Behavioral Health Patients at Saint Clare’s Health Can Expect to Receive Treatment if They are Either COVID Positive or COVID Negative
Boonton Twp, NJ (June 19, 2020) – Saint Clare’s Behavioral Health has put procedures in place to make it possible to treat both COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative patients who have behavioral health issues. Therefore, the Behavioral Health Unit is accepting COVID-19-positive patients and has adapted to the challenge. Various procedures are in place to admit both COVID-19 and behavioral health patients that need hospitalization.
“People who feel they may be COVID-19 positive and have behavioral health issues should not refrain from contacting our behavioral health professionals. We have been able to admit and/or treat almost everyone we see,” said Rebecca Light, Administrative Director of Behavioral Health, Acute Care and Nursing.
Below is a synopsis of Saint Clare’s Behavioral Health procedures in treating COVID positive behavioral patients.
- Patients coming from the emergency department, psychiatric emergency services, or another facility must wait for COVID-19 test results prior to transfer to our Boonton Twp. facility.
- If being referred by through the walk-in clinic, or Central Evaluating and Referral Services (CER), at the Boonton Twp. campus, the patient will be swabbed for COVID-19 on admission. Patients can be admitted to the inpatient unit; however, they must remain in isolation in a single room until test results are obtained.
Negative results
- Adult crisis intervention service patients whose COVID test results come back negative prior to admission will be admitted to the Psychiatric Medical Care Unit (PMCU) in Dover.
- Patients who are in Children’s Crisis Intervention Services, the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, or the Alcohol & Chemical Dependency Unit whose COVID-19 test results come back negative prior to or on admission will be admitted to their respective units in accordance with the hospital’s standard procedures.
What about those with asymptomatic positive results?
- Patients from the Adult Crisis Intervention Services, the Alcohol Chemical Dependency Unit, and mentally manageable PMCU patients who are asymptomatic or recovered but whose COVID-19 test comes back positive will be admitted under the appropriate admissions qualifications and placed on the Adult Crisis Intervention Services Unit for treatment.
- Children’s Crisis Intervention patients who test positive and require admission to the unit will be isolated in the unit with isolation precautions in place.
- Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit patients who test positive and require admission to the unit will be isolated. Isolation and COVID-19 precautions remain in place.
All patients will be encouraged to wear a mask while in the in-patient units and all patient masks must be signed out daily to ensure safety and all groups and meals must be carried out in a manner conducive to maintaining social distancing between all patients. In other words, meals will be taken in smaller and more frequent groups and tables and chairs will be spread out for meals.
“All in all, we cannot emphasize enough that if you feel you need any form of behavioral health services call Central Evaluation Services at 1-888-626-2111. Patients are rarely turned away because they are COVID-positive or symptomatic,” said Dr. Sarabjit Singh, Behavioral Health Medical Director.
About Saint Clare’s Health
Saint Clare’s Health is a CMS 5 Star Rated and an award-winning provider of safe, high-quality, compassionate care, serving the communities of Morris and Sussex counties. Its network of hospitals and healthcare facilities includes Denville Hospital, Dover Hospital, Behavioral Health Centers in Boonton, Denville, and Parsippany, and an Imaging Center in Parsippany, among other satellite locations. To learn more visit SaintClares.com and Like Us on Facebook.
CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) 5 Star Rating is based on 100 rigorously tested quality measures at more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals as well as Veteran Health Administration and military health system hospitals.
Saint Clare’s Health is Joint Commission accredited and both Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital and Saint Clare’s Dover Hospital have been recognized by the following third-party organizations:
- Leapfrog A Rating for Patient Safety
- One of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention
- American Heart Association recognitions for:
- Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
- Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Award
- Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Receiving Center – Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award 2018
- Three-Year Accreditation Award with Commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
- Accreditations by the American College of Radiology in Radiation Oncology and Breast Imaging Center of Excellence
Saint Clare’s Denville Hospital’s Echocardiology Laboratory has been recognized by the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Echocardiology Laboratories and the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories. It is also a recipient of the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners Care Award.
Saint Clare’s Dover Hospital has received Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQUP) Comprehensive Center Designation Joint Commission Accredited.
Visit our website at www.SaintClares.com.