LP Spring 2018 - 30

L A N C A S T E R M E D I C A L S O C I E T Y.O R G

Perspectives

integrating mental health care providers into primary care centers.
Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital will offer 126 beds when it
opens this summer, with a range of inpatient and outpatient services.
According to Van Bramer, the hospital will offer the only inpatient unit for adolescents in Lancaster County, although other
health networks provide non-inpatient mental health services for
children and teens. Being able to access inpatient care close to
home is very important to this age group, she said, as needing to
leave the area for treatment has the potential to increase stress and
trauma for both the patient and family members.
"This new 126-bed hospital will address these needs," Van
Bramer said.
The new hospital also will include a unit for medically complex
individuals and a dedicated women's trauma unit.
While Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital is giving attention
to adolescent patients, UPMC Pinnacle Lancaster provides a
10-bed, secure unit for adults who are 60 years or older, offering a
variety of services including group, individual, and family therapy;

discharge planning; psychiatric evaluation and assessment; and
other therapies.
Hess said that since Philhaven became affiliated with WellSpan
Health in January 2016, it has integrated staff members specializing
in behavioral health into more than 40 patient-centered Medical
Home and specialty practices within the WellSpan system.
"Joining with WellSpan has given us the opportunity to
provide behavioral health care in a much expanded setting,"
Hess said. "There are many ways that behavioral health care
can be integrated."
It makes sense to have mental health care specialists in primary
care settings because those generally are the first places where
patient seek care, Hess explained. Having someone available
to address behavioral health issues at that level of care is more
efficient than having a primary care physician need to refer the
patient to another medical setting.
Saunders agreed, adding that many patients respond better when
they are treated in the comfortable setting of a family practice.
"We're recognizing that conditions like depression and anxiety
should be treated in the primary care setting," she said.
Under the old model, a patient identified as suffering from
depression would be referred to a psychiatrist for evaluation and
treatment that could extend for years. A more effective model,
Saunders said, is to conduct patient screenings in the primary
care setting and refer patients who need treatment to an appropriate level of care.

M&T Bank is proud to
support Lancaster's
Medical Community.

"We are creating a spectrum of services that start in the primary
care setting," Saunders said.
As medical providers and administrators grapple with how
to provide the best and most efficient treatment for a growing
number of patients requiring mental health care, Van Bramer
is optimistic that attitudes concerning mental illness and its
treatment are shifting.
"Fortunately, advances in our societal understanding and better
alignment of public policies have resulted in more widespread
acceptance that, like physical illness, behavioral health disorders are
legitimate and highly treatable conditions, as opposed to individual
personal flaws or weaknesses," she said. "Individuals do recover from
mental illness, just like they heal from physical illness."

Andrew Soule
Business Banking Relationship Manager
Southeastern Pennsylvania
717-560-3181
asoule@mtb.com

LANCASTER

PHYSICIAN

http://www.mtb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LP Spring 2018