Dr. Aaron Wilson
Chief Medical Officer, listed in the same post under six other group clinics and programmes
The Meadows Wickenburg
Wickenburg,
The Meadows
A fifty-year trauma institution on fourteen open desert acres, where shared rooms are the stated default and the group is the treatment.
AssessedThe clinic has a full assessment in this edition: all ten criteria scored, each with its reasoning, its sources with capture dates, and the gaps we could not close.
Rank #67The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 36The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.TiedAnother clinic has the same public score and shares this rank.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 36
About The Meadows
The Meadows states on its own site that its shared rooms encourage connection and mutual support among residents. That sentence is the clinic, and it is a clinical position rather than an economy: the whole model assumes clients will meet each other. It is a fourteen-acre inpatient campus in Wickenburg, Arizona, an hour from Phoenix, the oldest and best known of the Wickenburg treatment cluster, and the flagship brand of a private-equity-owned group. Its clinical identity is the Meadows Model, a developmental-trauma and codependency framework developed on site and carried by a bench of named Senior Fellows. Treatment is group-heavy, milieu-based and delivered on an open, unlocked campus with dozens of beds, with monitored detox and twenty-four hour medical supervision on site. It is a high-volume, insurance-driven clinical institution with real standing in the American addiction field, and it is the opposite of a discreet private residence.
Clinic overview
- Founded
- The group's own fiftieth-anniversary release of 10 March 2026 and a company history record give 1976, and the clinic's own About page says only that it has run for over 50 years. A commercial directory listing gives 1980. Both figures are on the record and neither is preferred here.
- Capacity
- The clinic publishes no occupancy or bed count. The Arizona state licence register records a maximum licensed capacity of 168 for the Wickenburg inpatient facility, a commercial directory gives more than 50 beds, and neither could be confirmed against a register that would render for this work. Accommodation is shared by default. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Languages
- English. No other language offering is published, and the only listing found records English alone. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Licence
- The clinic states that it is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services as a behavioral health inpatient facility and accredited by The Joint Commission. Monitored detox with twenty-four hour medical supervision is delivered on site. No licence number could be confirmed: the state provider search and the accreditor's locator returned no record for this work. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Accreditations
- The Joint Commission, under Behavioral Health Care and Human Services, as stated by the clinic. The clinic also publishes NAATP membership, participation in FORSE outcomes research, Veteran Ready certification, a SAMHSA listing and LegitScript verification, which are memberships and listings rather than clinical accreditations. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Payment and insurance
- In and out of network with major commercial carriers. The admissions page names Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is named elsewhere on the site. Payment plans and financing are offered, and the final figure is stated to be determined by the carrier.
- Length of stay
- The clinic publishes no figure and states that inpatient length is set by each client's needs and progress. The most specific outside listing gives about 45 days; other listings give 28 to 35 days, and the clinic describes a five-week signature model. UnverifiedStated by the clinic, not yet confirmed by an independent source
- Address
- 1655 N Tegner Street, Wickenburg, United States
Leadership
The clinic names nine people for the Wickenburg site on its own team page, and separately publishes a faculty of Senior Fellows who train staff and shape curriculum across every brand in the group. The public identity rests on the faculty rather than on the site medical staff.
Bill Reynolds, PA-C
Psychiatric Provider and Program Leader, Unbroken
The Meadows Wickenburg
Cresta Conlee, BSN, RN, PMH-BC
Director of Nursing
The Meadows Wickenburg
Breanna Mylius, LPC
Clinical Director, The Meadows
The Meadows Wickenburg
Jerry L. Law, DMin, CMAT, CSAT, CIP
Vice President of Inpatient Programming, also listed under two other group sites
The Meadows Wickenburg
Shauna Scott, BSN, RN
Assistant Director of Nursing
The Meadows Wickenburg
Brittni Sunbury, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C
Nurse Practitioner
The Meadows Wickenburg
Joell Menefee
Assistant Clinical Director
The Meadows Wickenburg
Kristen Burnsmith
Assistant Clinical Director of Trauma Resolution
The Meadows Wickenburg
Claudia Black, PhD, MSW
Senior Fellow, group faculty; clinical architect for the young adult centre
Senior Fellows
Patrick Carnes, PhD, CAS
Senior Fellow, group faculty; architect of the Gentle Path programme
Senior Fellows
Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; expertise on post-traumatic stress disorder
Senior Fellows
Peter Levine, PhD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; developer of a method applied in programmes
Senior Fellows
Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP
Senior Fellow, group faculty; psychodrama expertise
Senior Fellows
Kevin McCauley, MD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; expertise on substance use disorders
Senior Fellows
Laurence Heller, PhD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; founder of a model used in treatment
Senior Fellows
Stefanie Carnes, PhD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; clinical architect for the Willow Healing Center programme
Senior Fellows
Richard Schwartz, PhD
Senior Fellow, group faculty; developer of a method used in treatment
Senior Fellows
No professional registration numbers are published for any named individual, and no Arizona register could be read to confirm one.
