CLEARFIELD – Bright Horizons Center for Emotional Wellness, a department of Clearfield Hospital, recently expanded services to include an inpatient unit that addresses the mental health needs of older adults.
“Older adults face complex, profound life changes such as loss of loved ones, loss of independence, loneliness, increased medical problems and family and financial stressors. These factors can cause a breakdown in emotional health,” Marsha Obremski, program director, said.
The 10-bed inpatient unit provides psychiatric care to older adults, ages 55 and over, in a secure, therapeutic setting. The program focuses on stabilization and enhancing skills and resources to regain dignity, control, self-reliance and improve quality of life.
All patients admitted to the program will interact with an experienced treatment team under the direction of psychiatrist Satish Amirneni, M.D. He comes from the Altoona area and has many years of experience treating older adults in hospital, nursing home and outpatient settings.
Prior to practicing at Clearfield Hospital, Amirneni served as a staff psychiatrist for the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home; as medical director of PathWays-Geropsychiatry Unit at Bon Secours-Holy Family Hospital in Altoona; and as an attending psychiatrist at Altoona Regional Health System.
He also served as an attending psychiatrist at Reading Hospital and Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Medical Center, both of Reading. Amirneni was the medical director of the Senior Behavioral Medicine Center of Community General Hospital in Reading.
Amirneni earned a medical degree from Rangaraya Medical College in India, and completed a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J.
Each client of Clearfield Hospital’s inpatient unit receives a discharge plan that includes recommendations for ongoing therapy, medication management and supportive living resources to ensure their successful return to the community.
Obremski said having this service available locally makes it easier for family members to participate in their loved one’s care.
“For years, persons of this age group have had to leave the area for specialized treatment, with the closest facilities being located in Brookville and St. Marys. The distance posed a barrier for family involvement and impacted recovery,” she said.
Bright Horizons’ outpatient program, which has been serving the community for more than five years, will offer support for patients who have been discharged from the inpatient unit.
For more information about mental health services at Clearfield Hospital, please contact Bright Horizons at 768-2137 for a free, confidential assessment and referral services.