Richmond State Hospital Information

We continue to be involved with our partners in the mental health field in our efforts to respond timely to calls about admissions and doing our very best to answer those questions and the demands for services. In that regard we have often reduced our waiting time for admissions to two weeks in most cases once we receive the completed application. We are also committed toward reducing the length of stay within the hospital. Although this varies by the type of treatment, generally the average length of stay for adults admitted is 110-140 days. This past year we actually discharged more than we admitted which indicates to me that many of the patients are indeed returning to a community setting, when they are ready. This past year Richmond State Hospital has had the good fortune of having Peer/Recovery Specialists as full-time employees to assist us in our plan as a hospital that has a focus on the principals of recovery. As part of the recovery model of care, we have trained all staff on the ten principles of Recovery. The Roadmap to Recovery is a hospital wide training initiative that focuses on skills and teaching techniques in working with the patient population groups. During this training program performance improvement ideas are created by individual work groups within each patient unit. These ideas focus on the core values of the hospital, Recovery, Strength and Hope, (RSH). Another key initiative includes the participation in the SAMHSA grant for Seclusion and Restraint reduction. Although this grant focuses on the Adolescent unit at the hospital, the core values of Recovery, Strength, and Hope are part of the cultural change hospital wide. This past year the hospital has modified the Mission and Vision for the organization and has established the above set of values that clearly focus on the cultural change within the organization. Finally, this past year brought technology to the forefront as Richmond State Hospital embarked on two major technological projects: Avatar Electronic Medical Records (Phase I) and Quadramed Medication Administration program which includes electronic physician order entry. Both systems went live in the spring of 2009 and are expected to increase the ability and ease of sharing patient care information; reducing potential/actual medication errors. Much like many organizations we have personnel changes and this past year we have had two key additions to our leadership team. Dr. Don Graber has joined the staff as Medical Director and Gretchen Gibbs, as the Director of Nursing. Both of these individuals are highly skilled professionals in their respective disciplines but are motivated and committed toward our Recovery initiatives. You can see more detailed information about their education and work experience on the website. If you have any questions for comments about our website please don't hesitate to email me or give me a call.