Videos
Treatments
The Meadows inpatient programme
About 45 days typical, set by clinical need
-
The flagship adult trauma and addiction programme. Monitored detox where clinically indicated, then a group-intensive residential phase built on the Meadows Model, working developmental trauma and codependency alongside the presenting addiction, with a family week and continuing-care planning.
Monitored detox
Clinically determined
Integrated into the inpatient admission
Twenty-four hour medically supervised withdrawal management delivered on the Wickenburg campus, so a client needing detox does not change sites. It is part of the inpatient admission rather than a separately sold programme.
Outpatient and intensive outpatient
From about eight weeks
-
Step-down through the group's outpatient centres across several states, giving the group a continuum that most single-site competitors cannot match. It is planned during the residential stay rather than arranged at discharge.
Prices
No public price found.
Our assessment
This is the widest review base in the ranking and the weakest rating. It sits on a substantial, organic corpus rather than a thin one, which makes it a real signal and not noise. There is no attribution problem and no authenticity problem: the corpus belongs to this location rather than to a parent institution or a sibling brand, and the distribution is bimodal, many fives and many ones, which is characteristic of genuine high-volume residential treatment rather than of manipulation. Read correctly, this is not a clinic with a few disgruntled reviewers. It is a clinic that produces two very different experiences at scale. On litigation and regulatory standing: deposition transcripts from wrongful-death litigation over a 2004 inpatient death, published online by an advocacy website, include clinical testimony about the number of clients on site with suicidal ideation at any one time and testimony describing an unlocked, unsecured acute unit. That is testimony given in litigation, not a finding by a court, and no outcome of the case was found. A 2018 federal negligence suit is also on the record with no final outcome found. No current regulatory action was found, and the state licence and the accreditation are described by the clinic as current. The clinic publishes its own outcome figures for programme completion, condition at one year and abstinence at one year. None carries independent audit.
This is the widest review base in the ranking and the weakest rating. It sits on a substantial, organic corpus rather than a thin one, which makes it a real signal and not noise. There is no attribution problem and no authenticity problem: the corpus belongs to this location rather than to a parent institution or a sibling brand, and the distribution is bimodal, many fives and many ones, which is characteristic of genuine high-volume residential treatment rather than of manipulation. Read correctly, this is not a clinic with a few disgruntled reviewers. It is a clinic that produces two very different experiences at scale. On litigation and regulatory standing: deposition transcripts from wrongful-death litigation over a 2004 inpatient death, published online by an advocacy website, include clinical testimony about the number of clients on site with suicidal ideation at any one time and testimony describing an unlocked, unsecured acute unit. That is testimony given in litigation, not a finding by a court, and no outcome of the case was found. A 2018 federal negligence suit is also on the record with no final outcome found. No current regulatory action was found, and the state licence and the accreditation are described by the clinic as current. The clinic publishes its own outcome figures for programme completion, condition at one year and abstinence at one year. None carries independent audit.
Press coverage is extensive and long-standing, and frequently framed around celebrity rather than clinical quality. National and local outlets have profiled the campus, and one feature covered the town's status as the densest cluster of residential treatment centres in the United States with this clinic at the centre.
None claimed and none found.
Facility
A fourteen-acre campus in Wickenburg, in the Sonoran Desert about an hour by road from downtown Phoenix, institutional rather than residential in character. The published amenity set is a detox unit with twenty-four hour medical supervision, group therapy rooms, a cafeteria, an art room, a gallery space, a pool and lounge, a gym, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, desert grounds and mountain views. Accommodation is explicitly shared, on the clinic's own stated rationale that shared rooms encourage connection and mutual support. A third-party listing reports private or shared room options with en suite bathrooms and air conditioning, which is unverified. Deposition testimony in past litigation described an open, unlocked campus philosophy, and nothing on the current site contradicts it. The campus is comfortable, well maintained and well equipped for a clinical institution. It is not a villa and it does not present itself as one.
