Opinion by a Parent for Families: February 2013

Danger to your children is something every parent grapples with in making decisions. Our opinions of care and billing by Prairie Care, and facts found by government are just one factor to consider. The following is an addition to the original post which shows up the most in people's searches. It will give you what we learned since the beginning :

(Please note the latest news where they blame a tragic suicide in their Fargo facility on the victim)
http://prairiecaresucks.blogspot.com/2014/12/in-other-news.html?m=1
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Now, we have never lawyered up, we felt information would create more reform and possibly save people by encouraging a second opinion.
We can only tell you out perspective, as well as facts found by offices. The worst coming from the MN state ombudsman in response to our complaint about Prairie Care in Minnesota. Prairie Care did an awful job of keeping records.

"several documentation concerns presented themselves. In particular, incomplete forms, conflicting information in single event charting, duplication of charting notes for different days, and documentation indicating (..redacted..) with no documentation available at all. "

Actual portion of letter sent to Prairie Care from MN Ombudsman for mental health.

Dropped a letter grade by Better Business Bureau after ignoring them.

-Attorney General's office has copies of their own voices which factually contradict some of their statements.

-They tell you on their website they have an "unbiased" advocate to help you. This man works for them, writes letters on their behalf, and does their dirty work. Honesty is important. Unbiased? That means not on a side. Dictionaries are available online to their writers.

-Check interactions with drugs! We don't trust them at all there and firmly believe they could have killed our son. Children's health is a serious issue. These things I believe must be reviewed and there should be reviews done by mental health doctors with parent knowledge to help the child.

We found Prairie Care to be not informative on interactions, and as a parent, I believe they were not on top of this issue.

They INCREASED dangerous pill interactions without warning us of the potential dangers, and they stood by it for at least one, but we didn't know about the other, on that was far worse.

We never knew until after we left Prairie Care about interactions and the horrible side effects. We never knew until pulling him from the program that those pills could be the problem, that the interactions had potentially dangerous effects. We didn't learn until almost a year later just how bad it was.

Are they watching the brand new doctors? They told us they were, but I don't believe them. That's my opinion, but I think I earned it.

Serotonin Syndrome has the potential to kill. I don't know if Prairie Care in Edina is aware of that.

We believe over treatment can be as harmful as over-medicating. We are not doctors, but we say this as parents. Second opinions changed our lives, Prairie Care mn (minnesota) in their Edina outpatient clinic we believe made it worse.

When we pulled him out of Prairie Care early, after several issues had arisen, after we informed staff of those issues, after having strong doubts about what was happening in the day program, and after getting a bill that was significantly larger than what we were told, we believe our choice was right and have been proved right everywhere we have gone. They've made a claims about my character and motives when I filed complaints with state agencies.
Ad hominem. Deal with facts.

Did they increase a dangerous med combo another doctor there had charted may be the issue? Yes. Did they follow that doctor's suggestion to talk to the mother about his behavior and that combo? NO. Did they ever tell me about it? No, I found it in his records almost a year later. I knew about one that I questioned them about, but not the one that was much more dangerous. The one I did question, they stood by not telling me.

Did they try to convince me to hand over my child's records AFTER leaving them? Yes. (Weird huh?) Did they have serious documentation problems? yes. Did we discuss while my child was there why he seemed to be getting worse with the amount of fits thrown? Yes. Did we discuss while my child was there the lack of checking his backpack coming and going? yes. Did we discuss a large stick pin he brought home after a day there? yes. Did we discuss why the bill was so much higher than what we were told? Yes. Etc....

Get in writing exactly what they charge and for what. Our request for itemization of what they did each day to warrant the charge has not been provided. Of course, now that I know how extensive their documentation problems were, that would probably be difficult. They are supposed to provide that itemization.

We believe our child was at risk for their greed. That is our opinion. We believe it with all our heart.

We again believe a parent should be able to address their child's care with no fear of retribution.

Does the free assessment remind you of being sold a timeshare? Looking back, that's how I would describe it. At the time, I thought it was about health.
We were referred there for growing concerns about a child's mental health and we thought when we were referred there, they were committed to his care.

I no longer believe that in any way, shape, or form.

I believe they are terribly frightened of a lawsuit and that's why they lawyered up immediately in responding to us about care concerns that ranged from not checking backpacks, finding a long stick pin, but not the worst which I found about about almost a year later. I think that's why they wouldn't talk to the BBB and that's why they've tossed everything they can against a wall against me to see what sticks. I didn't even know how bad it really was until almost a year later when we found some new documentation. When I saw the records, we sat our son down and told him what was in them. He wants others to know. And that's why we blog. Our opinion is we can help the next child or next set of parents.

