Bringing life into balance for older adults.
Focusing on the needs of each patient, and including the family at every step, LakeView Center for Behavioral Health Services offers a wide range of services for older adults to help bring life into balance. Our comfortable, 15-bed facility, located at LakeView Community Hospital in Paw Paw, is the only medical geropsychiatric unit in Southwest Michigan exclusively for older adults (those aged 55 or more). Many of our patients are in their 70s.
Assessment and referral
LakeView Center for Behavioral Health Services offers free assessment by a psychiatric/mental health nurse. Referral by a physician is not necessary. Concerned family members or healthcare workers can access the program by calling 800.656-3141 or 269.657.7149. We’re located at 408 Hazen St., Paw Paw, MI 49079.
Admission
Admission is based on the severity of symptoms. Indicators include:
- 55 years of age or older
- Change in functioning due to disturbances in mood, thought or impulse control
- Agitation or destructive behaviors
When help is needed
The average length of stay is 14 days. We are Medicare and Medicaid certified and accept most other insurances. Our program is unique in that it addresses both emotional and medical issues, which often are related. It is designed to strengthen healthy behavior associated with the following:
- Anxiety or nervousness
- Temporary emotional crisis
- Long-term emotional crisis
- Recurring emotional illness
- Physical ailments without diagnosable illness
- Agitation or destructive behaviors
In addition, we assess:
- Medications
- Nutrition and sleep patterns
- Mobility
- Alternative community resources
- 24-hour care needs
- Physical status
Services
LakeView Center for Behavioral Health Services opened in 1987 with an inpatient component and has grown to include home-care services. We specialize in treating older adults and recognize problems specific to aging. We provide complete behavioral health consultation and evaluation services.
Inpatient services
Our inpatient behavioral health program for older adults is the first and only one of its kind in Southwest Michigan. It is an outgrowth of our pioneering work in older adult behavioral medicine. Our trained professionals treat anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts in addition to sleep disorders, agitation, wandering and memory impairment.
Patients benefit from group and individual counseling as well as daily visits and careful monitoring by a board-certified psychiatrist. Families are encouraged to attend weekly team meetings. Our program uses:
- A multi-disciplinary approach that includes physicians, nurses, social workers and other specialists as needed
- A treatment plan for each individual
- Weekly team review of the treatment plan
- Close family involvement
- Client and caregiver education
- After-care resource referrals
Home-care services
LakeView Behavioral Health Home Care has the largest team of experienced, psychiatric/mental health nurses in Southwest Michigan. Our staff offers mental health consultation and evaluation services as well as medication administration, management and education – all in the comfort and convenience of home. We also provide education and training for caregivers.
Our behavioral health home-care services help to reduce the length of hospital stay while insuring that patients receive the care they need to achieve an improved quality of life. Home-care services also help to reduce the use of emergency and crisis intervention services. Finally, through our program, patients experience better compliance with medication and treatment.
Additional support services tailored to each patient’s condition are provided by medical social workers, by occupational, physical speech therapists, and by home-health aides. Our program offers:
- Services provided in adult foster-care facilities
- Caregiver support and education
- 24-hour and weekend on-call support from psychiatric nurses
- Priority access to LakeView’s inpatient medical geropsychiatric unit
- Coordination with community agencies and resources
- Services offered to patients requiring partial hospitalization
Who could benefit from home-health services?
- Homebound clients with psychiatric symptoms, with or without medical problems
- Clients with new psychiatric diagnosis needing close management
- Chronic mental health clients experiencing an acute episode
- Medical clients exhibiting psychosocial symptoms that inhibit their progress
- Clients with impairments that make it impossible to access outpatient mental health services
For more information
More information is available from LakeView Center for Behavioral Health Services at 800.656-3141 or 269.657.7149. Ask for Betty Thompson, our admission coordinator. You can also contact us at info@lakeviewcares.com.