Food
An on-site cafeteria is the published dining model. No executive chef is named, no nutritionist-led personalised menu programme is published, no dietary or micronutrient testing appears on the clinic's own site or on any listing found, and no gourmet credential is claimed. Nutrition education appears as part of the therapeutic curriculum rather than as a culinary offering. Food is not positioned as part of what this clinic sells, and the record reflects that rather than any evidence of poor catering.
Privacy
shared setting
The strongest separation level established here is one-to-one therapy inside a group programme that is the treatment rather than an adjunct. Single occupancy per residence is not met, and no client contact is not met. Privacy here is structurally poor by design, and that is the honest story of this clinic. The mechanics: shared rooms are the stated default, on the clinic's own published rationale that they encourage connection and mutual support. The campus is open and unlocked, with dozens of beds, and deposition testimony described that as a deliberate philosophy rather than a lapse. Every communal space is shared, with no duplication of facilities and no separation of client cohorts. Group work is the core modality, placing clients in rooms with each other by clinical intent several times a day. Arrival, transport and departure protocols are not published. No clinic-side leak was found. The clinic maintains a standard privacy policy and declines to confirm or deny any admission, and local press restraint is reported. Against that, this clinic has drawn more press attention to reported high-profile admissions than any other in the ranking. None of it is evidenced as a clinic-side breach and no confidentiality action against the clinic was found. The point is not that the clinic leaked. The point is that an open campus of this size, running shared rooms and group therapy in a town of roughly seven thousand people that national media watch, exposes clients by design: to each other, in numbers, and to anyone who chooses to watch the gate.
Assessed 2026-10-01
Rank #67The clinic's position by public score in this edition.Public score 36The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements.TiedAnother clinic has the same public score and shares this rank.
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score. · 36
Headline basis: Public evidenceThe headline number is the public score, not the extended score., LROAS 1.0.0, edition 2026-10-01
Public-evidence total: 36
The sum of the ten criterion scores, from 10 to 100, using evidence anyone can check, including the clinic's own pages as self-declared statements. For the licence element of C2 only, it can also use an authority ruling held in our sealed evidence room. It is the only number used for the rank.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium. ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: C10.
- C1 Client separation and occupancy · 2
The clinic's location page presents shared rooms as the default, on its own rationale that they encourage connection and mutual support, and the inpatient programme runs daily group sessions and peer support meetings, so shared bedrooms plus core group work set band 2. No private-room option appears on the clinic's own pages, so band 3's requirement that all bedrooms be private is not met. The clinic publishes no capacity figure of its own, so no contradiction deduction arises.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Sources (4 cited items):- The Meadows: Location page: "shared rooms" that "encourage connection and mutual support among residents"; amenities list group rooms, cafeteria, art room and Claudia Black Center gallery space, gym, pool and lounge, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts; 14-acre campus.
- The Meadows: Inpatient and residential treatment page: "daily group sessions, peer support meetings, educational activities, and one-on-one therapy", with the 12-step approach integrated.
- The Meadows: What to bring page: personal electronic devices and communication may be limited during treatment; laptops and smartwatches to be left at home.
- azcarecheck.azdhs.gov: Arizona DHS licensing records (AZ Care Check facility and inspection pages; ADHS provider search): AZ Care Check renders a JavaScript shell with no data, ADHS provider search HTTP 403; Register not retrievable.
- C2 Clinical governance and medical cover · 6
The Arizona DHS AZ Care Check record for licence IFBH6910 places the licensed facility at 1655 N Tegner Street, Wickenburg, and the Joint Commission holds an accreditation record for The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. for behavioural health care. The team page lists a physician Chief Medical Officer under the Wickenburg section, and on-site medically monitored detox is published. Licence, medical lead and two further elements (on-site detox, accreditation) give band 6. Band 7 needs a third further element: overnight cover is described as 24-hour nursing only, no physician non-psychiatric care is stated for this site, no escalation hospital is named, and no defined complex psychiatry programme is published.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- In 2021 to 2024 archived team pages listed a non-physician in the Chief Medical Officer title; the current listing is a physician.