They once said I was all about money, even though that's not even close to where it started. We paid them off immediately. We believe it was still about twice as high as it should have been and they mislead us and told them so. But we paid it. And frankly, I doubt that little tiny bit of money they felt that adament about.

But if it was all about money--why wouldn't they have simply paid back less than a thousand dollars and avoid the endless agencies who have all bolstered us and brought out even more damning details? I ponder that business model. I always wondered why they came at us in a way I found so strangely aggressive and bizarre when we pointed out some issues. Since, we have found out it was even worse than we thought.

If it was all about money, why did they have a lawyer involved when I informed them of care issues (most of which I had informed them of while there) but was a year away yet from finding out just how bad it was. I didn't get why they had a lawyer included at the time, but I saw it as a hostile move. I didn't understand at all their odd response, a response that seemed more interested in destroying my credibility than caring for a child. I thought that was very weird at the time.

We weren't even near dealing with all the billing issues at that point. Again, they are required to produce an itemization and explanation of the charges and despite our requests have NOT.

If it's all about money, why not? Could it be all the documentation problems found? Could it be they are unable to produce it because they can't back it up? Could that be why they stonewalled the Better Business Bureau who tried to contact them several times in several ways?

If it was all about money, why were they pressing for my son's medical records after he left? Why? I have not found any official or doctor who can explain to me why they would press so hard for his records of care AFTER we left with a new doctor.

If it was all about money, why would they let themselves be damaged by the BBB, by letting information go public when mom refused to meet with them and their lawyer and cooperate with getting records they had no medical interest in?

If it was all about money, why would they, as a for profit business, think such a paltry amount of money was more important than the public finding out? That's strange business. Why would a for profit business let so much bad press get out to the public over chump change. Why would this website exist if it was all about money?

Why?

My opinion is they are scared to death that we will sue over how they cared for our child, win, and it will cost them so much more. Just an opinion. My other guess is they have really incompetent people working for them on the administrative side. I don't know what else to think..

My opinion is it is about money--but not ours, it's about theirs.

The Ombudsman called them out on some major documentation problems. We have proof of interaction issues from their own records. We have their own voices left on our voicemail contradicting them.

So if you are a quality place, committed to patients, children and families, why would you act so strangely and stonewall?

We believe all the facts about his care are on our side — and even though it took us almost a year before we learned it was worse than we thought..we know now. But we still haven't retained an attorney. We have just filed and done very well with public complaints to various agencies. We've put a lot of time into informing the public. More than a few dollars can cover. It's never been about the money for us. It's been about honesty and safety. It's been about refusing to be bullied down. It's been about not letting another family experience what we did.

We are pleased to have kept voice mails which were able to refute baseless accusations now on record with the AG. I kept every single voice mail. Apparently they were not aware of that when they sent a letter to the AG. That sucks for them. Health care, mental health care for children is a very serious issue. And so is integrity. I need to trust a doctor, especially when my child is on the line. I believe they are so untrustworthy the public should know.

(btw, I spent over a decade as a reporter..not sure if they knew that since I got the feeling they thought I was just a dumb mommy who would be scared of their bluster and go along with them without question, just an opinion....because of my background, I have a thing with "right to know," and am certainly not clueless on working with agencies, research, information laws, and dealing with slimeballs who hide under rocks.)

They have documentation (mn ombudsman) and stonewalling (BBB) issues on record.

I believe that means Prairie Care in Edina and Maple Grove sucks and bought the domain name because it is highly recommended that any business or public official buys such names because they are likely to come up. Just do a search on obamasucks.com or bushsucks.com. You'll see how it works. PR people should know that.

Consultants, I've always thought, were a waste of money. That's free advice.

My opinion is based on their behavior with us, and findings at the BBB, Attorney General, and Minnesota Ombudsman for Mental health, as well as documentation they wrote.

Please know, they never told me about pill interactions. In fact, they stood by not telling me. I disagree that parents don't need to know.

But at the time, I wasn't aware of just how bad the interaction dangers were. I have more now that as a parent was a blow to the gut. I believe parents have a RIGHT TO BE INFORMED.

They never told me how badly they screwed up documents. Never. I found out nearly a year later what the Ombudsman had found.

Again:

Actual portion of letter sent to Prairie Care from MN Ombudsman for mental health in our case. That letter, we were told by the Ombudsman has now been sent to the Attorney General to make clear what they told Prairie Care vs what Prairie Care claimed.

By the way, it should be noted Prairie Care apologized to our child's new doctors because it took way too long to get his records. Past anything reasonable.

