Thursday, October 29, 2009

New Name...for Largest Mental Health Provider in the County

Council President Georve Leventhal (at center) joins Maryland's First Lady Kendal Ehrlich at the ribbon-cutting of the new Pediatric In-Patient Facility at the Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health Center, the first facility that includes in-patient children's beds. also in attendance were State Senator Jennie Forehand (at left), Adventist Health Care CEO Bill Robertson (second from left) and Craig S. Juengling (at right), President of the Potomac Ridge Behavioral Center.


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August 25, 2009

News Release
New Name and Quality-Driven Enhancements for Largest Mental Health Provider in the County
Rockville, MD - Adventist Behavioral Health, formerly Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health, today announced its new name, a partnership with Georgetown University Hospital's Department of Psychiatry and several quality-driven enhancements to its facilities and programming, including renovations and a future geriatric inpatient psychiatry unit. The new Adventist Behavioral Health name marks the organization's commitment to delivering the highest standards of mental health care and becoming the mental health care provider of choice in the community. The enhancements have allowed Adventist Behavioral Health to recruit highly-skilled psychiatrists to complement its dedicated clinical staff and to develop new programs that incorporate evidence-based treatment.

Adventist Behavioral Health partnered with Georgetown University Hospital's Department of Psychiatry to offer a future Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program, which is expected to enroll its first residents in July 2010. The training program will offer an academic-enriched environment for residents in a number of Adventist Behavioral Health's facilities, including Behavioral Health at Washington Adventist Hospital and the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children.

"Our partnership with Georgetown University Hospital's Department of Psychiatry is a tremendous step forward in our goal to become a leading academic and research-based hospital," said Peter Levine, M.D., MMM, executive medical director of behavioral health services for Adventist Behavioral Health. "The program will provide residents rigorous, hands-on training in the adolescent residential treatment center (RTC) and acute children's treatment environments and, at the same time, help create a culture of excellence, education and ongoing training at our facilities."

Adventist Behavioral Health also plans to open a 10-bed, state-of-the art geriatric inpatient psychiatry unit in January 2010. The unit, which will be the only one of its kind in Montgomery County, will treat individuals 65 years and older who suffer from a variety of major mental illnesses, including severe depression and bipolar disorder.

"According to the Rockville Institute, the geriatric population in Montgomery County is expected to rise 62 percent by 2025," said Sako Maki, President, Adventist Behavioral Health. "Offering geriatric psychiatry services is part of our organization's strategy to address the changing needs of the community and offer customized programs aimed to treat individuals at every stage of life. Our new clinical staff, partnership with Georgetown University Hospital's Department of Psychiatry and our renewed focus on quality and excellent outcomes will strengthen Adventist Behavioral Health's breadth of services to the community."

Adventist Behavioral Health is also working to ensure that its facilities reflect the quality care and compassionate service staff provides. To that end, the Rockville campus is renovating its 60-bed RTC at its Rockville campus. The renovations will include updated patient rooms, larger group therapy areas and modern workstations for the clinical staff.

"We are enhancing our services and investing in renovations that will make our RTC more conducive to successful behavioral therapy," said Maki. "It is important for us to create an environment of care that gives our patients and their families hope."

About Adventist Behavioral Health

Adventist Behavioral Health is a comprehensive behavioral health provider with locations in Anne Arundel, Dorchester and Montgomery counties, including Washington Adventist Hospital's Behavioral Health Unit and the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children. The organization offers a broad range of behavioral health programs and services for young children, adolescents, adults and senior citizens including therapeutic nursery programs, acute inpatient care, outpatient/dual diagnosis chemical dependency programs, residential treatment, special education and community-based residential services. Adventist Behavioral Health is part of Rockville-based Adventist HealthCare, an integrated health-care delivery system that is one of the largest employers in the State of Maryland.
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P.S. Bolds and Highlights added.
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