A local hospital now has another option for patients with anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
Genesis Health System held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday morning for its new, Behavioral Intervention Unit at its west campus in Davenport.
Summary
Supervisor Amy Haldeman says the three-bed unit for patients of all ages is adjacent to the Emergency Department. They can stay for up to three days as out-patients instead of being admitted to the hospital. She and other staff members worked with Trinity's Robert Young Center in Rock Island to create the unit since there wasn't one in the Iowa Quad Cities.
The goal is to intervene early to help patients get better without being admitted. Haldeman says the new behavioral unit will also help patients, health care providers, and the community save money.
The Anna Neal Behavioral Intervention Unit at Genesis is named after a nurse who died trying to save 40 patients when fire broke out in the hospital in 1950. St. Elizabeth's was the mental health ward at Mercy Hospital, which is now Genesis Medical Center's west campus.
The Genesis Foundation will also create the Anna Neal Fund to raise money for the new unit and other mental health care programs.
