Vim & Vigor - Summer 2014 - Community Healthcare - 56

by AngelA Moore

Finding the Silver Lining

ife was going very well for Alan*. He was a successful
business owner running several companies and balancing a busy family life at the same time. When two
of his three businesses began experiencing financial
difficulties, the stresses of the situation affected his bipolar
disorder, turning his world upside down.
A family member suggested the Mood Disorder Unit at
St. Catherine Hospital.
"I work and live for my family and didn't want to be away
from them, but I knew something had to change-and it was
me," says the father of five. "I received the support I needed
from deeply compassionate, highly trained professionals who
helped me gain a new perspective and to start living life again."
A recent $2 million internal expansion of the hospital's
Neurobehavioral Medicine program provides two progressive healing environments for mental health: one for intensive
treatment and the other for patients with mood disorders.
St. Catherine Hospital's team of extensively trained physicians,
therapists, nurses and support staff works to heal the mind,
body and spirit of patients with mental and mood disorders
ranging from major depressive to bipolar diagnoses.

SU M M E R 2 014

Don't Suffer
in Silence

Get the help you need. For more information or to
make an appointment, call 219-392-7025.

"Each patient, like Alan, who comes to St. Catherine is
seeking alleviation of significant challenges to their ways of
thinking, feeling and behaving," says Scot West, RN, nurse
manager, Neurobehavioral Medicine program. "We focus on
the development of a unique treatment approach that suits
individual needs."
In the Mood Disorder Unit, staff recognizes that patients
can benefit from interactive therapies. By incorporating
yoga, tai chi, spirituality groups and support groups focusing on depression, anxiety and impulse control, they can
work toward the goals of mood stabilization, improved coping strategies, development of a healthier lifestyle, psychoeducation and relapse prevention.
"It's a holistic treatment approach that has our patients
leaving our units thinking, feeling and behaving in new ways
that promote overall health and wholeness," West says.
Other hospital team members work in conjunction with
the Mood Disorder Unit as the need arises, including cardiac
rehabilitation specialists, dietitians from nutrition, diabetes
specialists, and labor and delivery nurses, to provide a more
complete treatment approach, he says.
"Education is an important aspect of our care, with the
goals of helping patients and their families understand their
illness, fully participate in treatment and develop positive
coping techniques," says Neurobehavioral Medicine program
Medical Director Joseph Fanelli, MD.
"Our team brings together knowledge and techniques from
the medical, behavioral and social sciences to provide treatment for a wide range of health conditions," says Fanelli. "We
work together to meet the needs of the entire person with care
that ranges from general counseling to cutting-edge, state-of
the-art innovations."
Once the patient is ready to continue treatment on an outpatient basis, the Centers for Mental Wellness offers counseling and support at two convenient locations: in East Chicago
inside the hospital at 4321 Fir St., 3rd floor, and in Schererville
at 6625 W. Lincoln Highway (southwest corner of U.S. 30 and
Harvest Drive).
(*name changed for patient privacy)

ToP PHoTo By THINkSToCk

St. Catherine Hospital Mood Disorder team includes (seated from left):
Angelica Moreno, RN; Melissa Evers, RN; Patricia Brucer, RN; Barbara
VanderBoegh, RN; Lori Frank-Jovanovich, RN; Juanita Matlock, MHW;
Ileana Ramos, RN; (standing from left): Maylee Chavarria-Iruegas, MHW;
Sharon Booker, MHW; Scot West, RN; Chandra Lyles, LCSW; Willie
Morgan; MHW; Carmen Rodriguez, LCSW; Willie Hurson, MHW; Bobbie
Williams, RN; Jaime Rivas, MHW; Ameer Elsalaymeh, MHW; Robert
Crowe, RN; Ann Bobos, RT.

Call

Mood Disorder team heals
minds, bodies and spirits

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2014 - Community Healthcare

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