Jennie Stuart Health celebrated the opening of their new Geriatric Behavioral Health Unit Tuesday with a reception and a tour of the unit.
The 12-bed new inpatient unit is designed to better suit the needs of the senior community and Director of Inpatient Psychiatric Services Lisa Grise says the unit will allow them to help seniors battling with mental illness while caring for their physical issues as well.
She says there was a need in the community for a local place where seniors with behavioral issues caused by mental illness could go for treatment.
Grise detailed some of the services they’ll offer, including focusing that the unit was designed and focused on the safety of both patients and staff. Geriatric behavioral health is a medical specialty that is devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in senior adults.
The hospital will start accepting patients 65 years of age or older to the unit that’s housed on the fourth floor starting on New Years’ Eve.