- The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.
Sources (8 cited items):- jointcommission.org: Joint Commission provider locator record for "The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc.", behavioral health care and human services; partially verified via search index (direct fetch HTTP 403).
- hsapps.azdhs.gov: Arizona DHS ADHS provider search for "Meadows": HTTP 403, Register not retrievable.
- The Meadows: Team page, section "The Meadows Wickenburg": Chief Medical Officer (physician), Vice President of Inpatient Programming, Psychiatric Provider and Program Leader (Unbroken), Director of Nursing, Clinical Director, two Assistant Clinical Directors, Assistant Director of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner.
- The Meadows: Inpatient page: "on-site medical detox with 24/7 nursing support".
- The Meadows: Location page: monitored detox with "24/7 medical supervision".
- The Meadows: Group approach page: "physician-led psychiatric and medical care", medication management, medication-assisted treatment, interventional psychiatric care, on-site pharmacy services (group-wide, no site stated).
- azcarecheck.azdhs.gov: Licensed-address record: AZ Care Check licence IFBH6910 places the licensed facility at 1655 N Tegner Street, Wickenburg.
- azcarecheck.azdhs.gov: Place of care named as: The Meadows, 1655 N. Tegner Street, Wickenburg, AZ 85390 (also Willow Healing Center and Claudia Black Young Adult Center)
- C3 Diagnostic depth on admission · 3
One element is met: a physician reviews medication that clients bring in on admission. Admission otherwise runs through screening and insurance verification coordinated by the admissions team with no assessor named, and no psychiatric, laboratory, physical or psychometric assessment protocol is published for the inpatient programme. The clinical laboratory listed among licensed services is a service category, not an admission laboratory panel.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (4 cited items):- The Meadows: Admissions page, six steps: initial contact; screening process ("comprehensive evaluation" of needs); insurance verification; personalized treatment plan; admission scheduling; arrival and orientation. No assessor named.
- The Meadows: What to bring page: prescriptions in original containers, "our physician will review them", 72-hour supply, refills handled by the clinic.
- The Meadows: Brain Center page: neurofeedback, cranial electrotherapy stimulation, heart-rate variability biofeedback, audio-visual stimulation; no diagnostic assessment stated.
- The Meadows: Inpatient mental health page: clinical evaluations and insurance verification coordinated by the admissions team; treatment plans individualised.
- C4 Clinical intensity · 3
Individual therapy is offered alongside daily group sessions with no session count, one-to-one hours or group share published, which places the clinic at the band for individual therapy with no count. Clinical and nursing leadership serve the whole campus population and no team dedicated to one client is published. Length of stay is set by the treatment team with no figure published.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: low
Sources (3 cited items):- The Meadows: Inpatient and residential page: "daily group sessions, peer support meetings, educational activities, and one-on-one therapy".
- The Meadows: Length of stay page: inpatient length determined by individual needs and progress, set by the treatment team; no figure published.
- The Meadows: Inpatient page: "on-site medical detox with 24/7 nursing support".
- C5 Continuity and aftercare · 6
Five elements are met: continuing care planned during the stay, a step-down continuum into the operator's partial hospitalisation and intensive outpatient programmes across several states, the MBH Onward alumni programme with outreach at day one, week one, month one and 90 days, family programming, and post-discharge workshop intensives. No aftercare duration, written discharge plan or psychiatric follow-up is published, which keeps the clinic below band 7.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Sources (4 cited items):- The Meadows: Length of stay page: continuum of "detox, stabilization, inpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, and in-person or virtual intensive outpatient care, along with workshops, aftercare support, and a strong alumni program"; step-down programming designed for those not ready to exit treatment.
- The Meadows: Alumni page: MBH Onward, recovery coaching, daily virtual groups, outreach calls at day one, week one, month one and 90 days, all free for graduates except Alumni Weekend.
- The Meadows: For families page: outpatient programmes offer weekly family groups; Rio Retreat Center family workshops as additional support.
- The Meadows: Admissions page: outpatient programmes typically begin at 8 weeks.
