Fairview Ridges Review
Fairview Ridges is a 30-year-old, full-service hospital in the Minnesota River Valley, one of seven in the Fairview network. The company partnered with the University of Minnesota in 1997, which has allowed them to expand their services to more people. All told, Fairview treats over 70,000 inpatient clients a year. Fairview Ridges is one of the company’s behavioral health offerings, providing chemical dependency and dual diagnosis treatment on both inpatient and outpatient levels.
Accommodations and Food
Fairview Ridges’ main campus is in central Minneapolis on the banks of the Mississippi River. Medical detox, inpatient and outpatient care are all offered in different areas of the hospital’s huge campus. There are also additional outpatient services available at satellite offices in Burnsville, Crystal, Edina and Forest Lake.
Clients are separated into units according to which program they are in, namely detox, basic residential or dual diagnosis. Most inpatient residents sleep two to a room with a shared bathroom; while there are a few individual rooms available, there may be a wait for them. The overall environment is not especially homey or distinct; all bedrooms and group rooms are comfortable but clinical. Clients eat meals served buffet-style three times a day in the hospital cafeteria.
Treatment and Staff
Medical detox is reserved for those experiencing acute withdrawal symptoms. Clients are under 24-hour a day observation by nurses and doctors. Clients also receive a psychosocial evaluation from a trained counselor, who helps them to determine the next step. Many clients continue with further treatment, whether that means one of Fairview Ridges’ residential programs or one of their outpatient facilities.
The basic residential option is known as Lodging Plus, a 21-day group-oriented treatment program. There are five groups available there, two for men, two for women and one co-ed; these are also segregated by age, with the co-ed group reserved for seniors. Each is facilitated by two counselors at a time and can accommodate up to 14 clients.
The only time all the residents come together for group therapy is during educational lectures in the dining hall. Even though Lodging Plus is for the newly sober, clients in the program are responsible for maintaining their own schedules. The staff don’t shuttle residents to group or individual therapy—the onus is on them to show up on time.
Clients with chemical addictions who also present significant mental illness may be better served by Fairview Ridges’ dual disorder program, as it offers closer monitoring by nurses and medical staff. Residents in this track spend the majority of their time in group psychotherapy, though both Lodging Plus and the dual disorder program introduced clients to 12-step philosophy and literature.
Fairview Ridges has all licensed counselors with a client-to-staff ratio of approximately seven-to-one. Including medical and administrative staff, however, this ratio is a more favorable four-to-one.
Worth noting is that the inpatient programs here are somewhat short, and as a result many clients choose to continue treatment in an outpatient setting. Again, there is a specific outpatient path for dual diagnosis clients (the Mental Illness Chemical Dependency or MICD track), as well as regular chemical dependency groups.
The MICD program is three months long. MICD clients come to co-ed group therapy three hours a day, five days a week. They get to choose between morning group, which meets between 9 am and noon, and afternoon group, which meets between 11 am and 2 pm. Some groups are completely mental health oriented, while others are aimed specifically at recovery from addiction. Some discussion-based sessions combine the two, allowing clients to share the specific challenges of coping with depression, anxiety, bi-polar and other disorders in sobriety. All the above are run by counselors, while a psychiatrist oversees overall progress. As with Fairview Ridges inpatient programs, clients are educated about 12-step philosophy and encouraged to get involved in local meetings.
There are three phases to the standard outpatient program—the first is what many recovery programs term intensive outpatient (IOP). There are three sets of groups offered in IOP, namely day groups, evening groups and senior groups. Seniors come two days a week, two hours a day, for 10 successive weeks. Non-seniors in day groups come three to four days a week for two hours each, for a total 20 sessions. Those who choose the evening program attend between two and four times a week for the same time, and also for 20 sessions. Phase one lasts five or six weeks for the day program, and five to 10 weeks for the evening version.
All phase one clients receive some of the same treatment. As with all Fairview Ridges recovery programs, group therapy is the primary method. Educational sessions can cover topics like addiction and its neurological effects, interpersonal relationships, family dynamics and relapse prevention. There are also 12-step based and gender-specific groups available; clients arrange for one-on-ones with their individual counselors, and can also invite family to these sessions for family therapy. In phase two of this program (called Recovery Management), clients attend groups once a week for 12 weeks.
Extras
The third phase, called Growth Group, is essentially aftercare. For those who have completed the first two phases, this stage consists of a free weekly group session run by alumni, all dedicated to discussing the challenges of sobriety.
Fairview Ridges likes to involve families in their recovery plans. When outpatient clients begin the first phase of outpatient care, family and friends are invited to a discussion designed just for them. This is known as the Concerned Persons Program, which meets weekly for 10 to 12 weeks.
In Summary
Fairview Ridges is unique in catering to senior citizens, and may be an especially good fit for older clients looking to connect with their peers. In addition, the inclusion of gender specific treatment groups, a dual diagnosis track and a specialized friends and family group makes this a viable option for recovery.
Fairview Ridges Location
2450 Riverside Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Fairview Ridges Cost
$19,530 (21 days). Reach Fairview Ridges by phone at (612) (612)-672-2736 or by email. Find Fairview Ridges on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn
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