SEATTLE -- To help address the ongoing crisis in the mental health community nationally, Swedish Ballard opened a brand new behavioral health unit Tuesday. The 22-bed inpatient unit will accept voluntary and involuntary patients ages 18 and older. It will take up parts of two floors of the Central Tower at the hospital.
“This new behavioral health unit was a collaborative effort. Swedish, the Washington State Hospital Association, and other member hospitals started a joint conversation about improving psychiatric care for patients who are currently boarding in emergency departments and medical-surgical units,“ said Arpan Waghray, M.D., system medical director for Behavioral Health at Swedish. “It quickly became evident there was a critical shortage of regional acute care beds to serve patients with both psychiatric and medical needs in a community hospital setting.”
Several new features were specifically designed to help make the patients experience as positive as possible. There are quiet rooms where people can adjust the sounds and the color depending on what may be most soothing for them in their situation. The lights have a gentle brightening and dimming throughout the day to assist and promote healthy circadian rhythms.
“Our focus all along has been to be a safe and healing environment without creating an institutional feel. That’s really what we’re about here,” Waghray said.
The design of the patient rooms is intended to be simple. The hospital doesn't want people to isolate themselves away from the rest of the group.
“We don’t want people to be isolating themselves as the room is somewhere they come and nap and get some rest either in the afternoon or evening time,” Waghray said.
The number of mental health cases continues to rise across the country, and that is why there is such a large demand for this type of unit. Currently, many mental health patients are initially getting care in an emergency room or surgery centers, which is not good for them or the hospital. These types of units specialize in the care patients need not only while they are staying at the hospital, but once they are released.
