BMH opens new geriatric psychiatric unit

Bingham Memorial Hospital is working to help improve the mental health of older patients with the New Leaf Geriatric Psychiatric Unit. It focuses on prevention, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional health in patients 55 and older.

“We don’t have the resources, hisotrically, and in medicine, to care for them when they’re put in the hospital,” said Carolyn Hansen, chief nursing officer for BMH. “And this facility allows us to work on their psychiatric issues as opposed to putting them in the hospital where the focus is only medical.”

The unit is a secure environment that already has patients. It only has 10 beds, so the patients get better one-on-one treatment, therapy and medicine management.

“It’s controlled, it’s comfortable and they can have access to the physician and the staff 24/7,” said Jake Erickson, CEO of BMH. “And then, be able to return back home and maybe return to an outpatient setting where they can get help.”

The unit is one of the few in the area that helps elderly patients get control of issues they are facing.

“We have a lack of providers, a lack of facilities that can accomodate these kinds of patients,” Erickson said. “They need to come in and receive this help. So, you know, this is filling a need in our community that has been a need for a long time and that we have seen personally when we’re treating patients in our facilities arcross the region.”

While the ribbon cutting was held Tuesday, the facility actually opened Jan. 1.