- C6 Admission integrity and commercial conduct · 4
The sweep of the group's domains found no ranking of clinics, no paid recognition presented as independent and no content addressed to AI assistants: the llms file is a generated page index and the ai-instructions path returns 404. The landing-page line calling the clinic the most trusted name in trauma and addiction treatment is self-description with no ranking of other clinics. No positive signal is published: no price for any level of care, no referral-fee position, no declining policy and no voluntary-admission statement. A clean sweep without a positive signal is band 4.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: low
Sources (7 cited items):- The Meadows: llms.txt: Yoast SEO generated index of pages, posts and resources; no instructions to AI assistants.
- The Meadows: /ai-instructions/: HTTP 404.
- The Meadows: Paying for treatment page: in-network with major carriers, CareCredit financing, financial coordinators; no price.
- The Meadows: For referring providers page: no referral-fee, inducement, exclusion or declining statement.
- The Meadows: Who we treat page: conditions and populations listed; no exclusion criteria or voluntary-admission statement.
- The Meadows: Inpatient treatment centre landing page: self-description "The Most Trusted Name in Trauma & Addiction Treatment"; no ranking of clinics, no award claim.
- clinic and group domains, web search: Search of clinic and group domains, web search. Scope: domains checked themeadows.com (hosts every group brand: The Meadows, Willow Healing Center, Gentle Path, Claudia Black Young Adult Center, Rio Retreat Center, The Meadows Texas, The Meadows Malibu, Meadows Outpatient), including themeadows.com/llms.txt and themeadows.com/ai-instructions/; no.... Result: sweep recorded; outcome per the C6 V elements.
- C7 Transparency toward the client · 4
Three elements are met: the HIPAA notice names the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights as a complaints route, the privacy policy names the operator and states that data is held on internal servers and retained indefinitely, and the FAQ states that the clinic is licensed as a Behavioral Health Inpatient Facility by the Arizona Department of Health Services, which is accurate against the register. No fee inclusions, payment, refund or extension terms, licence number or register link, registered legal entity, ownership disclosure or inspection results are published. The 2016 acquisition by Kohlberg & Company is disclosed only on the owner's site.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The location page describes the clinic as licensed by the Joint Commission, which mislabels accreditation; it is not a deductible contradiction.
Sources (7 cited items):- The Meadows: HIPAA notice: complaints to the privacy official or to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, with address and telephone; effective 23 September 2013.
- The Meadows: Privacy policy: operator "The Meadows", Phoenix address, data held on internal servers, retained for an indefinite period.
- The Meadows: Paying for treatment page: insurance, CareCredit, financial coordinators; no fee terms.
- The Meadows: About page: Joint Commission, NAATP, FORSE and Veteran Ready badges; no licence number or register link; corporate address in Phoenix.
- jointcommission.org: Joint Commission record in the name of "The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc."; partially verified via search index.
- kohlberg.com: Owner's announcement (Kohlberg & Company's own site) of the 2016 acquisition of Meadows Behavioral Healthcare, carried from the September content file as the ownership lead.
- The Meadows: FAQ: "The Meadows is licensed as a Behavioral Health Inpatient Facility by the Arizona Department of Health Services".
- C8 Track record and regulator standing · 2
The Arizona DHS register records a civil penalty of USD 500 against the licensee, finalised on 3 April 2025 under a completed enforcement agreement and linked to a November 2024 complaint inspection; a fine is a serious final finding within five years, which sets band 2. A complaint investigation from 24 April to 1 May 2025 also cited three deficiencies, including bathrooms not free from ligature risks. A 2 July 2026 modification inspection listed no deficiencies, but with a final finding within ten years the standing elements are not used. Court cases found have no outcome in the free record and remain allegations.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- Whether the court history contains an adverse institutional finding is not settled.
- The element reading for this criterion is not published as a list; the band is explained in the reasoning.
Sources (14 cited items):- prnewswire.com: Group press release on PR Newswire, 10 March 2026: The Meadows founded in 1976, 50th anniversary.
- law.justia.com: US District Court, N.D. Ill., case 1:18-cv-00280, opinion on motion to dismiss (January 2019), personal jurisdiction found, no liability finding; partially verified via search index (direct fetch HTTP 403).
- abc15.com: ABC15, Nick Ciletti, inside look at the Wickenburg campus; undated, not shown to be within five years; no adverse finding.
