Behavioral Health Center in Idaho Falls celebrates reopening
After exactly one year of renovation and remodeling, EIRMC’s Behavioral Health Center (BHC) in Idaho Falls is ready to open it’s doors to full capacity.
The facility’s renovations were meant to make the inside of the center more modern and comfortable for people undergoing a mental health crisis.
“It’s really important to have a calming atmosphere when you’re in situations like this,” said Shawn LaPay, the manager of the facility. “People come to us in a crisis. The more we can do to make this place calming and soothing, it’s important to their therapy.”
One of the new methods the BHC is using to help people is called “Trauma Informed Care.” This new method focuses on empathy. The goal is to make the patient feel at ease and comfortable, which makes short and long term treatment more effective.
“We take into account that the patients that come here have gone through a lot of trauma in their lives,” said LaPay. “Often abuse or other trauma they’ve experienced has often contributed to the situation they’re in today.”
“We help the patient develop a treatment plan that coordinates with outpatient providers, medication management, therapy, and coping skills,” said Brandi Mondok, a nurse at the center.
With the entire building available, BHC has a total of 74 beds for adults and adolescents. “We serve not just Idaho Falls, but the entire regional area,” said Dr. Aaron Harris, the executive director for the facility. “All of those beds are needed.”
In 2014, the BHC served a total of 1,319 patients. Numbers have been slightly down for 2015 with the remodeling, but Harris says they expect those numbers to climb back up now that they can run at full capacity.
