Complaint Review: SUNFLOWER LANDING

BEWARE OF SUNFLOWER LANDING IN MISSISSIPPI

If your child has a dual diagnosis, I would not recommend sending him to Sunflower Landing located in Dublin (Tutwiler), Mississippi. This facility is located in the Delta area of Mississippi and was suggested by my childs probation counselor whom had not previously referred anyone else prior to my child to my knowledge. So I decided to give it a try. Sunflower Landing is supposed to be a facility that treats adolescents with substance abuse issues. Prior to becoming admitted to Sunflower Landing (S.L.), my child was diagnosed with ADHD, Depression and used marijuana to mask these issues. So the staff should be well aware of the issues of each child. However, some of the staff members are either incompetent or unconcerned about doing their job effectively. For instance, all school work is done online and my child needed to work towards getting his high school diploma but there were some things my child did not understand and needed help on. He stated that when he asked for something to be explained to him the staff, Ms. Etheridge, tried to belittle him or talk down to him, so he rarely asked for help afterwards. My child complained to me about this issue, but I know that he still had marijuana in his system and was prescribed medication for ADHD and depression prior to admittance so I considered this was still part of the issue. He had only been there for a couple of weeks. The first week he was there he talked back to the staff and did not want to listen to them. There were issues and after speaking to the Director, they usually try to deal with the expected combative behavior of the residents who are new.

After he had been there two weeks I was able to visit him and he told me during that first week, he told me he became upset when his counselor, Mr. Hamilton, said to him Hey boy dont you hear me talking to you? in an angry voice because my son did not want to listen or talk about his behavior at the time. (Mr. Hamilton is European and my child is of the Original race.) I informed my son that there are several ways someone can interpret that phrase since you are a minor. However, my child has also lived in the North (New York and New Jersey area) and is well aware when someone is talking down to him or using racial undertones. I have always taught him not to turn a blind eye when confronted with racism and I told him I would speak with the Director about that issue and encouraged him to focus on his treatment.

On October 12, 2012, at this time, I can safely say that my child was trying to comply with his treatment but was still having medical issues that had not been addressed by the staff. I was given too much red tape from the staff of S.L. about getting my child evaluated for ongoing migraines. It took at least 1 month before he could see the psychiatrist in that area. I spoke with Nurse Camy (whom she was introduced as during my childs admittance) at S.L. and she told me that she was unable to give my child any OTC medications and was advised to get his previous Dr. to call and give authorization. However, his previous Dr. (3 hours away) needed to see my child to change his meds. My child was crying and complaining to the staff about the migraines. He said they told him they would allow him to go to the sick room and rest but they never did allow him to go. He sat in the hallway for 3-4 hours and said they continued to walk past him. Obviously, they did not believe he had a migraine or did not care. From my perspective in light of other incidents that occurred, I have no doubt that both matters are true. I would understand if he did not have a diagnosis for migraines prior to his admission and the staff had doubts, but he was admitted with documented with diagnosis for this condition. The staff is unorganized because when I spoke with the Director, K.Steinriede, she stated, We do not have a nurse. WOW! Is all I could say.

October 27, 2012, during my visit to the facility, my child appeared upset and told me that during their morning exercises, he informed the house parent that his leg was injured. (He injured it about a week ago during a soccer game). He was ignored and told to continue to exercise on his leg. On Monday, I addressed the issue with his counselor, Mr. Benny, and he stated, There is nothing wrong with him he just needs to do what he is supposed to do. I told him, How is that possible if he medical issues that have not been addressed? Besides that, how can you safely say there is nothing wrong with his leg since you are not a doctor? I was so tired of the staff saying that the children will try anything to get out of doing what they are supposed to do. It is pure ignorance to disregard medical issues and try to put everyone in that category. They (staff) need to address the issue first and stop using an excuse not to do their job. I have also began to realize that the teachers just boring and lack the enthusiasm to teach and simply want to sit back and let the computer solely educate each child. Some of the staff also project  a negative bias toward non Europeans. My child told me he was also angry because in class, the staff tried to teach them that all Black people originated from Europeons.  I had to say WOW again because I realized the racism is surfacing again. I knew they couldnt indoctrinate him with that ignorance no matter how many drugs were in his system.