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General Adult Psychiatry is a 24-hour acute care unit providing psychiatric care to a population of adult patients experiencing acute psychiatric difficulties. Patients may be voluntarily admitted to the unit on a temporary detention order or commitment. Patients may require a medical court order for medications or procedures. Commitment hearings take place on the unit. Patients may require some medical as well as psychiatric nursing interventions common to the unit (e.g., symptom management, milieu therapy, psychopharmacotherapy and assistance with activities of daily living). Patients requiring telemetry or chest tubes are excluded. Blood transfusions, peritoneal dialysis and PCA are done on North 3 and require prior contact of an on-site unit educator/advance practice nurse or challenge level staff member for in servicing/training/policy and procedure review. The primary psychiatric services admitting to North 4 are for schizophrenia, affective and dual diagnoses. Patients from the medical psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry services are admitted based on functional status and milieu appropriateness. Bed utilization is based on the needs of the patient and safety of the environment. Environmentally, North 4 is modeled after traditional psychiatric units. Patients may access staff through a wall-mounted call button. Patients at severe or high potential for agitation, self-harm, destruction of property, escape or harm to others may be admitted to the North 4 General Adult Psychiatry Unit. Patient’s that have a high potential for violence toward others are to be assigned to a private room. Forensic patients and inmates are not admitted.
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