- azcarecheck.azdhs.gov: Arizona DHS AZ Care Check, licence IFBH6910, licensee The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc.: civil penalty of USD 500 finalised 3 April 2025 under a completed enforcement agreement, linked to the November 2024 complaint inspection; complaint investigation 24 April to 1 May 2025 citing three deficiencies (environmental rounding not done per log, close-monitoring forms inaccurate or incomplete, bathrooms not free from ligature risks); modification inspection 2 July 2026 approving removal of the seclusion room from service, no deficiencies listed.
- yelp.com: Yelp listing "The Meadows of Wickenburg", 83 reviews per search index title; page HTTP 403, rating and owner responses not captured.
- CourtListener RECAP: Search of CourtListener RECAP. Scope: "Meadows of Wickenburg". Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- CourtListener opinions: Search of CourtListener opinions. Scope: "Meadows of Wickenburg". Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- CourtListener RECAP: Search of CourtListener RECAP. Scope: "Meadows Behavioral Healthcare" OR "Alita Care". Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- CourtListener RECAP docket entries: Search of CourtListener RECAP docket entries. Scope: docket_id 6551870, docket_id 45426384. Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Meadows of Wickenburg" lawsuit verdict OR settlement OR judgment. Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "The Meadows" Wickenburg Arizona Department of Health Services enforcement OR citation OR "civil penalty". Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- general web search: Search of a general web search engine. Scope: "Meadows Behavioral Healthcare" lawsuit OR settlement OR fine OR verdict. Result: record found: Two federal civil actions against The Meadows of Wickenburg, Inc. with no outcome in the free record. Lead: a negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress action in the US District....
- press and news search: Search of press and news search. Scope: first-hand bylined reporting from inside the facility, last 5 years. Result: no record found.
- statutory regulator records: Search of statutory regulator records. Scope: inspection history and grades of this site. Result: no record found.
- C9 Environment, safety and nutrition · 5
The environment and safety score is band 6 on six elements: a 14-acre campus with gym, pool and courts, on-site monitored detox, a published prohibited-items and medication list, family contact rules, the AZ Care Check licensed-address record at 1655 N Tegner Street, and Wickenburg Community Hospital's 24-hour emergency department 2 minutes and 0.5 km away by road on a Leading Rehabs route check. Band 7 would need published emergency equipment and training, and no environmental risk assessment is published. The nutrition score is band 4 from registered dietitians and personalised meal plans on the group eating disorder page, with no named nutrition professional. The mean of 6 and 4 is 5.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: high
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The 2025 ligature-risk deficiency is scored under safety record, not here.
Sources (8 cited items):- The Meadows: Location page: 14 acres, gym, pool and lounge, courts, art room, gallery, group rooms, cafeteria, detox.
- The Meadows: What to bring page: prescriptions in original containers reviewed by the physician, OTC medication and herbal remedies excluded, alcohol-free toiletries, no clothing referencing drugs or alcohol, aerosols and sharps excluded, small tools stored by staff.
- The Meadows: Group approach page: "immersive, on-site programming" and "dedicated workshops for families and partners".
- The Meadows: For families page: contact with loved ones limited during inpatient stays; optional weekly support groups; Rio Retreat family workshops.
- The Meadows: Eating disorder page: registered dietitians and diet techs, personalised meal plans honouring needs, allergies and sensitivities, three meals and three snacks per day; The Meadows Arizona listed among inpatient locations.
- wickenburgaz.gov: Town of Wickenburg health care page: Wickenburg Community Hospital offers emergency care; no distance or travel time.
- wickhosp.com: Leading Rehabs road routing from North Tegner Street to Wickenburg Community Hospital: 2 minutes, 0.5 km. The hospital page describes an "eight-bed, emergency department (ED) ... staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week".
- azcarecheck.azdhs.gov: Licensed-address record: AZ Care Check licence IFBH6910 places the licensed facility at 1655 N Tegner Street, Wickenburg.
- C10 Clinical seniority and academic standing · 1
Nine people are named for the Wickenburg site and eight claim a credential, but no register result for any of them is recorded. The core clinical roles, the Director of Nursing and the Clinical Director, hold nursing and counselling credentials outside the cited physician verification provision, so the core score is zero. The physician rows are non-core, with the Chief Medical Officer shared across eight group sites and two physicians on an advisory board, and with a core of zero the non-core contribution is capped at zero, so the index is band 1.
