Pocono Alliance receives grant

Pocono Alliance received $25,000 from Aetna for the Bridges Out of Poverty initiative. Since the program began in 2012, Bridges Out of Poverty has worked with more than 200 clients who are in or near poverty as they take steps toward greater stability.

Based on a model used nationwide, Bridges Out of Poverty is a breakthrough approach to ending the cycle of poverty. Participants identify the causes of poverty, the hidden rules of economic class, and the resources needed for a better quality of life. Pocono Alliance staff then helps them make plans and accomplish their goals as they move from poverty to self-sufficiency. Behavioral Health Unit at its Gnaden Huetten campus at 211 N. 12th St. in Lehighton. The new unit has 20 inpatient beds for individuals 55 and older and is located in space in the former Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital that was completely renovated for this purpose. St. Luke’s merged with Blue Mountain Health System, which included Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton hospitals, in 2017.

The behavioral health unit has an interdisciplinary treatment team that includes a psychiatrist with training in treating geriatric patients, nurses, mental health technicians, case managers and activity therapists. The inpatient unit provides personalized treatment for mental illness including prolonged depression, delusions or hallucinations, suicidal thoughts and substance abuse. The program combines medical and psychological aspects of treatment for the best outcomes for each patient in a supportive and secured setting. The inpatient unit for older adults is in addition to the 22-bed adult unit that provides care to patients 18 to 54 years.