The newly-constructed Senior Behavioral Health Unit at Bristol Hospital makes quality services more accessible to the local community’s continually expanding senior population, said the unit’s Medical Director Genevieve Henry at a ribbon cutting.
“A unit like this does not happen everyday and it does not happen frequently. It requires a lot of planning, meetings, cooperation, brainstorming and teamwork,” Henry said on Tuesday. “I can’t express enough to you folks how the entire hospital has come together on so many ways to make this possible. And this unit will continue to bring the hospital together because it’s really going to draw on services from all across the hospital to take care of this wonderful aging population.”
Hospital staff, officials, board members and local representatives gathered at the new unit on Tuesday to celebrate, and toast with sparkling cider to the unit’s completion. Attendees were also able to take a tour of the 6,150-square-foot, 15-bed unit.
President and CEO Kurt Barwis said the hospital was able to recruit an amazing staff for the unit.
“For the team to pull this off, to have this for the community, is an extraordinary thing,” Barwis said “The team is the key. They are really amazing. Despite all the adversity and all the changes, the team found a sure way to make this happened. And they exceeded expectations.”
The unit “combines expert psychopharmacology, with top-notch medical care and a unit that has been carefully considered to be safe, comfortable, respectable and welcoming for both patients and staff,” Henry explained.
The unit, located on Level F of the hospital, includes private and semi-private rooms. It is scheduled to be open to patients in early March. The unit’s team consists of behavioral health professionals who will assess, diagnose and treat adults aged 65 and older with acute psychiatric and behavioral disorders.
The inpatient unit will provide care on a 24/7 basis and will serve patients suffering from conditions such as dementia with behavioral disturbance, depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder and psychosis, according to Henry. It will also be able to address medications, dietary needs, family issues and social concerns.
“After identifying the need in the community for this unit, Bristol Hospital invested its time and resources to create this beautiful environment for our patients and staff,” Henry said. “Our staff has undergone special training above and beyond the skill that they are already bringing to the table, so that they are able to serve what will be a very clinical population.”
The plan for the unit was initiated by Bristol Hospital’s Board of Directors in the spring of 2016 and construction began last summer. The need for the unit was identified in the hospital’s community health needs assessment which showed that senior care and access to these services is a priority with local residents.
Lorenzo Burgio can be reached at 860-801-5088 or by email at lburgio@centralctcommunications.com