Senior Care Unit

Our Senior Care Unit opened July 1, 2007.  This is a 15-bed short-stay geriatric
psychiatric facility specializing in the treatment of people who are of the
Medicare age and older.  Patients will receive care and treatment for
Alzheimer’s, depression and other conditions that are often part of the aging
process. 

Aging can present unique mental health needs and life challenges
that older adults often find difficult to overcome. The Senior Care Unit at Artesia
General Hospital
will assist older adults and their families in understanding and in learning to
cope with these problems related to the aging process. Our goal is to maintain
and enhance the patient’s self respect during every phase of treatment,

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT MAY INDICATE A NEED FOR TREATMENT

• Depressed mood, extreme
  sadness or irritability
• Feeling useless, helpless,
  hopeless
• Personality changes over time
• Unexplained physical ailments
• Changes in eating and
  sleeping patterns, fluctuations in weight
• Changes in energy level
• Loss of interest in
  appearance/ hygiene
• Increasing difficulty
  remembering ordinary things
• Confused thinking, difficulty
  concentrating, disorientation
• Excessive fears, anxieties,
  suspiciousness
• Feeling rejected by others
• Withdrawal from family &
  friends
• Hearing Voices or imagining
  things that do not exist
• Needing more medication than
  should be necessary for a physical condition
• Refusal to take needed
  medication
• Suicidal thoughts
• Growing inability to cope
  with daily living

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO HEALING

We take a holistic view through the assessment and treatment of the physical,
emotional, spiritual and lifestyle changes that come with age. Care is
administered through our clinical team of professionals lead by a Psychiatrist
and consisting of Nurses, Social Workers and Technicians who are specially
trained in psychiatric care.

We place great value upon family involvement in the treatment process by urging
family members to participate as much as possible in the program we provide.
Throughout treatment our Social Worker will maintain contact with the family
and arrange for family therapy as needed. We believe that a patient’s recovery
is enhanced when the family participates in the process.. We also work closely
with the family to develop an aftercare plan, which will include the most
appropriate living arrangements.