ProvisionalA check was still open when the edition closed, for example a register lookup or a video not yet received, or evidence under embargo.: Clinician register lookups for this criterion were still open at the edition cut-off (see known_gaps). The points count as assessed on the evidence available; the band may change when the lookups are completed, which is resolved in a later edition.
ConfidenceHow well the evidence supports the score.: medium
Known gapsFacts the assessment needed but could not establish.:- The facility licence is now proven on the state register, so the physician credentials are due a re-check; this has no band effect while the core score is zero.
- Ten register lookups were not complete at publication; the C10 band may change when they are completed.
Sources (4 cited items):- The Meadows: Team page, "The Meadows Wickenburg": Dr. Aaron Wilson, Chief Medical Officer; Jerry L. Law, DMin, CMAT, CSAT, CIP, Vice President of Inpatient Programming; Bill Reynolds, PA-C, Psychiatric Provider and Program Leader, Unbroken; Cresta Conlee, BSN, RN, PMH-BC, Director of Nursing; Breanna Mylius, LPC, Clinical Director; Joell Menefee, Assistant Clinical Director; Kristen Burnsmith, Assistant Clinical Director of Trauma Resolution; Shauna Scott, BSN, RN, Assistant Director of Nursing.
- The Meadows: Brittni Sunbury, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, Nurse Practitioner. The Chief Medical Officer also appears under The Meadows Texas, The Meadows Malibu, Gentle Path for Men, Rio Retreat Center, Willow Healing Meadows, Claudia Black Young Adult Center and The Meadows Outpatient; the PA-C under Gentle Path for Men, The Meadows Outpatient and The Meadows Texas; the Vice President of Inpatient Programming under The Meadows Malibu and The Meadows Texas.
- The Meadows: Senior Fellows page: Claudia Black, PhD, MSW; Patrick Carnes, PhD, CAS; Bessel van der Kolk, MD; Peter Levine, PhD; Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP; Kevin McCauley, MD; Laurence Heller, PhD; Stefanie Carnes, PhD; Richard Schwartz, PhD; Pia Mellody and John Bradshaw, MA, in memoriam.
- jointcommission.org: Facility licence: not proven; Joint Commission provider locator HTTP 403, ADHS provider search HTTP 403, AZ Care Check not rendered.
Frequently asked questions
What does treatment at The Meadows cost?
The Meadows publishes no price, at any level of care. The clinic works in and out of network with major carriers including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and TRICARE, and offers payment plans and financing, with the final figure determined after insurance verification.
Where is it and what is the setting?
The flagship campus is at 1655 N Tegner Street in Wickenburg, Arizona, about an hour by road from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It sits on fourteen acres of Sonoran Desert with mountain views. Wickenburg is a small town of roughly seven thousand people that has become the densest cluster of residential treatment centres in the United States, which cuts both ways: excellent clinical density, and a local press and public that know exactly what the campus is. The campus is open rather than gated or locked.
Who is it designed for?
Adults with addiction, trauma and co-occurring psychiatric conditions who want an intensive, group-based, trauma-first residential programme with a strong twelve-step and family-systems tradition. Specialised tracks sit on the same campus for men with sexual and intimacy disorders, for women, for young adults aged 18 to 26, and for military, veterans and first responders. It is emphatically not designed for anyone whose primary requirement is single occupancy, privacy from other clients, or a concierge medical experience.
How does admission work and how long is the wait?
Admissions runs 24 hours a day by telephone through a published six-step process: initial contact, clinical screening, insurance verification, personalised treatment plan, admission scheduling, then arrival and orientation. The clinic assists with travel logistics and family coordination and publishes a packing guide. No waiting time is published. With dozens of beds on the flagship campus and more than two hundred across the group, availability is generally good, and days to a couple of weeks is realistic. That is an inference from capacity, not a published commitment.
What happens after treatment?
Continuing care is planned during the residential stay. The group runs a multi-state network of outpatient centres offering intensive outpatient step-down from about eight weeks, alongside an alumni community and family programming. The group's workshop and intensive centre is also used after discharge to revisit specific trauma or relational material, which is an unusual and genuinely useful continuum. The clinic reports its own one-year abstinence figure, which carries no independent audit.