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Calm within a storm Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell The Rogue Valley Medical Center emergency psychiatric rooms are equipped with chairs chosen to make the patient feel at ease. Psychiatric nurse Wendy W. gave a tour of the ward; a nursing staff is available to treat patients 24 hours a day. RVMC establishes area for treating psychiatric patients By BILL KETTLER Rogue Valley Medical Center has set aside a quiet corner of its emergency room for people struggling with mental health issues. A psychiatric nurse will staff the new "psychiatric crisis unit" 24 hours a day to give the hospital more options for helping people who come to the emergency room for mental health treatment. Several rooms have been remodeled to provide a calm, peaceful space for mental health patients, and Jackson County has moved its on-call crisis counselor to the emergency room from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to provide additional support. The new approach will help the hospital provide quicker evaluations for people who come to the emergency room for mental health treatment, said Scott Sonenshine, RVMC's clinical manager for mental health services. "People get admitted (to the hospital) if that's what they need," he said. "Some get a prescription if that's what they need, or a referral (to a physician or a counselor). "Sometimes people just need a little time in the emergency room." About 1,600 people - an average of more than four every day - were treated for mental health conditions at the hospital during 2000. Many of them require treatment skills that emergency-room staff lack the training and time to provide, said Becky Martin, Jackson County's program manager for community support services. "They require a lot more people-intensive services," Martin said. "They need people sitting and talking with them. "You can't just put stitches in them and send them home." RVMC remodeled a little-used part of its emergency treatment space to create several rooms that have been furnished with comfortable chairs or a bed. Doors connect the unit to the emergency room, but they typically remain closed. "We're part of (the emergency room)," Sonenshine said, "but we're away from it, so it's quieter." The calm atmosphere will help patients avoid the emotional intensity that often fills the main emergency room, Martin said. "If you're already traumatized, dealing with other traumatized people (who are in the emergency room) can be hard." Nurses who work in the hospital's psychiatric ward (commonly known as "Two North") will share the work in the crisis unit on a rotating schedule. The triage nurse in the emergency room will decide whether a patient needs psychiatric assistance and refer those who do to the psychiatric nurse. The psychiatric nurse then determines whether a patient needs to be admitted to the hospital, see a doctor, get a prescription or see a counselor. "We assess whether they're suicidal, or homicidal," said Wendy W. (Psychiatric nurses do not disclose their last names to protect their privacy.) "And whether they're having auditory or visual hallucinations." "It's fascinating," Wendy said of her work, "because the mind is the most fascinating organ in the entire body and we'll never be able to figure it out. It's an honor to be let into (patients') lives." Staffing the unit with a nurse around the clock will cost RVMC about $200,000, said hospital spokesman David Preszler. Martin said the crisis unit augments the regular mental health treatment services that are available through Jackson County, but is not intended to replace those services. The unit also gives mental health workers a place to help juvenile psychiatric patients. There are no hospital beds to provide in-patient care for Jackson County young people with mental health problems. Juvenile psychiatric patients who need hospitalization must be transported to Roseburg or Portland. The new space should help provide better care for people with mental health problems, said Joel Hergert, a member of Jackson County's mental health advisory committee. "Anything you can do in a positive light will help people who are mentally ill," said Joel Hergert, a member of Jackson County's mental health advisory board. "It'll be beneficial if they can help coordinate the psychiatrists and the needs of the patient and orchestrate the two. If they can orchestrate that, I'm all for it." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.