Shasta Regional Medical Center has completed the two year construction of a 20-bed geriatric psychiatry (geropsych) unit, called Path to Wellness schedule to open on Wednesday, December 23. The unit is a voluntary inpatient mental health program that will treat psychiatric disorders in mature adults, generally, 55 and older.
Six percent of Americans age 65 and over have a diagnosable depressive illness. Older adults also have among the highest rates of suicide, relative to other age groups. Depression in seniors can be triggered by chronic illness common in later life, such as
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, cancer and arthritis.
Unfortunately, symptoms of depression are often overlooked and untreated when they coincide with other medical illnesses or life events that commonly occur as people age (e.g., loss of loved ones). However, clinical depression is never a “normal” response; it is a serious medical illness that should be treated at any age.
“This new program will be a foundation for our efforts to provide older adults in our community with a full range of inpatient mental health care services,” said Cyndy Gordon, CEO of Shasta Regional Medical Center. “We are fortunate to provide such a
high demand medical service to our community,” stated Gordon.
The Path to Wellness unit program director, Jacquie Lucas and medical director, Dr. Imran Khan will oversee clinical operations and community outreach. Included in the multi-disciplinary clinical team includes, physicians, psychiatric nurses and social workers.
The Path to Wellness program at Shasta Regional Medical Center has 20 beds, private and semi-private rooms located on the 3th floor in a comfortable environment that is secured for safety.