Why did they drag their feet so much??

Thanks to our ever increasing readers. This blog would have never been, if we hadn't felt bullied, or if we felt that Prairie Care actually did care about children.

We are passionate our child deserved better. Our child is a great kid, we firmly believe they took advantage of us, by using him, and put him in peril. That's our opinion, but we believe it 100%.

We want children to be safe. That's it.

We are not a settle out and quietly go away type, and we don't care to pad lawyer pockets. We want children to be safe. We were not left with an impression that they cared, but we do. We think screwing up charts, pill interaction increases and safety checks are VERY SERIOUS ISSUES. If Oberstarr, a DOCTOR, had shown us any sign he took those issues seriously, we wouldn't be here today. That's it. We wanted to know they understood some things were problems and committed to fix them.

One commentary came to this website about their care and claimed to be a patient and everything was roses. A quick google search on the name showed it was from a health care consultant.
We have still been waiting for her follow up since her "outing." Wow.

That's one reason why I have little regard for PR consultants. I've worked with them before. I am waiting for one that has opinions worth anything to cross my path.

I always thought "consultant" was just a fancy way of saying..let's pay someone to agree with everything we want them to say. Opinion. Governments use them all the time. I think they are a waste of money.

Prairie Care committed to take care of my son. And believe me when I say, when a mom finds out all I know today...thinking you're sexist is the nicest thing I have to say about Todd. His letter writer who claims to be a patient advocate, and Oberstarr rank even lower in our view than the administrator.

Oberstarr is a Doctor. He took an oath.

He took an oath.

We do not endorse Prairie Care's mental health programs, or business in Edina and Maple Grove.

A second opinion is, in our opinion, an eye opener. We endorse second opinions by qualified professionals unrelated to that place. That's our opinion. I wish someone would have warned us, but we were referred and thought they would help. Hindsight is 20/20.

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Original Post:

The following is all opinion based on our personal experience with Prairie Care, Maple Grove and Edina--I am so sad my child was there it tears my heart. I am so glad we left early.

I hope no parent feels that pain and I hope our hindsight opinion will help.

Why the cheesy title? To optimize your website, you must use key phrases, for example:
Prairie Care php, partial hospitalization for children in Edina as assessed by Maple Grove suck in our opinion.

It is because of the simplicity of those phrases or words it is often recommended high profile people, businesses etc.. purchase those domains, like x?organizationsucks.com before ... say a fed up parent who feels their back is against a wall does. Because those simple words, show up in searches.
Please forgive the simple optimization tactic on such a serious issue.

What's the point here? We don't see a gain here..and probably should just give up, feel defeated, kicked about, ignored, baited and sticker shocked- (but not as shocked as our opinion of their care and response to concerns) and just suck it up right? Forget about trying to correct medical records, correct bills to reflect what we were told, help improve protocols so the next family in pain won't feel it worsened - how we wish our nightmare never began and others won't feel what we do.

If we did that, if we took the easy road and sucked it up--we feel we leave a door open that no parent should have to experience, if someone had just tried and not been afraid, maybe we would have taken a step back before deciding. That's an opinion--but it's why.

In the end, we can't tell you what's right to do. We can't tell you where's right to go.
We can only speak from our opinion for ourselves.

The following is also our opinion-

-Trust your instincts and don't give up if you are not satisfied.
They may not like it and get annoyed with you-but you are your child's best advocate...no one else.

-Demand everything in writing (especially the cost) and who will provide the care.

--If you have concerns, write them down and who you told them to and never hold back. It's your child.
--Document a follow-up that these specific concerns or questions were addressed, explained and cc them to several both within your own circle, and there's. Don't leave anything undocumented.

-Keep phone records and voice mails. They can be your best friend. ;)

-Carry a recorder if you can, or use an app from a smart phone and ask that they speak into it so it's crystal clear.

-Ask for a tour at a spontaneous time.

-Be there to see a real full fledged all the way Doctor assess your child. (We believe it is too serious to be a student project, another opinion.) and again ..follow your gut. Doctors aren't Gods and in a state of helplessness we may look for help -- but shall we learn and hope others will do better.

-If the doctor/administrator is annoyed by you asking too many questions, we believe that's a red flag. We believe in your right to fully understand what is happened or happening with your child. If they toss their lawyer at you for all questions--we believe that's a bully tactic to get you to stop asking questions. That's when state agencies, your insurance company etc,.. may need to be contacted. And that's why your documentation, voice messages, etc..will be your ally.

-Free assessments--haven't we all learned, nothing is free?

