The entrance to the UPMC Altoona emergency department in 2022.
Mirror file photo
UPMC Altoona on Friday celebrated the opening this week of a newly constructed section within its Emergency Department designed to serve the special needs of behavioral health patients.
Modeled after what was previously the only such facility in the state at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh, the local behavioral health pod will provide individuals troubled by anxiety, depression, mood disorders and substance use disorder a calm environment dedicated exclusively to the care of patients like them.
It can help those patients escape the brightness and hubbub of the waiting room, and it will allow them to avoid the loneliness and boredom of the previous isolation rooms with bubble windows on the doors where patients waited for assessments — instead allowing them to interact with other patients like themselves while they wait for assessment and treatment, although caregivers can keep patients alone if necessary, according to officials at the ribbon cutting.
Behavioral health conditions are among the most common health issues nationally and deserve to be treated with “the same urgency, compassion and commitment” as do physical conditions — even as they require a “unique approach,” said Kim Corle, the hospital’s director of nursing operations.
By “reducing overstimulation and enhancing safety and privacy,” dedicated behavioral health pods can start de-escalation more quickly and “begin the path to healing” faster — while also reducing the need for inpatient behavioral health care by perhaps 20%, Corle said.
The atmosphere will be “soothing,” said Judy Rosser, executive director of the Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnership.
One of the major benefits will be the pod’s division into a section for adults and a section for children — allowing for a segregation that wasn’t previously possible.
The idea for the pod came from a conversation that UPMC Altoona Foundation President Tim Balconi had several years ago with someone who pointed out that there was a “deficit” in the provision of behavioral health care at the time, Balconi said.
UPMC Altoona officials consulted with Western Psych in designing a remedy to that deficit, Balconi said.
Construction was a challenge, according to UPMC Altoona President Mike Corso.
Working within a hospital is always difficult, due to the need to seal off the rest of the hospital from dust and other contaminants, but working on the pod was especially problematic due to the need for specialized components to ensure there are no opportunities for patient self-harm — including nothing from which patients can hang a string or rope, according to Bob Strawser, interim vice president of operations.
There were many delays in obtaining such components, which included devices for opening doors, door hinges and ceiling materials, he said.
The pod was constructed in a former treatment area of the Emergency Department.
Its creation will provide room for additional physical medicine beds for the Emergency Department and a new area for discharge planning so that ER patients of any type can move more expeditiously to higher levels of care, Strawser said.
The project cost $1.3 million, according to Balconi.
Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnership with the help of former State Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg, obtained $750,000 from the state; U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair, obtained $250,000 from the federal government; Blair County, at the urging of former Commissioner Bruce Erb, contributed $200,000 and City Council authorized a contribution of $100,000, Balconi said.
While partisanship in politics may reign at the moment, collaboration triumphed in the case of funding for the pod, Joyce said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.