Maxim Healthcare in Winston Salem, NC

Pros

• They are a great group of professionals who truly care about their patients.
• Dr. Granada Neil is an amazing and compassionate psychiatrist who listens and respects patients’ beliefs.
• Amber Gold and the care team are incredibly kind, attentive, and effective at getting medications and approvals.
• The Neil Group has saved lives and provided a hopeful, supportive path for families.
• The front desk staff are friendly and helpful, contributing to a welcoming environment.
• The practice feels like a family and a home away from home, with staff who go above and beyond.
• They offer convenient telemedicine options and a responsive patient portal that helps patients get help quickly.
• Many patients would highly recommend The Neil Group for its caring approach and dedication to well-being.

Cons

• The front desk is rude and unhelpful, showing little compassion for patients.
• The staff rarely answers the phone or returns messages, making it hard to get help.
• Scheduling is unreliable, with long wait times, frequent cancellations, and little notice.
• Some clinicians are unprofessional, dismissive, or fail to listen to patients and families.
• The practice feels money-driven, leaving patients feeling overcharged and undervalued.
• There are ongoing communication gaps among providers, causing miscommunications and delays in care.
• The patient portal and telehealth are unreliable, with slow or missing responses.
• Administrative tasks like FMLA paperwork or guardian documentation are not handled promptly, creating safety concerns.
• Patients feel unheard or invisible, especially in minority communities, despite some staff praise.
• Urgent mental health crises are not promptly addressed, with poor follow-up after hospitalizations.

Review

This community is best suited for families seeking deeply personalized, clinician-led mental health support for children and adults who prize strong therapeutic relationships, consistent access to psychiatrists and therapists, and a small-practice feel. The standout value here is the quality of care from clinicians who are repeatedly praised for listening, adjusting medications thoughtfully, and sustaining a compassionate, nonjudgmental environment. Telemedicine and a patient portal are practical conveniences that teams lean on, enabling regular contact even on difficult days. For households that can tolerate some administrative friction, the emotional and clinical alignment offered by the Neil Group can feel transformative, almost a “home away from home” for families navigating anxiety, mood disorders, or behavioral health challenges.

Those who should consider alternatives are primarily those for whom reliability of access is nonnegotiable. The reviews reveal chronic scheduling headaches: long holds, missed calls, delays in referrals, and repeated appointment reschedules. Front-desk responsiveness and billing processes emerge as recurrent pain points that can undermine even excellent clinical work. For families balancing work, school, and transportation, the risk of being left without timely guidance or medication management can outweigh the therapeutic benefits. Additionally, the practice’s faith-based orientation may not suit secular households or those seeking strictly neutral or non-religious treatment modalities. If a secular, consistently responsive, highly predictable care experience is essential, exploring other providers is prudent.

The key pros, the clinical depth and patient-centered approach, often offset the main cons when a steady therapeutic alliance is formed. Clinicians like Dr. Neil, Amber Gold, and other team members are repeatedly described as attentive, collaborative, and effective at tailoring regimens to individual needs. The practice’s willingness to integrate telehealth, check-ins, and insurance advocacy to secure necessary medications matters in practical terms, turning treatment into a sustained process rather than a one-off visit. Families report life-changing improvements, gratitude for staff who listen, and a sense that the care team treats mental health as a holistic, ongoing partnership. For caregivers who have the stamina to navigate organizational rough edges, the genuine care and competence of the clinicians can justify staying the course.

Yet the cons do not fade simply because the clinical teams excel. Administrative friction, especially unreturned calls, inconsistent scheduling, and opaque or delayed communications, can erode trust and undermine stability during crises. Several reviews describe difficulties with urgent needs (refills, same-day access, or prompt responses to hospitalizations) that leave patients feeling abandoned at critical moments. Billing and documentation issues, delayed forms, insurance misalignments, or unclear statements, compound stress for families already stretched thin. The contrast between high-quality medical care and inconsistent administrative service creates a clear boundary: clinical excellence does not automatically translate into a seamless patient experience, and that gap matters a great deal in mental health where timing and credibility are essential.

