McLaren-Lapeer Region Offers Behavioral Health Services

McLaren-Lapeer Region (McLaren-Lapeer Region) has provided a continuum of mental health services to the community for more than thirty years. The licensed twenty-bed inpatient mental health program offers both psychiatric and psychological services in a variety of assessment and treatment modalities. This includes a complete realm of psychiatric services, including a comprehensive medical evaluation, medication management, diagnostic assessments, individual, group, and family therapy, and emergency consultations.

Our unit provides a safe environment for patients and families. Although the length of an inpatient stay varies, our goal is to help patients complete treatment and return to their daily routines as quickly as possible. McLaren-Lapeer Region utilizes a person-centered approach to meeting the needs of individuals requiring inpatient mental health treatment. This means individuals are active participants in the treatment planning process, and treated by an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals in a therapeutic environment that promotes recovery.

"Our services include a complete realm of psychiatric services, including a comprehensive medical evaluation, medication management, diagnostic assessments, individual, group and family therapies and also emergency consultations," said BHU Nurse Manager Melissa St. Louis. "Our unit provides a safe environment for patients and families. Although the length of an inpatient stay varies, our goal is to help patients' complete treatment in a safe and effective manner and return to their daily routines as soon as possible."

According to McLaren-Lapeer Region Chief Nursing Officer Ken Sanger, the unit is a short-term acute inpatient facility that utilizes a person-centered team, interdisciplinary approach to an individual's care.

"Our experienced team of mental health professionals consists of board certified psychiatrists, medical physicians, a fully licensed psychologist, 24-hour nursing care, a social worker as well as recreational therapists and behavioral health technicians," Ken said. "The team, in addition to outside resources, like Community Mental Health (CMH), Department of Human Services and Bluewater Housing, develops a care plan that individuals can continue to carry out following discharge." 

The BHU is committed to providing quality services in an ethical, professional, confidential, and a caring manner for individuals and their families in times of need through education and therapeutic modalities. These services are available for adults (18 and older) who are voluntarily seeking help as well as those who require involuntary admissions.

BHU staff also has been attending community events to spread the word about the services it provides in our community. Some highlights of community outreach include:

• Staff attendance at Project Homeless event held in January at the Center Building
• Lectures on depression and other mental illnesses, presented by McLaren-Lapeer Region clinical psychologist Shai Brosh, M.D., at local CMHs.
• Dr. Brosh and Melissa have conducted educational classes for staff at McLaren-Lapeer Region on the petition and certification process, assessing and dealing with the suicidal patient.
• Recently, Ken, Melissa, Social Worker Linda Robinson, Dr. Brosh and ER Nurse Manager Amy Peters attended a monthly Chiefs meeting at the courthouse to discuss the admission process of local prisoners and the Mental Health Code privacy laws to help officers understand the process and identify concerns; Melissa and Amy also paid a visit to the local jail to better understand their process when dealing with a mentally ill prisoner.
• The dementia and depression screening held May 24 at the McLaren Cancer Institute - Lapeer was highly successful, providing a much-needed screening/referral service for those experiencing depression and suicidal feelings related to the current economy.

The following visiting hours apply to the Behavioral Health Unit. All visitors must be at least 12 years old.

Wednesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Sunday 1:00 – 3:00 PM.

For more information on McLaren-Lapeer Region’s Behavioral Health Services, please call (810) 667-5611 or 1-800-334-HOPE. If you have questions about behavioral health care, feel free to email Melissa St. Louis, manager of McLaren-Lapeer Region’s Behavioral Health Services at melissast@mclaren.org.

At McLaren-Lapeer Region Behavioral Health Unit, we are committed to preserving your rights under the Mental Health Code.  If you have questions regarding these rights or you feel your rights have been violated while receiving services at McLaren-Lapeer Region Behavioral Health Unit, please contact Terri Parmer, Recipient Rights Advisor at (810) 667-5579.