The Arizona
State Hospital provides court-ordered treatment to individuals suffering
from a behavioral health illness which has severely impaired their functioning
and their ability to be maintained in the community. It is the most
restrictive psychiatric setting in Arizona; therefore the courts must be shown
that individuals have been unable to be psychiatrically stabilized in
community treatment facilities. The courts generally require a minimum of
twenty-five inpatient treatment days to attempt stabilization before issuing
an order to the Arizona State Hospital. Every attempt should be made in the
community to stabilize the behavior prior to admission to the State Hospital.
Once an individual has been referred, the Hospital's Office of Admission
attempts to gather the proposed patient's past clinical information from the
community. This information is vital in the development of a treatment plan
that will be comprehensive and built around the individual needs of the
patient. Clinical information received is summarized by the Admission Office's
social workers and is provided to the hospital's Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
for review. This review familiarizes the CMO with the special needs of each
patient and enables him to assign the incoming patient to the most appropriate
treatment unit in the hospital. The CMO may also request additional clinical
information be secured, which will further assist with treatment. Once it is
determined that the Arizona State Hospital is the appropriate setting for the
prospective patient, a unit assignment is made, and the local Regional
Behavioral Health Agency (RBHA) is notified and a request is made for a
Certificate Of Need (CON). This certificate is basically a document which says
that the RBHA is in agreement that this patient meets the criteria for the
level of care the Arizona State Hospital offers. The Office Of Admission
coordinates with the community hospital or facility to arrange for the
patient's transport to the hospital
Who Provides my Family
Member's Care?
Upon the patient's arrival on the unit, they are met by the inpatient
treatment team who will be responsible for their care and treatment. This
inpatient treatment team is made up of staff from the following disciplines:
Psychiatry, Nursing, Social Work, Rehabilitation Therapy Services and
Psychology. Other departments, such as Family Medicine and Nutrition Services
are also actively working with each patient in the hospital.
An extensive intake interview occurs with the patient and team members
complete a comprehensive assessment. The assessment is utilized in developing
a preliminary treatment plan with the participation of the patient. A staffing
date and time is then set to formalize the Individual Treatment and Discharge
Plan (ITDP). A 10 day period allows the team to become more familiar with the
patient's particular strengths and needs..
The Psychiatrist is responsible for leading the treatment team, and
identifies the interventions needed to address the patients psychiatric and
medical needs and concerns. The psychiatrist and family practice physician
complete an initial assessment, establish the diagnosis, prescribe medication,
other tests or treatment that need to be performed and review the individual's
progress in meeting treatment goals.
Nursing staff, in coordination with medical and psychiatric staff,
monitor the status of the patient and coordinate to ensure that medical care
is provided. Nursing staff provide treatment to patients to address their
medical and psychiatric needs. They maintain responsibility for ensuring a
safe and therapeutic environment, supporting, supervising and teaching
patients self-care, providing individual and group treatment, medication
education and administration as well as implement physician orders. Nursing
staff help patients process their moods and feelings and communicate the
progress of the patient to the rest of the team. More on
Nursing...
The Social Worker on the unit is responsible for assuring that all
family members and significant community service providers are notified of
treatment team staffings, and encourage their input into the treatment plan.
Family and community service providers are strongly encouraged to maintain
their involvement with the patient throughout their stay in the hospital,
since they are the primary link to a successful discharge. The Social Worker
is charged with planning and coordinating the return of the patient to the
community following discharge (discharge planning). Some of the services they
work to coordinate include: case management and medication, medical care,
housing, and other benefits. More on Social
Services...
The Psychologist has the responsibility for ensuring that a treatment
plan is developed, maintained and followed by the treatment plan for every
patient in the hospital. In addition, the psychologist is responsible for
providing group therapy to address common issues that are experienced by
patients with mental illness. For example, the development of coping,
communication and social skills, anger management and substance abuse
education are some of the more common areas covered in therapeutic groups. In
addition, psychologists perform evaluations to help clarify a diagnosis or
assist in determining the treatment approach that should be used. Individual
therapy is also regularly provided by psychology staff. More
on Psychology...
Rehabilitation Services are provided by Occupational and Recreational
Therapists and Therapy Technicians. Rehabilitation staff assist patients in
learning the community living skills needed to assist them in successful
community reintegration. These services focus primarily on home management,
use of leisure time, fitness and social skill development. Opportunities are
provided to apply skills learned in day-to-day activities (e.g. walks, dances,
art and music, exercise, etc.) More on Rehabilitation...
The planning for the discharge of the patient begins at the time of admission
by identifying family and community resources which will be available to
support the patient's transition back into the community, once the illness is
stabilized. Throughout the patient's stay all efforts will be made to keep
family and community involvement active. For those patients who do not have
the family or community supports, the hospital will work with the RBHA and
other community agencies to assure those supports are in place during the
patients hospitalization and, in particular, at the time of discharge.
To obtain information about how to contact your inpatient family member's
treatment team, call the Arizona State Hospital's Admission Unit at
(602) 220-6120.
More information about RHBA's
can be obtained on the Arizona Department of Health Services, Division
of Behavioral Health Services webpage.
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