In practice, the strongest argument for this group rests on its ability to deliver meaningful clinical gains even as it struggles with process flaws. When the owner or leadership steps in to address a problem, or when a trusted clinician maintains continuity, the experience can quickly shift from frustrating to affirming. The practice’s independence from larger hospital systems appears to empower clinicians to tailor care and advocate for patients with insurance, which many families value. For families that can tolerate, and even expect, a degree of administrative hustle in exchange for access to compassionate, sophisticated psychiatric and therapy services, this community remains compelling. The therapeutic outcomes for many patients, across medication management and psychotherapy, are enough to sustain trust and engagement over time.

Decision-makers weighing this option should approach with a pragmatic, plan-first mindset. Start by clarifying the hours, expected wait times, and the specific clinicians who will be part of the ongoing plan. Ask about a concrete, written service agreement for appointment frequency, telemedicine capabilities, and the process for urgent medication refills, including who will handle those requests and what response times look like. Inquire about the front desk and billing workflows: who to contact for billing disputes, how messages are triaged, and what escalation path exists if a crisis arises. If the family senses alignment with a particular clinician, request to lock in that provider and establish an agreed-upon communication channel for after-hours questions. Finally, consider a structured trial period, three months of regular appointments and checks, while monitoring responsiveness, appointment consistency, and the sense of safety and progress the clinical team delivers.

Ultimately, Maxim Healthcare in Winston-Salem offers a potent therapeutic engine for families prepared to navigate its administrative terrain. For those who prioritize high-quality psychiatric and therapy care, who value a small-practice atmosphere, and who can tolerate intermittent administrative friction, the positives tend to far outweigh the negatives. For households where timely access, flawless communication, and frictionless scheduling are nonnegotiable, this option warrants caution, and perhaps a comparison with other providers that emphasize reliability and streamlined operations. The best fit will hinge on balancing the strength of the clinical alliance with the steadiness of administrative systems, and on the willingness to engage proactively with leadership to keep care both compassionate and consistently accessible.

This part of Winston Salem, North Carolina offers a convenient and bustling urban environment with a variety of amenities within close proximity. There are several restaurants ranging from fast food options like Chick-Fil-A and McDonald's to more casual dining experiences at K&W Cafeteria and Olive Garden. Additionally, there are multiple pharmacies nearby for easy access to medication and healthcare needs. For coffee enthusiasts, there are numerous Starbucks locations in the area as well as other cafes such as Krankies Coffee and Panera Bread. Medical services are also easily accessible with several physician offices specializing in internal medicine, nephrology, urology, and more. For entertainment, there are movie theaters like AMC Hanes 12 nearby. Overall, this part of Winston Salem provides a vibrant community with plenty of dining options, healthcare services, and recreational opportunities for seniors looking to live in the area.

Restaurants

• K&W Cafeteria (0.2 miles)
• Olive Garden (0.7 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (0.7 miles)
• Jason's Deli (0.7 miles)
• McDonald's (0.8 miles)
• TinTin (0.8 miles)
• Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen (1.1 miles)

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (0.9 miles)
• CVS Revco D.S. (2.3 miles)
• Walgreens (2.4 miles)
• South Park Family Pharmacy (3.7 miles)
• Walgreens (6 miles)
• Walgreens (7.4 miles)
• Express Scripts Holding Co. (8.2 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (1 miles)
• Starbucks (1.1 miles)
• Starbucks (1.6 miles)
• Krankies Coffee (4.2 miles)
• Panera Bread (19.5 miles)
• Starbucks (23.2 miles)
• Starbucks (23.8 miles)

Physicians

• Nephrology Associates (1.1 miles)
• Cumadin Clinic (1.1 miles)
• Brookview Hills Internal Medicine (1.1 miles)
• Wake Forest Baptist Health - Internal Medicine - Highland Oaks (1.1 miles)
• Forsyth Endocrine Consultants (1.2 miles)
• Urology Partners (1.2 miles)
• Center For Clinical Research (1.3 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Hanes 12 (1.4 miles)
• Regal Palladium & IMAX (19.8 miles)
• AMC CLASSIC Greensboro 18 (24.2 miles)

Places of Worship

• St John's Lutheran School (1.6 miles)
• Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church (16.7 miles)

Parks

• Miller Park (1.8 miles)
• Salem Lake Trail (6.7 miles)
• Union Cross Park (10 miles)

Hospitals

• WFBH Ardmore Tower (2.5 miles)
• Wake Forest Univ Bapt Med Center (3.3 miles)
• Bethany Cardiology (19.1 miles)