZ DONT PUT THEM IN HERE. Maybe my situation is different because she’s my girlfriend but it’s like I keep going in circles over and over again trying to reach out. They told me she needs to give consent to talk to me but she was talking to me just fine everyday. Maybe it’s me but the staff here are incompetent at their jobs. I’m not saying this for all of the them but from the staff I’ve talked to they keep sending me in circles for a month and now idk where she went. I love you keiry and I always will. If you love someone don’t hurt them like this. Don’t put them here. Sorry if my story is all over the place but I needed to tell my story to tell people plz avoid this place and I never make reviews on anything. If anyone has sound advice I’d appreciate it but I would not recommend this place never in a million years. Maybe she’s done with our relationship now but this hospital experience at least from my side honestly has been awful and for a place about helping mental illness it sure is making mine worse it’s ironic but that’s my review. Sorry it’s all over the place I hope you got something out of it. I miss you keiry. If you have advice or know what I should do please email me by

[email protected]

James D.

Was sent here after Stony Brook shrugged their shoulders and sent me here last minute against the wishes of me and my family.

Some staff were nice, some weren't. The staff that weren't kind were infantalizing, demeaning, and fear inducing.

They completely don't know how to handle people who are neurodivergent with ADHD and anxiety.

Gave confusing information to my family over the phone, were curt and short. NEVER followed the day schedule posted in the hall that had recent revision dates. And also had no adult activities to do.

So hard to see any doctor inside let alone social worker.

This place moreso seems like an insurance scam to keep patients numbed/dulled to extend stays as long as possible for high payouts. Seems more like holding than actual genuine mental health help.

Jolie M.

This place was a disgusting concentration camp, I wasn’t brought here for being su!cidal but if I was this would’ve been my last straw. The place is filthy, one shower for 20+ patients cleaned once a day if that. The vents look like they haven't been cleaned since 1800 B.C, The staff was disrespectful and unprofessional. I overheard Mindy say to another staff member “This is a mental hospital not a 5 star hotel you know” That doesn’t mean you get to treat patients like inmates and bark orders at us all day. Phone time is limited to 5 minutes per person so it’s hard to communicate with family and advocate for yourself. I had to do my social workers job for her and give her my outpatient phone numbers. My diet as a vegetarian was disrespected as I was brought up meat multiple times, or only two pieces of bread on a platter. The only decent people were the group therapists and a few of the staff members were actually caring but avoid this place at all costs this was the most dehumanizing experience. My rights as a patient were violated in many ways.

Sam D.

Worst possible place ever would not call it a hospital. Patients are ignored by the nurses about their medications during the mid - day and none of the nurses care at all for patients except only one her is Akpana she is a good person. Speaking of good people there is 3 more names are Joel and Pauline and Gigi such good people they are. Besides them 4 people all the other workers was/are evil. I had a nightmare experience with the bathroom always been locked , the food been served is bad with no menu too choose from at all , having a box too put your toothbrush, deodorant, brush and comb all locked away in a closet asked the evil workers to open the closet just to brush my teeth that’s Evil. No soap given for showering have too use the hand soap on the bathroom wall to shower. I took a water shower I was not using hand soap on my body. They wanted me to believe that was body wash/ shampoo soap that was on the wall but I was not being fooled. Stay away from this place please.

zonnique M.

Let me just first just start off by saying this is the worst facility in New York . I had family member coming here and it was the worst mistake ever . The auxiliary patient care team from the assistant director of social worker to the social worker (Loraine ), to administrations department and few nursing staff are very rude , impolite, this disingenuous , disorganized, lack work ethic they always say it’s not what you say it’s how you say it . Is either they are always from there desk , and they don’t answer calls if you want to visit your family members I believe if you need to visit a family member that should be set up with front desk not the social worker, hanging up phones in family members ears , are not be communicative with family members I believe if you don’t love your job don’t come to work and if you have problems at home leave it home no family is your child so try give respect if you want respect and take accountability. This facility needs to be throughly checked by the states or closed down .

rita C.

My son was there for 18 days cpep sent him there it was his first time ever in a physiatrists hospital.
If you love your family please don’t send them to new Brunswick it’s the lowest of the low.
Anytime my son called all I heard was screaming fights going on between patients and staff not even when my son was in jail did I hear that .
All it is is a holding spot there’s no activities no going outside except one time in the morning to smoke one cigarette for 10 minutes .
My son was supposed to get protein
Drinks they never gave him them
It’s nothing more then a hell hole
I wouldn’t send my pets there ever the dog pound is better then New Brunswick
There were some nice staff and a nice female social worker and a few good nurses besides that the place needs to be closed down .
It’s almost impossible for anyone to pick up the phone I called 7 different numbers day after day all recordings accept for the admitting of course they answer they want more money .
I also got screamed at by the guy who answered admitting telling me he was the only one there and he can’t help me with nothing so don’t call back.
The guard at the front door when you first go in was very nice .
I feel sorry for the few good people that work for such a low life hospital those workers definitely deserve better hopefully they find a better place to work.
When I picked up my son they said it would be 15 minutes it was more like a hour and the half so ridiculous

I rather bring my kid to the dog pound anytime then bring him back there if it was a choice I had to make at least the dogs get fed and go outside several times a day
They have more activity at the pounds then New Brunswick has plus all the other bs that goes on in that horrific horrible place.
This is for real read all the reviews we should all come together to try and have this place closed down.

nathaniel W.

Horrible, absolutely disgusting the way the family members are treated. First I am an advocate for individuals receiving help for issues. I had a family member sent there to deal with an issue. For over 10 days I was only allowed to speak to his doctor once. You can't call the doctor because his voice mailbox is always full. He refused to speak to our therapist. No administration staff will speak to you there to assure your family member is getting the care they need. When my family member was discharged, my wife was told that she couldn't wait inside, so she had to wait outside in the rain for my family member. When he came out there was no staff member with him unbelievable, you say it cant gets worse it does. My wife called the social worker on Monday and was told by her that she didn't need to speak to her . My wife was taken back because of her response. But my wife called again on Tuesday just to confirm that my family member was going to be discharged on Wednesday. The social worker than proceeded to ask for our insurance information, asked again for our therapist and psychiatrist names and phone numbers again. I found this unprofessional because your asking this the day before a discharge.
They do no treatment there all they do is stabilize the patients. It's your responsibility to find a therapist and psychiatrist. If not your discharge will be delayed. Imagine the stress this causes in a household? You find out that a family member is in a psychiatric hospital and you have little or no access to the doctor. Than we were told our family member was going to be there 3 days, 7days , 7 to 10 days and maybe 14.. This is unacceptable. How is it that a person having a mental episode asks for help and the people that are supposed to help him, hand them all sorts of papers to sign. .In other words we won't/can't help you unless you sign these documents. Basically my family member signed their rights away. PLEASE IF YOU GET ANYTHING OUT OF THIS,DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR SIGNING. The nurses were professional and pleasant. My family member could not sleep at night because several patients screaming in the middle of the night. Do you do know how they handled that, they gave my family member sleeping medication.
It's the receptionist in the front who are rude. When you ask them if you can speak to anyone, your told there in meetings and no one is available or they are seeing patients. Then I said I will wait and I was bluntly told " you can't stand there , you have to wait outside ". There are no tables or chairs in the entrance area. I will be contacting the Attorney General about this matter because no other parent should have to go through this.