MIAMI – North Shore Medical Center in Miami is proud to announce the grand opening of its newly renovated and advanced Behavioral Health Unit. The unit includes 20 beds with an increased number of private rooms. Patient safety and comfort was the top priority in the design of the new unit. The unit includes a patio where patients can enjoy an outside atmosphere.
“North Shore Medical Center has provided high quality behavioral health services for many years; however, as a patient-centered hospital we made the commitment to advance our level of service even further,” said CEO Manny Linares. “Now, our patients can safely spend more time outdoors; enjoy flat screen televisions in private rooms; and feel more comfortable and at home in the tranquil environment that we’ve created.”
While North Shore Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Unit has a new look, its philosophy remains the same: provide patients with a safe environment and an interdisciplinary treatment plan that incorporates the patient, physician, family and community. The Unit is staffed with nurses, mental health technicians, social workers, adjunctive therapists, court case managers and a court liaison that works in conjunction with the attending physician to ensure the optimal level of care for each patient.
The new space will support the Unit’s wide array of behavioral health services offered throughout each patient’s continuum of care. Services include psychiatric evaluation by experienced psychiatrists; interdisciplinary treatment planning; medication education and teaching; Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous meetings; group, individual, and family therapy; and discharge planning with referrals to appropriate community support agencies.
NSMC COO Patricia Sechi, CEO Manny Linares, Unit Director Dawn Knowles, Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jane Damavandi, Richard Douyon, M.D. and Patrick Pinchinat, M.D.
