ARTHUR A. GIANELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO OF THE NHCC, ANNOUNCES ANOTHER FINANCIALLY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE, THE OPENING OF THE ADDITIONAL 35 BEDS EXPANDED ADULT PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENT SERVICES, WITH A TOTAL OF 183 PSYCHIATRIC AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY BEDS, FOR THOSE ADULTS WITH SEVERE PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS
East Meadow, NY…. Joined by the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC) board of directors, New York State Commissioner of Mental Health, Michael F. Hogan, PhD, state and county officials, Nyapati R. Rao, MD, MS, chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), and clinical staff, Arthur A. Gianelli, NHCC president/CEO announced another financially important initiative, the opening of the expanded adult psychiatric inpatient services, with the addition of 35 beds for a total of 183 psychiatric and chemical dependency beds, for those individuals suffering from severe psychiatric problems that interfere with their ability to function in their community.
“We are pleased and honored that Commissioner Hogan has joined us at the grand rounds lecture and for the opening of the last of our three new psychiatric units, with 35 additional adult inpatient psychiatric beds, a financially important initiative for the NHCC, generating $5M in added bottom-line revenues, and capitalizing on our mission and emphasis on quality improvement. This is a vital service for individuals who are experiencing psychiatric and psychological problems that interfere with their ability to function in the community,” said Mr. Gianelli.
The second expanded behavioral health unit, opened in May 2007, with an additional thirty-bed inpatient chemical dependency rehabilitation unit, provided comprehensive evaluation treatment and counseling for individuals and families struggling with problems of substance abuse. The first expansion in the behavioral health unit included an additional 12 beds for a total of 22 beds in the child and adolescent psychiatric unit, specializing in the treatment of severely emotionally disturbed children from 4 years through 17 years of age.
According to Nyapati R. Rao, MD, MS, chair of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Science department of NUMC, “We are honored that Commissioner Hogan has joined us for the ribbon cutting and for our grand rounds lecture this afternoon, speaking on the state of mental health in the state of New York. The goal of the inpatient psychiatric unit is to treat the individual with serious mental illness from a bio-psychosocial approach and to allow for their return into the community. Our treatment not only comprises the stabilization of the acute symptoms, but education, family therapy and individualized discharge planning that allow for recovery and return to the highest level of functioning within the community.”
The 35 bed adult psychiatric unit, located on the twelfth floor of NUMC, is a locked unit with a gross area of 25,260 square feet with a centrally located nurse station, designed to provide better control and optimum distance from all rooms. The patient rooms exceed the square footage requirements by regulatory agencies for new construction and renovation. Seclusion rooms and other one-bed rooms occupy 162 square feet excluding closet and vestibule. Two-bed rooms occupy 208 net square feet and meet all dimensional requirements for the proper spacing of beds.
The staff of the inpatient psychiatric service includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, recreational therapists, nurses, psychiatric residents and patient care assistants. Staff working together as an interdisciplinary team to offer psychiatric and psychosocial evaluations, individualized treatment planning, medication management, individual and group therapy, nutritional counseling, specialty medical consults and discharge planning.
Steven Walerstein, MD, senior vice president for medical affairs and medical director said: “The complex biological, psychological and social manifestations of mental illness is best addressed by the use of an interdisciplinary treatment team. This team shares overall responsibility for the care of the individual and addresses patient’s multiple psychiatric and emotional needs.”
“With the expansion of the Child and Adolescent inpatient unit, the Chemical Dependency unit and now the additional 35 bed psychiatric inpatient unit, NUMC plays a crucial role in filling a real void on Long Island in providing psychiatric treatment for patients with emotional and behavioral problems that have not responded to out patient interventions,” concluded Mr. Gianelli.
