The Long Awaited Behavioral Health Unit at Mercy Hospital Opens its Doors to the Public

ROSEBURG, Ore. — Mercy Medical Center on Stewart Parkway in Roseburg, Oregon, is finally opening its Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) after many years of planning.

The public is invited to attend an open day next Tuesday, January 23, from 4 pm to 6 pm, when they can visit the patient activity and care rooms and meet the BHU staff who will be caring for the patients. The first intake of patients is expected by the end of this month or early in February.

Mercy’s BHU Could Help Reduce Stigma Attached to Mental Health Problems

Douglas County has a high suicide rate, according to Mercy’s Clinical Co-Ordinator, Rebecca Christian. She said a BHU was long-needed and would also have an impact on reducing the stigma attached to mental health issues, not only locally but throughout the United States.

The Director of the BHU, Cassy Cressall, NP, expressed pride in the creation of a space to serve the mental health care needs of the community. She encouraged the public to take advantage of the open house invitation to see the caring and thoughtfulness that has gone into the creation of the hospital’s BHU.

The Mercy Medical Center BHU will cater for a maximum of 12 in-care patients. Resources will include occupational therapy, group classes, as well as outpatient services. This is the first time that mental health care services will be available to the Douglas County community and will fill a much-needed medical care gap.

What Is a BHU?

A BHU is also known as a psychiatric unit that is set up in a secure section of a hospital where patients receive mental health care. Mercy Health Center’s BHU is a safe and secure area to cater to patients whose conditions can be unstable, are at risk of self-harming, and/or pose a threat to others.

Mercy Medical Center’s Service to the Community

Mercy Medical Center is a non-profit rural community hospital, and the only hospital operating in Douglas County. It has a heliport to cater to emergency department patients and is located on a 90-acre campus.

Mercy Hospital serves 112,000 Douglas County residents, with a history dating back more than a century when sisters of the Mercy Order managed to raise $12,000 to build the 25-bed hospital. Mercy has now grown to a 174-bed hospital offering patients access to advanced technologies, trained medical professionals, rehabilitation, and a range of diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic services.

The hospital is a wholly owned subsidiary of Catholic Health Initiative (CHI) and can offer patients a variety of quality medical services not usually associated with rural communities the size of Douglas County. Its Shaw Heart and Vascular Center has earned Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence from the American College of Cardiology.

During the last fiscal year, Mercy handled:

• 39,772 Emergency Room visits
• 6,326 hospital admissions
• 4,844 surgeries

Thousands of patients receive AIM therapies, Imaging, Lab, and Hospice services at the hospital every year. The goal of the hospital is to keep meeting the healthcare needs of in-and-out patients and to keep pace with advances in the field of medicine.

References

https://chimercyhealth.com/about-us/expansion-plan/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Medical_Center_(Roseburg,_Oregon)