RRMC plans behavioral health unit
Redmond working to meet NW Ga. needs
Every year, more than 3,600 mental health patients leave the Northwest Georgia region for inpatient psychiatric care because of a lack of adequate local resources.
To address this challenge, Redmond Regional Medical Center has proposed to add a 24-bed inpatient behavioral health unit, plus outpatient services and a psychiatry residency training program.
“With the closure of Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital, many of our citizens were left without services they had come to depend upon. We see tremendous unmet demand in this region,” states John Quinlivan, Redmond Chief Executive Officer.
The community also recognizes this great need in Northwest Georgia. The strongest supporters for the Redmond Behavioral Health unit are law enforcement, local and state political leadership, and local health providers.
Redmond is currently in the process of applying for a certificate of need to the Department of Community Health to build the behavioral health unit. State law requires that a CON must be granted before a project of this type can proceed. The behavioral health unit would provide adult general psychiatric services.
Patients seen in this unit would be referred from the Redmond Emergency Room, other regional hospitals, the office of a psychiatrist or primary care physician, and Highland Rivers Health.
Dr. Julie Barnes, Redmond chief medical officer, said 68 percent of adults with mental disorders have medical conditions, and 29 percent of adults with medical conditions have mental disorders.
“While we plan to provide general psychiatric care in our behavioral health unit, having psychiatric support for our medical patient population will be a significant gain for the community,” Barnes said.
Redmond also plans to expand its partnership with Highland Rivers Health, the Community Service Board for the Northwest Georgia region and one of Georgia’s largest behavioral healthcare providers.
The plan is to create a crisis stabilization unit located near the Redmond Emergency Room. Patients would receive care that would allow them to avoid inpatient hospitalization.
“The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities estimates that the crisis stabilization unit will save Georgia
about $1 million per year,” said Redmond CEO John Quinlivan. “Clearly, it is in the state’s best interest to meet this unmet need, train more psychiatrists through our residency program, and save money.”
Once the behavioral health unit is established, the Redmond Graduate Medical Education department plans to start a psychiatry residency program. This program will train up to four psychiatry residents per year over a four-year training period, resulting in up to 16 residents in the program.
Dr. Daniel Robitshek, Redmond’s director of Graduate Medical Education, explains, “Many of our current psychiatry training programs are at large academic institutions that train psychiatrists who then become academic psychiatrists and do
mostly research, which is important. However, we need community-based psychiatry training programs that have real-world training and develop psychiatrists who have a commitment to compassionately care for patients in their communities. Our vision is to bring a high level of academic education to the community through the Redmond psychiatry residency program.”
There are only 6.5 psychiatrists per 100,000 people in Georgia, the 40th largest ratio in the United States. The national average is 8.9 psychiatrists per 100,000 population. The goal of the Redmond psychiatry residency program is to not only train but also have these psychiatrists start their practice in the region after their residency is completed.
“According to the Georgia Board Contributed photo Dr. Paul Wesley (right) takes U.S. Sen. David Perdue through different aspects of the learning center in Redmond’s Graduate Medical Education offices.
for Physician Workforce, graduates tend to reside in or near the geographic area where they train,” Barnes said. “Therefore, graduates of Georgia medical schools who attend Georgia residency programs are 70 percent more likely to stay in Georgia.”
Redmond’s parent company, Hospital Corporation of America, is the largest private hospital company and one of the largest providers of behavioral health services in the United States, according to information provided by RRMC.
Once Redmond receives approval to establish a behavioral health unit, Quinlivan estimates that it will take approximately one year to build. Redmond anticipates the behavioral health unit could open in summer 2018 if the application is unopposed.