Mental Health Facility Journal

Beacon Behavioral Health is a freestanding community mental health center located at 3200 Ridge Lake Dr. Suite 100 in Metairie, Louisiana. The CEO is P. Sean Wendell. The interview was conducted with Gail Boylan, LMSW. Centers also exist in Baton Rouge, Houma, Northshore, and Lutcher. Beacon Behavioral Hospital also owns 2 freestanding hospitals, one in New Orleans and one in Lutcher. Beacon’s mission statement is “to provide unsurpassed patient care in a compassionate, cost effective and ethical manner”. Intensive Outpatient Programs, Partial Hospitalization Programs, Outpatient Counseling, and Psychiatric Hospitalization are services offered. The facility accepts Medicare (70%-80% of patients), Humana, and People’s Health. There are no private paying patients at this time. Inpatient hospitalization is provided for adult and geriatric patients that need intensive level of care, at the New Orleans and Lutcher Hospitals. They have 24 beds. The five outpatient clinics offer Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient. Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) provides treatment four hours a day, five days a week. Upon admission, the Psychiatrist on duty provides a complete psychiatric evaluation. Patients are provided group and/or individual psychotherapy, medication management and education, coping skills, activity therapy, and community Resources. These patients are hospitalized in the psychiatric wards of local hospitals and are transported to the clinic daily for services. Transportation is provided to and from the facility. Lunch is provided daily for the patients. The patient is transferred to the Intensive Outpatient Program once their health/mental status is stable and discharged from the hospital. The Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) includes treatment up to 11 hours per week. Patients discharged from the hospital and home based patients that are not stabilized with medication and therapies are referred to this program. The service provides a