The New York State Department of Health approved the request
which OGH applied for in November. The plans include converting the hospital’s
15-bed swing unit into an inpatient program for patients 65 and older. The
program would provide crisis stabilization, a multidimensional and diagnostic
evaluation and short term treatment that typically ranges from 10-12 days.
“The development of our geropsychiatric unit is consistent
with OGH’s mission of responding to the unmet healthcare needs in our region.
There is no similar unit within 100 miles of Olean,” said Timothy J. Finan,
president chief executive officer, Upper Allegheny Health System, OGH and
Bradford Regional Medical Center.
Patients admitted to this new unit will be those requiring
special care and are not appropriate for general admission. Care will include
care for acute psychiatric symptoms including but not limited to, depressive
disorders, bipolar and related disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety,
neurocognitive disorders and secondary substance use disorders. The unit will
be located in a separate location from the hospital’s current behavioral health
unit which treats patients 18 years and older.
There is no other distinct and separate geropsychiatric unit
in the region. However, psychiatric care for the elderly is an increasingly
needed service.
“The elderly often are dealing with the loss of a spouse,
children moving away, declining physical function, chronic pain, and other
issues that can lead to major depression,” said Vi-Anne Antrum, chief nursing
officer, OGH. She added that those types of situations can sometimes cause the
elderly to become a danger to themselves or others and even lose the will to
live. “Our unit will offer treatment, becoming the beacon of hope and light for
people who need help.”
Funding for construction and conversion costs associated
with the new unit will be funded using grant money. OGH has partnered with
Signet Health which has provided geropsychiatric services since 1999. The
hospital hopes to open the unit in early 2019.
Upper Allegheny Health System is the parent company of
Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital, affiliates of
Kaleida Health. An integration of two prominent community hospitals in
Southwestern New York state and Northwestern Pennsylvania, Upper Allegheny
Health System’s goal is the enhancement of each hospital’s mission of care and
service to their respective communities with the common goal of improving care,
enhancing clinical programs and providing best-in-class service for various
health needs.
