Facility Research
ANSWERS
Treatment and care for mental health issues are available in various settings. The environment and the level or type of care provided will be determined by several factors, including the nature and severity of the person’s mental condition, physical health, and the type of treatment prescribed or indicated. There are three main treatment settings for receiving mental health care or services: 1) hospital inpatient, 2) residential, and 3) outpatient. Furthermore, some mental health care services are provided through online and telecommunications technologies.
An overnight or more extended stay in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric unit of a general hospital is considered an inpatient setting. The facility may be privately or publicly owned (government-operated). Inpatient hospitals treat more severely ill mental health patients for less than 30 days. A person admitted to an inpatient setting may have a severe mental illness and require round-the-clock care. After 30 days of inpatient treatment, a person who needs long-term care is typically transferred to another facility or a different setting within a psychiatric hospital.
Although physicians are available to treat medical conditions, psychiatric hospitals only treat mental illnesses. A few psychiatric hospitals offer drug and alcohol detoxification, inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and more extended stays. A psychiatric hospital may have specialty units for eating disorders, senior issues, child and adolescent services, and substance abuse treatment.
Although these units are uncommon, general medical and surgical hospitals may have a psychiatric inpatient unit or a substance abuse unit. They offer medical services that are not available in a stand-alone psychiatric hospital.
Individuals in residential mental health treatment environments typically receive longer-term care. Most residential treatment facilities offer medical care but are designed to be more comfortable and less like hospital wards than inpatient hospitals. Examples:
People with a chronic psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or who have a dual diagnosis (i.e., a mental illness and substance abuse problems), which impairs their ability to function independently, are eligible for psychiatric residential centers.
Inpatient alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities treat addictions and may offer detoxification services. Patients typically stay in this facility for 30 days, but stays may vary depending on the facility’s policy.
As needed, psychiatric consultation is available in nursing homes.
Outpatient Settings: While the types of outpatient settings vary, they all involve office visits with no overnight stay. Some are housed in community mental health centers, while others are in general hospitals, where patients can make appointments at an outpatient clinic. Furthermore, many people needing mental health counseling or treatment visit private offices to see a mental health clinician who works in solo or group practice.
PHP, also known as “day programs,” are outpatient programs that patients attend for six or more hours per day, every day or most days of the week. These programs may focus on psychiatric illnesses or substance abuse and are less intensive than inpatient hospitalization. Group therapy, educational sessions, and individual counseling are all standard services. A PHP can be a part of a hospital or a stand-alone facility.
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) are similar to PHPs but are only three to four hours long and often meet in the evenings to accommodate people who work. The majority of IOPs concentrate on either substance abuse or mental health issues. IOPs can be a part of a hospital’s services or stand-alone.
Outpatient Clinics are locations where patients can receive therapy from various mental health professionals. Depending on the clinic, individual therapy, group therapy, and medication management may be available.
Centers for Community Mental Health: These clinics, also known as Mental Health and Mental Retardation Centers (MHMR), serve people whose incomes fall below a certain threshold set by the state. The Northstar program provides public mental health services in seven North Texas counties (Dallas, Collin, Hunt, Navarro, Kaufman, Ellis, and Rockwall). Benefits are obtained by applying to Northstar.
Practitioners in private practice – Many people seek mental health treatment/counseling from a mental health professional in solo or private group practice at the practitioner’s office. The individual, group, or family therapy appointments are available. Many practitioners accept insurance payments, but their insurance plans vary; some practitioners only accept personal payments for services.
Telepsychiatry, also known as Telemental Health Services, is the delivery of psychiatric assessment and care, as well as psychological support and services, over the phone or the Internet via email, online chat, or videoconferencing. Most commonly, these services improve access to care for people with mental health issues who live in remote or underserved areas or who cannot leave their homes due to illness, emergencies, or mobility issues. They also enable clinicians to support their patients or clients in-between visits.
Facility Research
QUESTION
Facility Research
Research Mental health treatment facility.
350 word summary.
• Identify the facility
• Describe services to be offered at the facility.
• Describe population demographics of those who use the facility
• Describe the facility type’s role in the health care industry, focusing on referral patterns
• Describe key physical structural characteristics of the facility
• Use and cite the Hayward textbook and at least one other credible scholarly reference,
using proper APA formatting for citation and reference listing.
100 words
Analyze essential environmental elements in bariatric facility design that would be important to the facility stakeholders.
175 word response to the following:
Consider how federal, state, and local regulations influence facility design. Provide and discuss one specific, cited example from at least one of the above categories.