UHS’ mission, which has been our guiding principle since 1979, is founded on quality patient care. As such, we are committed to being compassionate and responsive to the needs of our patients and their families, and utilize evidence-based therapies and treatments to best support those in our care.
Fast Facts:
- All UHS’ RTFs in the U.S. are fully accredited by widely respected, independent organizations, including The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
- UHS RTFs generally receive a minimum of one annual licensing inspection and most states also have unannounced random inspections in which confidential interviews of patients are conducted, facility tours and milieu observations are completed, clinical documentation is reviewed, and personnel and training files are audited.
- Staffing ratios are also routinely checked, as are compliance with many other service delivery areas (e.g., prescribing practices, medication administration, educational services, among others.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) RTF audits are completed a minimum of every 5 years, although CMS may conduct complaint surveys at any time. CMS RTF surveys consist of detailed reviews of all policies and procedures pertaining to restraint and seclusion practices. Surveyors also review medical records to ensure documentation are aligned with CMS RTF regulations.
- All UHS RTFs are required to be in compliance with the regulatory requirements for “Inpatient Psychiatric Services for Individuals Under Age 21 in Psychiatric Facilities or Programs.” 42 C.F.R. § 441.150–441.184 (2019).
“The service that they provide and the results that they are getting working with families and the people it needs to help, it’s amazing”
Johnson County Mayor at opening of Mountain Youth Academy’s
new replacement building in January 2024 [1]
Clinical Outcomes
UHS continually monitors and evaluates our care services to identify opportunities to improve the quality of our programs. This includes collecting feedback from patients, parents/guardians and/or clinicians through various assessment tools at the time of admission as well as upon discharge.
In 2023, at least 80% of participating patients/informants from our residential treatment programs experienced statistically meaningful improvement on patient and informant symptom rating scales:
| Program Type by Instrument[2] | # Patients Where Change Able to be Calculated | % With Meaningful Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Adolescent Residential Program | ||
| BPRS-C-9 | 1,302 | 82% |
| CABA-I | 2,560 | 85% |
| CABA-Y | 4,605 | 81% |
| Children Residential Program | ||
| BPRS-C-9 | 98 | 81% |
| CABA-I | 289 | 93% |
| CABA-Y | 197 | 82% |
UHS also calculates a facility’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) based on responses to, “How likely would you be to recommend our facility to a friend or family member?” On the NPS scale of -100 to 100, our Residential Programs’ collective scores (29.69 and 39.66, respectively) in 2023 are considered “Good” and “Great”.
| Program Type | # Patients Where NPS Able to be Calculated | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Adolescent Residential Program | 6,045 | 29.69 |
| Children Residential Program | 348 | 39.66 |
“We are greatful for Natchez and the miracle working staff. Our 15 year old was unreachable before Natchez. He had so many behaviors that were leading him to some life altering diagnosis. He had been in the unruly program and just wouldn’t change until Natchez. Everyone there held him to account and made him deal with his stuff. He went in an angry self destructive kid with no hope in himself to a smiling, responsible sweet natured young man I always knew was I there. We have hope in our home and we are a full family again. This wouldn’t have been possible without Natchez. Ms. M., Ms. A. and especially Ms. T. brought our son back to us.”
T.D. 4/6/24
Educational Services /Outcomes
UHS facilities’ educational services are committed to preparing every learner for a successful transition back to their traditional school setting and post-secondary opportunities.
Fast Facts:
- UHS partners with the appropriate state and local education agencies to thoughtfully plan and allocate educational resources at our RTFs. Educational services may be provided by a local education agency (LEA), or by a charter school or non-public school authorized to operate by the state.
- Programs typically use state-specific curriculum frameworks, designed to offer transferrable course credit and grades, and to meet the special education needs of children with individualized education plans (IEPs).
- UHS facilities comply with all applicable state education requirements for compliance reviews and are staffed by credentialed teachers as well as non-licensed support staff as required by the individualized needs of each school program.
- Many of our academic programs are nationally accredited by Cognia, one of the nation’s leading accreditation bodies for K-12 education.
- UHS Best in Class Academic Accountability System measures and reports on the academic achievement for continuous performance improvement.
In 2023, UHS academic programs had 136 students complete their high school requirements; almost 50% of whom went to college, while 1/3 entered the workforce.
Provo Canyon School had one largest graduating classes among UHS facilities in 2023. Of their 14 graduates:
- 6 advanced to college
- 6 entered the workforce
- 1 is pursuing a vocation
- 1 is participating in Job Corps career training program
Collectively, UHS’ educational programs across all UHS’ behavioral health facilities earned high satisfaction scores from parents and/or guardians:
| 2023 | |
|---|---|
| % of Parents/Guardians Who Agree the Academic Staff Truly Cares About Their Child | 85% (n=1,326) |
| % of Parents/Guardians Who Were Satisfied with the Facilities’ Educational Program | 82% (n=1,323) |
“I was an unmedicated Bi-polar teenager and was struggling with severe anxiety and depression. I was going downhill fast. Cedar Springs and the Southgate school were the blessings I needed. I started the school year while I was in Cedar Springs hospital. I was so scared that my education would come to a standstill, but it did the complete opposite. I was a senior excepted to graduate in May of 2024 but with the support of the techs, therapists, and the staff at Southgate school I was able to graduate in December of 2023 and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the unconditional support of the staff. In the beginning I was scared it was my second residential facility I didn’t have any faith or hope left I was mentally done. There was a mental health tech, she was a wonderful and helped me so much. I had a hard day, and I was down. I told her I was ready to give up. I was ready to quit, and I wanted to die. She looked at me and said, “we will care about you until you care about yourself and even then, every person in this hospital will continue to wish the best for you and we will do that for every patient here even after your long gone and living your best life”. This really stuck to me and showed me that there are people who care. I began to truly be motivated and ready to better myself. ”
– Former student at Cedar Springs’ Southgate School, Jan 2024
[1] https://wcyb.com/news/local/multi-million-dollar-youth-trauma-center-opens-in-mountain-city (News 5, January 10, 2024)
[2] SOURCES: Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children 9-item (BPRS-C-9), Child and Adolescent Behavioral Assessment Informant (CABA-I) and Child and Adolescent Behavioral Assessment Youth (CABA-Y)