There is inconsistent attention to its facilities. Porter Hospital's campus is large. The main hospital is maintained well and has had extensive remodeling in public-facing areas including the cafeteria, ER waiting room, and and main atrium. However, many parts of the facility are neglected entirely, including the behavioral health units and the outpatient Centre for Behavioral Health.
The outpatient Centre for Behavioral Health located across Harvard on Downing is in dire need of refurbishment, but the Company has refused to invest in it for decades. There is literally rust dripping from the outside of the building onto white paint. The inside of the building hasn't been touched since the eighties, except for some minor configuration changes in one hallway. One day we literally found a letter from OSHA warning us that asbestos was found in the building and that we must take care not to disturb it. Our management sent us a memo telling us to make sure we did not kick any tears in the (30+ year old carpet) because it would activate asbestos. The OSHA memo stated that Porter had failed to respond to the complaints that asbestos was found in the building and thus was posting a public notification.
The air conditioning in the Outpatient Behavioral Health building is broken most of the time, and the building smells like a combination of mold and moth balls. Most of the rooms do not have windows. The patient consult rooms are in the basement (accessible to wheelchairs by ramp) while management sits up top in the non-ADA accessible area, locked away from its employees.
Many clients remark that if they weren't feeling depressed, the dingy carpet with holes (remember, don't kick it, we know about asbestos!), the dim lighting, the Golden Girls Wallpaper, moth ball smell, and rusting away exterior would make them depressed.
The condition of the facility has been brought to the attention of Centura several times, with no action taken. Instead, they are planning on remodeling the already modern cafeteria, as the behavioral health patient care area endures decades of neglect.
Compare the center to any other unit, such as oncology ward or joint replacement clinics, or the brand-new CHPG at Porter, or the sports rehabilitation clinics. You'll see modern architectural details with new stylish surroundings, plush furniture, indoor fountains and waterfalls. These are the areas the hospital makes money.
Go to the Adjacent Porter Centre for Behavioral Health and you will get a clear picture of what is wrong with mental health care in America. It is neglected, pushed to the side, in a basement. It doesn't generate big numbers like cancer, so it continues to decline. It is embarassing to have to explain to patients why the building is in this condition, and they are left feeling second-rate and stigmatized for needing mental health care.
I would recommend those seeking behavioral health care visit their County Mental Health facilities. They are much more modern and will allow you to keep your dignity intact.
Centura's willful neglect of its behavioral health facilities stigmatizes those who require treatment, but they seem to have no intention of turning that around. It is embarassing.
