Medical Psychiatry

North 3 Medical Psychiatry is a 24-hour acute care unit providing psychiatric care to a population of adult patients experiencing both medical and psych-iatric difficulties. Most of the patients are voluntarily admitted to the unit. Patients are occasionally admitted on a psychiatric temporary detention order and may require a medical court order for medications or procedures.

Commitment hearings take place on the unit. Patients may require medical as well as psychiatric nursing interventions common to the unit (e.g., wound care, intravenous therapy, tube feedings and total assistance with activities of daily living). Patients requiring telemetry or chest tubes are excluded. Blood transfusions, peritoneal dialysis and patient controlled analgesia are infrequent 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 3 are Medical Psychiatry, Geropsychiatry and Dual Diagnoses. Patients from the Affective and Schizophrenia 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 3 is modeled after a medical or surgical floor with wall-mounted televisions and wall accessible gases easily available. Bell cords or side communication beds are present for patients to access staff. Ceiling tiles are in each room providing potential access to ceiling pipes and ability to hide contraband. Therefore patients at severe or high potential for agitation, self-harm, destruction of property and escape or harm to others is transferred and/or admitted to the North 4 General Adult Psychiatry Unit. Forensic patients and inmates are not admitted.

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