Mountain View, CA - February 22, 2012 - El Camino Hospital is launching Behavioral Health programs for two populations adjacent to the Los Gatos Hospital campus. One program focuses on the older adult and the other program is for the adolescent population. Both are Intensive Outpatient Programs providing services four days a week.
Older Adult Transitions Services (OATS) is geared towards the special needs of older adults who suffer acute mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety, mood changes, or panic. These patients have generally not responded to traditional interventions such as office-based medication therapy, counseling, and/or support groups. Patients frequently have other medical conditions, and treatment is carefully coordinated with each patient's medical doctor. All patients are seen regularly by a psychiatrist with training in the older adult population. The program is offered during the day (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and is a 12-week model, with patients coming up to four days per week. Individual and group treatment is applied using the concepts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
The program takes all major insurances, including Medicare.
After School Program Interventions and Resiliency Education (ASPIRE) serves the youth population aged 13-18. It is designed as an eight week program, four afternoons a week (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) The goal is to provide meaningful and effective treatment for teenagers who experience anxiety, depression or other symptoms that are significant enough to cause problems such as school failure, reckless behavior, substance abuse, or suicidal thoughts. The program is provided during the after school period, a time when symptoms can often escalate and there is often less ability of parents to help. It offers a unique approach of Skill-Building in the areas of Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance, Effective Relationships, and "Walking the Middle Path" (an approach emphasizing the need for balance and acceptance). ASPIRE works hard to de-label kids, and helps teenagers recognize where their strengths are, how to build on these, and how to improve in areas needed to achieve emotional wellness.
APSIRE accepts all major insurance payors-physician fees are separately billed but typically also covered by insurance. All the youth are followed by a child-adolescent specialty psychiatrist while they are in the program.
"We have had great success with both of these programs at our Mountain View location," says Michael Fitzgerald, a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry and Director of Behavioral Health Services for El Camino Hospital. "We have had many requests from Los Gatos and surrounding communities to bring these programs closer to that area. It can be particularly hard for these two populations (older adults and adolescents) to get to the programs in Mountain View due to transportation barriers. Additionally, we have run out room at times due to the popularity and demand for these services."
Patients can be self-referred to the outpatient programs, or referred by their family, employer, healthcare provider or other means. In the case of the youth program, referrals are typically made by family or by mental health providers, or by school counselors.
Prospective patients can get more information or make an appointment for the initial assessment by calling Behavioral Health Services, Los Gatos at 408-866-4028 (OATS Program) or 408-866-4021 (ASPIRE program).