The Natick VNA offers psychiatric and mental health nursing services designed to complement traditional treatment modalities and decrease utilization of inpatient and facility-based care.

Home-based psychiatric programs encourage better communication—an in-home nurse can communicate with the treatment team, including the primary-care physician, discharge planner, and other referral sources, about the patient’s overall health status. Home-based programs have also been shown to:

• Decrease length of stay by using in-home behavioral health as a transition to outpatient therapy;
• Decrease chronic, costly re-hospitalizations;
• Increase compliance with medication and treatment instructions; and
• Enhance quality of life and community stability.

Candidates for home-based care

In-home services can benefit a range of patients, including those:

• With a history of medication non-compliance;
• Who are acute or chronic substance abusers;
• With dual medical/psychiatric diagnoses;
• With potential difficulty in complying with post-discharge treatments;
• Who are adolescents with severe behavioral problems at risk for placement outside the home;
• Who are depressed and neglecting self-care, or who have self-care deficits; and
• With a history of frequent psychiatric hospitalizations.

Mental health services

The psychiatric nurse does not provide individual or family therapy but works with other mental-health professionals providing treatment, ensuring that they are aware of the patient’s status in the home environment.

Psychiatric nursing includes a comprehensive mental status exam, assessment of medication regime and compliance, assessment of physical status, teaching patient and families strategies to manage major mental illness, and providing support counseling.

We offer the following mental health/psychiatric services:

• In-hospital assessment prior to discharge;
• Medication monitoring;
• Supportive counseling;
• Psychiatric nurse consultations;
• Licensed clinical social worker consultations;
• Laboratory services (phlebotomy); and
• Behavioral management/teaching.