GREENVILLE — After completing and poring over findings in a community health needs assessment, to determine ways to address issues in this area, a Senior Behavioral Health Unit is under construction at Wayne HealthCare in Greenville.
The 12-bed unit will be located on the second floor of the hospital and will be focused toward senior adults, according to Interim Program Director Todd Grogan.
“It will be an intensive in-patient senior behavioral health unit,” Grogan said. “It will provide intensive nursing services and therapeutic group activities, with a psychiatrist on staff.”
According to him, older adults struggling with depression and anxiety may be treated and assisted in the development of ways to cope with those issues.
“In addition, we will manage the cognitively impaired or those with acute behavioral symptoms related to dementia,” Grogan said. “We will help stabilize them to ensure they return to the best possible environment.”
In addition to a psychiatrist and program director, there will be also be registered nurses, nursing assistants, recreation therapist and community educator on staff.
Patients may be referred to the unit by any health care professional, the emergency department or one’s family.
Jeff R. Subler, vice president of support services at Wayne HealthCare, said the approximate cost of the project is $1.7 million.
“We started in May and did a demolition of the second-floor medical/surgery unit which has been vacant for a couple of years,” Subler said. “We gutted and remodeled. We’re wrapping it up now and the process has gone well.”
The hospital is pleased with the work of Danis Construction on this project, he said.
“The hospital in partnership with other community agencies conducted a community needs assessment which identified behavioral health as an area of concern for the community,” commented Kim Freeman, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Wayne HealthCare. “In addition to the assessment, a marketing analysis was performed and showed there was a need for the service.”
“We’re hoping the unit will be open and operational by the end of the year,” she said. “We are still waiting on the final approval from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and our accreditation facility. The nursing unit will definitely be an asset to the community. It’s nice to see the unit revitalized and being used for a such a great community need.”
There will be five double rooms and two private rooms in the new unit. The locked unit will be for patients 65 years of age and up. Patients will be allowed visitors.
Areas featured in the unit will be offices, a break room, a centralized nursing station, a kitchenette, quiet therapy room, and an area for group programming.
Every unit is fully handicapped and features a shower.
“For safety reasons, patients will be re-assessed every 15 minutes,” Grogan said. “The unit was designed to have high quality features with the latest technology. Keeping patients safe and providing quality care is our top priority.”
A community open house is scheduled for later in December.
