Goals and Objectives

Adult Inpatient Services

Adult Inpatient Services
Goals
Staff
Resources
Research
Specialty Areas
Confidentiality
Referrals

Adult Inpatient Services

The Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at the University of Chicago Hospitals provides services for acutely ill psychiatric patients, including those requiring extensive care for concurrent medical disorders. Completely renovated in January 1999, this unit has 26 beds and security appropriate to inpatient psychiatric units.

Goals

Our staff recognizes the vulnerability of patients during an inpatient stay. To address this state of mind, we focus on stabilizing the patient and planning short- and long-term treatments for the patient's psychological, social, and physiological problems.

Upon receiving a referral, our staff stays in close contact with the referring professional throughout the inpatient stay. Before we discharge a patient from the inpatient unit, we make every effort to coordinate with the referring professional on the patient's continuing outpatient care. We consider this contact and coordination crucial to the success of treatment.

Staff

Caring for the full range of psychiatric problems, our expert, multidisciplinary staff includes professionals from a broad range of health care disciplines.

Nursing

Our nurses are experienced in managing severely disturbed psychiatric patients and with psychological interventions for special populations, such as the demented elderly or substance abusers. Having broad experience and training in managing concurrent medical disorders, they have access to a wide range of University of Chicago specialists who often consult on patients in their areas of nursing expertise.

Activities therapy

These professionals assess and manage patients in group settings and conduct individual Independent Living Skills evaluations for patients whose post-hospital needs are in question.

Social work

Our social work professionals have extensive familiarity with local resources and special training. They work closely with the families of our patients and participate in the unit's activities program.

Resources

Our professionals have access to all the resources of the Department of Psychiatry and the Hospitals. They actively consult with specialists in many fields of medicine, imaging, psychology, and laboratory evaluation.

Research

The Department of Psychiatry conducts research into the major psychiatric disorders, including efforts to clarify the genetic foundations of these illnesses. The Department also runs trials of new pharmacological treatments. Patients on the Inpatient Unit may volunteer to participate in research or clinical trials, after going through appropriate informed consent procedures.

Specialty Areas

The entire expertise of the Department of Psychiatry is available for the care of inpatients. Psychopharmacological expertise is extensive; several of the senior physicians are members or fellows of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and similar professional societies. The psychopharmacological expertise applies particularly to bipolar (manic-depressive) illness, major depression, and schizophrenia.

Two of the senior physicians are leaders in neuropsychiatry, having expertise in the care of patients with concurrent medical and neurological disorders. These physicians have had frequent experience with epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, dementia, movement disorders, and other neuro-psychiatric conditions.

Other areas of special interest within our Department include eating disorders, autism and other developmental disabilities, and treatment-refractory mood and psychotic disorders. Electroconvulsive therapy can be provided to both inpatients and outpatients.

Confidentiality

All information obtained during a patient's diagnostic evaluation will be kept confidential. If the professional treating the patient believes that discussing the patient's treatment with another health care provider would be beneficial, our staff will assist the patient in completing a Release of Medical Information Form.

Referrals

To refer patients to the Inpatient Unit, call (773) 702-3858. Medical Director Fred Ovsiew, MD, can be contacted at (773) 702-3770 or can be paged at (773) 702-6800.