Geropsychiatric Behavioral Health Programs

How to love a senior®

Senior Bridges at Northern Nevada Medical Center offers inpatient and outpatient programs for adults, age 50 and older.

Inpatient Program

Senior Bridges is the only behavioral health inpatient program in the region that is located within a full-service hospital. Commonly treated disorders include:

• Dementia - Alzheimer's type
• Dementia associated with Parkinson's disease
• Vascular dementia
• Psychosis
• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Anxiety-related disorders
• Substance abuse
• Major depression

The Inpatient Team and Treatment

At Senior Bridges, patients are provided with a multidisciplinary team comprised of physicians, hospitalists, nurses, certified nursing assistants and licensed clinical social workers, as well as occupational, speech, physical and recreational therapists.

Patients receive:

• A complete history and physical evaluation by a physician within 24 hours of admission
• A psychiatric evaluation by a psychiatrist within 24 hours of admission
• 24-hour nursing care in a secure, compassionate environment
• Medication management
• A communication evaluation
• A occupational evaluation
• A recreational evaluation
• A psychosocial assessment

These assessments allow us to create an individualized treatment plan for each patient. Patients attend group, individual and family therapy depending on the individualized plan. Our environment, treatment and activities are focused on bringing patients to the best possible level of functioning.

DEPRESSION TREATMENT Program

The Depression Treatment Program was developed to assist adults 50 and older who are struggling with depression. During treatment you will receive all of the benefits of the NNMC Inpatient Program as well as:

• Group Therapy: Sessions are provided daily (Monday-Friday) and focused solely on supported treatment principles tailored to the assessment and treatment of depression.
• Individual Therapy: One daily individual therapy session (Monday-Friday) informed by these empirically supported principles for the treatment of depression.
• Family therapy and/or Family Meetings: A licensed clinical social worker works with the patient and family members to best address how depression has impacted the family.
• Daytime Recreation: A day room that is only for those individuals at Senior Bridges for the treatment of depression.
• We know Northern Nevada has a growing senior population struggling with depression and we are committed to them!

Intensive Outpatient Program

The intensive outpatient program at Senior Bridges is more comprehensive than a traditional outpatient program and is designed for adults 50 years and older who are experiencing behavioral health related issues such as depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness or many other things that can interfere with everyday life.

Some common things to look for are:

• Difficulty concentrating, making routine decisions, remembering details
• Lack of interest or pleasure in life and becoming more reclusive
• Changes in appetite or sleep patterns, with decreased energy level
• Feeling irritable, depressed, overwhelmed, hopeless and useless, sometimes with suicidal thoughts
• Feeling helpless, often with more physical pain

The goal of the intensive outpatient program at Senior Bridges is to achieve collaboratively developed goals for increased functioning and emotional well-being. We are able to achieve this is a comfortable setting that enables patients to return home at the end of the therapy day.

Other benefits of our program include:

• Patients are with others who are working on similar issues in a group therapy setting
• We have a supportive environment to foster independence and self-confidence
• Programming begins at 10 am and concludes at 2 p.m., so patients can return home the same day
• Average attendance is two-to-three days a week
• Patients can receive individual, couples, family and group therapy
• Professionals from many disciplines work with the patient and their family
• Lunch provided

There are numerous areas we address and skills we provide in treatment including:

• Working through grief
• Coping skills
• Anxiety and depression education
• Cognitive therapy stress management
• Anger management
• Communication skills
• Socialization skills
• Relaxation skills