Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Spring 2019

America Gomez, Psychiatric Mental Health NP New providers Grigg is also thrilled to welcome two new staff members, Medical Director Joanne Gartenberg, MD, and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner America Gomez. Gomez specializes in outpatient psychiatric services and can work with children 6 years old and up. She also provides medication-assisted treatment to individuals 16 and up. She is the first nurse practitioner hired by Bartlett Behavioral Health. “I believe increased access to children and families is a game changer for our program and our community. We are increasing access to treatment for individuals and families with children in need of Behavioral Health supports,” notes Grigg. “We are committed to meeting the Behavioral Health needs in our community and region.” Dr. Gartenberg, who specializes in psychiatry, adolescent/child psychiatry and chemical dependency, including detox, has returned to Bartlett after working in Seattle for the last 3 years. “I came back at the right time,” she says. “It’s really exciting to apply what I’ve learned in the last few years to an organization that I love, I’m familiar with and that is really on a growth trajectory. We are not only expanding services that we’ve had in the past but opening up new pathways of services.” Under the new setup, BOPs can better assist patients diagnosed with both chemical dependency and mental illness. A patient could theoretically be discharged from the Mental Health Unit to the Rainforest Recovery Center for residential treatment or directly to BOPs for outpatient follow-up. “It allows us to integrate all our levels of care and offer a seamless integration of services so people don’t fall through the cracks,” Dr. Gartenberg adds. Crisis stabilization In response to a stark increase in the number of individuals and families presenting at Bartlett’s Emergency Department for Behavioral Health emergencies, Bartlett Behavioral Health was recently awarded a state grant to develop and implement Crisis Stabilization Services. Crisis Stabilization is a service gap our community has needed filled for years. It’s a solution-focused approach to Behavioral Health crises for Juneau individuals and families. “We are planning to implement both a 23.5-hour crisis stabilization short stay/observation program, in addition to 3- to 5-day crisis intervention and stabilization services for youth and adults. We see patients almost daily who would benefit from this service rather than inpatient psychiatric care. And for youth ages 10 to 18, their primary option is out of town, which results in families not being physically present and active in the stabilization process. Our commitment is to provide Crisis services too, in our community,” says Grigg. “Post-stabilization, our goal is to support individuals and families with plans to successfully manage these challenges and stay engaged in ongoing support services in the community. New facilities on the horizon Through the above-mentioned state grant, the design process for the new Crisis Stabilization facility has begun. In addition, funding provided by the CBJ to build the new Rainforest Detox/Assessment facility is in place, and the design for this new program has been completed. Construction is anticipated to begin in late summer 2019 for this program. The facility will include the Bartlett Behavioral Health Assessment Center, serving as a single point of entry into our services, and a four-bed Detox Bay. Bradley Grigg, Chief Behavioral Health Officer MENTAL HEALTH www.bartletthospital.org 9