Health groups celebrate psychiatric facility opening

Fairfax Behavioral Health and EvergreenHealth Monroe held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to celebrate the new 34-bed psychiatric facility that will start operating in Monroe in 2016.

Located in EvergreenHealth Monroe's F wing, the Fairfax Behavioral Health facility will treat adults 55 and older on a voluntary and involuntary basis. The facility will provide assessments, referrals, acute crisis stabilization, inpatient psychiatric care, treatment for co-occurring disorders and medically managed detoxification. It will also offer partial hospitalization, where patients are in therapy for several hours a day, but return home at night.

Fairfax will lease the 1,500-square-foot space from EvergreenHealth Monroe and operate the facility with its own psychiatric care staff. The space has undergone extensive renovations, in order to provide safe inpatient care to those in acute psychological or emotional crisis.

Fairfax CEO Ron Escarda and EvergreenHealth Monroe CEO Eric Jensen welcomed attendees.-á

"On behalf of EvergreenHealth Monroe, we are pleased to welcome Fairfax Behavioral Health as a partner in serving the health care needs of our community,GÇ¥ Jensen said. "Fairfax's long history of service in the northwest, along with their well-recognized reputation for providing compassionate, patient-centered behavioral health care, makes them an ideal fit for Monroe and the greater Snohomish County region.GÇ¥

Jensen credited the hospital's recent alliance with EvergreenHealth as the driving force behind the hospital's recent success at providing expanded services to its patients.

"We are proud that our alliance with EvergreenHealth is helping to make expanded access to high quality health care a reality for residents in Monroe and east Snohomish County. When we joined with EvergreenHealth nearly a year ago, we made a commitment to the community to provide even greater access to specialty services,GÇ¥ Jensen said. "This partnership with Fairfax is one among several examples of how we're delivering on that promise.GÇ¥

EvergreenHealth Monroe is governed by the Alliance Governance Board (AGB), a new board created in conjunction with the alliance. The board is made up of two EvergreenHealth commissioners, two commissioners from EvergreenHealth Monroe and EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte.

AGB Chairwoman Jeanette Greenfield talked about the importance of increased access to mental health services in the state of Washington.-á

"There is an incredible gap in service,GÇ¥ Greenfield said. "Behavioral health for those over 55 is a need in every community in this state. I am so proud that we will be meeting that need here in Monroe, Snohomish and the surrounding communities.GÇ¥-á -á

JoEllen Watson was hired by Fairfax to help establish the new facility. Watson gave ceremony attendees a tour of the renovated space, including an overview of some of the services they will offer. Sixteen beds will be designated for involuntary patients, with the rest dedicated to voluntary commitments.

Each room is set up to accommodate two patients, and every room has its own bathroom. Beds can be adjusted to just a few inches off the ground to help prevent injury, and the bathrooms were designed to hinder attempts at self-harm.

Food will be available 24/7, Watson said, so patients who arrive late are able to eat if hungry. -á -á

"Our dining is going to be family style, so no one's going to eat off a tray,GÇ¥ Watson said. "We will be serving patients and we actually will be sitting down with them to eat.GÇ¥

She said a less institutional setting in the dining room is more conducive to patient health because it's easier to get patients to eat.

"That is such an important thing in an environment like this because if people don't eat, then we get into dehydration and delirium and confusion, and then they're with us longer,GÇ¥ Watson said. "The nourishment of our patients is one of our big focuses.GÇ¥

Watson said the average stay will be less than a month, but it's entirely dependent on the needs of the patient.

For more information on Fairfax Behavioral Health, visit www.fairfaxhospital.com. For more information about EvergreenHealth Monroe, visit www.valleygeneral.com.