St. Jude Hospital Plans Opening of New, 16-Bed Neuropsychiatric Unit : MEDICAL

Final touches are being made at St. Jude Hospital’s new 16-bed Neuropsychiatric Center, which is scheduled to open June 22.

Paul Viviano, president of the Fullerton hospital, said the demand for psychiatric care is growing. At the same time, St. Jude is looking for ways to use beds that have become empty because of the trend toward outpatient care and shorter hospital stays.

The mental health hospital wing, Viviano said, also will provide outpatient treatment and day-care programs for persons who do not require around-the-clock assistance and supervision.

Viviano said the facility’s patients will consist of persons suffering from mental ailments ranging from anxiety to depression, or those needing help to “cope with a modern, stress-filled world.”

Besides 16 private patient rooms, Viviano said, the mental health wing will contain a dining room and facilities for recreation, occupational therapy and group counseling.

Viviano said 16 psychiatrists have joined the staff since the hospital decided to offer specialized mental health treatment, boosting the roster to 20. And he said he expects that 10 more psychiatrists will soon be added to the staff.

As an adjunct to the mental health wing, Viviano said that on the day the wing opens, the hospital also will begin offering a telephone hot line that will be staffed by a psychiatric nurse.