Published: October 30, 2009 10:48 am      

PCH anticipates expansion of care

PRINCETON — Princeton Community Hospital plans to expand its quality, services and space next spring.

As PCH administrators hosted the hospital’s board of directors’ annual business meeting this week, CEO Wayne Griffith announced March 1 as a “hard opening” date for the much-anticipated Behavioral Health Pavilion of the Virginias.

While the inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care offerings available at the former St. Luke’s Hospital site will roll out gradually, Griffith said March 1 will be the first day the pavilion is operational, beginning with the transfer of the inpatient clients admitted to the PCH Behavioral Health Center on that day.

“The patients are going to have breakfast here and lunch there on March 1,” Griffith said.

When the inpatient facility is complete, it will include 64 beds for patients diagnosed with psychiatric symptoms too severe to be treated safely in an outpatient setting. Those diagnoses include severe depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, anxiety disorders and more.

While treatment will be tailored to the individuals who need it, the pavilion will include segments dedicated to certain populations of patients.

Twenty-four of the 64 beds will be open for general adult admissions, 30 beds will be dedicated to geriatric use, and the facility will be designed to house a 10-bed psychiatric intensive care unit.

In addition to the inpatient services, the PCH annual report notes that a structured outpatient program “will provide two to four hours of treatment Monday—Friday for those patients who don’t need inpatient care, but still require more attention than traditional outpatient programs offer. Outpatients will attend group therapy, receive medication management from a psychiatrist and return home each evening.”

Traditional outpatient treatment, such as scheduled visits with a psychiatrist for medication management or therapy will also be available.

The Behavioral Health Pavilion of the Virginias will be owned by PCH, but the hospital has contracted Diamond Healthcare Corporation to operate the facility. And, as its name implies, PCH administrators hope the pavilion will serve people in need in both Virginias.

“The pavilion’s 64 beds are expected to alleviate some of the overcrowding in state hospitals. The additional 64 beds to the state’s mental health system will have tremendous impact on the availability of psychiatric beds to emergency rooms, private physicians, community mental health centers, and other providers who struggle to find bed placement for patients in need,” according to the PCH report.

As the facility approaches completion and the opening date nears, Griffith said PCH will announce a series of open houses, but until then, there’s plenty of renovation and recruitment work in store.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.