-Our opinion, we wished we would have paid well regarded, experienced doctor to assess. Hopefully, they will refer you for proper care, or save you from over care. We believe if a child is not in an emergency situation, there is time to find a qualified professional to do an assesment.

-Our opinion-- hospitalization is a last resort, not a first, especially if a child has not been assessed by a qualified professional and is not in an emergency.

-Our opinion as parents , not professionals...that setting can be difficult for some children, in our opinion and we believe care should be taken to ensure the program is right for them before putting them in it. And as parents, we are the ones who must take that care and educate ourselves and talk to other qualified resources to do the best due diligence we can. Parents should use caution in trusting that everything is what they are being pushed to--our job is to verify.

-Our opinion, avoid doctors who have stopped learning-- and avoid the ones with much to learn. Our opinion --your child deserves an experienced Doctor to treat them as an individual to be discovered and through that process, both you, your child and your Doctor may be able to find a more gentle way.

--You are your child's best advocate--and no matter what path you take, document, take pictures, get everything in writing.

-Research the medications and interactions, and don't expect you will be told,, we learned the hard way.

-Doctors cannot force you to agree to medications, although in our opinion, some think they can, or at minimum think they know best. You are the advocate, they are your advisor. And they are people. All people make mistakes. If you have a doctor or situation who thinks they are mistake proof--run. Our opinion.

Personal anecdote unrelated to Prairie Care---Years ago in a different state, I went into pre-eclampsia (I didn't know that's what was happening but sure felt poorly) due to a blood condition and it impacted me early in my pregnancy, my OB was not available, so I went to my regular family doctor.
He sent me home to rest, and despite some red flags-told me to come back the next day if I still had a problem.
Did I ever, I was going downhill fast.
My OB was infuriated that I was sent home and I spent the rest of the pregancy on bed-rest, in and out of the hospital. I was really, really sick.
My family doctor came to see me and said he was sorry.. He remained my doctor and my children's doctor for years and is now a teacher.
The fact that he could admit it, learn from it, act like a real person and treat me like a friend, to me...said he was the best doctor for me. Warts and all--he knows he's human and he learned from it and never stopped learning. What works for you may be different. But I offer my opinion as a parent, and perhaps a parent may do better from it.

I don't expect perfection because I will be set up for disappointment, no one is perfect, not me and not you.
I have to admit though, I don't like responsibility avoiders, & I really don't like bullies. I don't back down to bullies, although sometimes I will admit, it's hard to do. They can be tough.

Another anecdote--a couple years ago one of my kids became ill, it seemed like a cold or flu. But when the fever really spiked, and OTC didn't bring it down, I brought him in. We were sent home with the --it's just a virus, give it a few days.

More days passed and he didn't seem to me to be improving, sure the OTC brought the fever down--but it went right back up when they wore off. So we went back. They ran tests..all negative. I asked if we could check for others--but they said the signs weren't there--and sent us away again.

More days--brought him back, got a nurse practioner who insisted it was a virus..at this point I was adamant that there was something more, I could see it in his eyes. I wanted more tests for an infection, even suggested lyme disease. She refused. I left with my child--trying to decide where to go next.

But then the bullseye rash appeared. The hallmark of Lyme's. He was treated, finally. And yes, the test was positive for Lyme's.

I swore after that I would trust my instincts and expect better. There are still things I am learning as a parent, and I know I don't have a medical background--but I am sure, I know my kid best. And I suspect you as a parent do to. I hope you don't forget that.

Just a few opinion from a parent who wished they had that hindsight.

And that's why this is here.. Free speech opinion. Some won't like it- but some don't like Prairie Care. Some do.

It's about knowing that you as a parent are not alone..and we hope your due diligence and trust but verify skills will be in high use.

It's a tough decision--and some may do ok there. It's not our call, it's yours.

And it's just one parent's opinion.

We wish you the best and will update soon with all the links to where complaints can be filed. Hopefully, you will not need them, but there's so much, we will attempt to offer a clearinghouse of sorts.

"Sometimes, even if you lose, you win."
Elie Weisel

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Prairie Care Sucks (Maple Grove and Edina) is not affiliated with Prairie Care Hospital in Clinic Services and is strictly a parent's opinion of the care and billing practices based on our own unique experiences. Some of the sites listed may reference that organization, we believe all parents are entitled to their own opinion and research and expect that some may be content, and find that a good fit.

As always, we encourage parents to get everything in writing, everything. Just our opinion as parents and not health care providers, students, or administrators.

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Stonewalling and you

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Overbilling and you

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Some Organizations

Monday, February 11, 2013

Overtreatment in Health Care

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Does Prairie Care suck!?