VICKSBURG FACTS: Vicksburg, home of Mississippi’s first Geriatric Psychiatric Unit – The Vicksburg Post

By Vera Ann Fedell | The Vicksburg Put up

Do you know Vicksburg was residence to the primary geriatric psychiatric unit in Mississippi?

The Nineties was a reformative period for psychological well being care in the USA. In 1990, the USA Congress handed the Psychological Well being Modification, a grant program that finically assists tasks for well being service analysis, demonstration, coaching and different issues for mentally ailing people and youngsters as acknowledged in congress.gov. This helped states like Mississippi enhance and create amenities for psychological well being. 

On Could 24, 1992, it was introduced within the Vicksburg Night Put up that Vicksburg could be the primary place to have a short-term geriatric psychiatric unit. 

The geriatric psychiatric unit had been granted permission by the Mississippi State Division of Well being in 1991 however acknowledged that Vicksburg might solely have one such unit within the space. Each Vicksburg Medical Middle and Parkview Regional Medical Middle utilized and introduced their plans for the brand new geriatric psychiatric unit, however Vicksburg Medical Middle in the end received.

As acknowledged in 1992 within the Vicksburg Night Put up, Vicksburg Medical Middle renovated the West Wing of the third ground to kind a 20-bed geriatric psychiatric unit. For the reason that new unit was situated inside a hospital, it had the additional advantage of aiding sufferers that even have persistent well being issues. 

One other characteristic that was used within the geriatric psychiatric unit, was two dayrooms that contained kitchenettes, sofas and chairs, televisions and videocassette recorders, in response to the article written in The Vicksburg Put up. The unit additionally supplied a “seclusion room” for the occasions when a affected person turned agitated or medical employees might require a better remark of the affected person. 

It was assumed by many members of the neighborhood that the brand new geriatric psychiatric unit could be solely serving to people with Alzheimer’s illness. Nonetheless, the unit was supposed for these 55 and older and their relations to deal with dementia which was typically related to growing older.

The unit additionally supplied assist to these affected by melancholy, grief, anxiousness and different psychological diseases, in response to the Could 24, 1992, Vicksburg Night Put up article. 

The unit was primarily designed for people that had first-time discoveries of their psychological sickness. By including this geriatric psychiatric unit, it might be capable to deal with them instantly; nevertheless, the unit was not ready for long-term use. These had been usually three- to four-week remedy plans and 6 weeks for particular remedy plans.

Total, the unit was there to assist neighborhood members regain some management of their lives and Vicksburg took the following step to make that occur. 

At present, the geriatric psychiatric unit is now not at Vicksburg Medical Middle. On the time, the Vicksburg Medical Middle was situated the place Promise Hospital of Vicksburg on North Frontage Street used to reside, earlier than transferring to the primary Benefit Well being River Area constructing. Vicksburg nonetheless has a geriatric psychiatric unit, however it’s now below Benefit Well being River Area. The remedies at Benefit Well being give attention to creating a cushty setting that helps sufferers and households navigate the method of growing older.