Streamwood Behavioral Hospital implements initiatives to improve patient services

Oct 12 2009

Using the findings and research generated by three professional operations surveys, the leadership of Streamwood Behavioral Hospital announced today they will initiate improvements to bring its patient service programs to a "gold standard" of care.

The effort will target patient assessments, treatment planning and behavioral support aspects of the Streamwood operation.

"We welcome the candid input from these respected, independent medical professionals. A fresh set of eyes is an essential resource," explained CEO Cindy Meyer.

The surveys were conducted by the University of Massachusetts, the Joint Commission on Accreditation, Illinois Department of Public Health/CMS and the University of Illinois at Chicago on behalf of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Meyer said noted child psychiatrist Dr. Bennett Leventhal is taking the lead as part of a clinical consultative team to implement the patient improvements.

"Streamwood has a skilled medical staff who are doing a very good job in a very difficult environment," said Leventhal. He also explained his previous work with Streamwood Hospital centered on a child autism program.

Dr. Leventhal is on the tenured faculty at the New York University Medical School. Previously, he had been Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago for 31 years. He also was Director of the Center for Child Mental Health and Developmental Neuroscience at UIC as well as the Clinical Supervisor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service and the Forensic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry program at the U of I.

The UMASS survey was conducted by doctors Jeffrey Geller and Caroline Fisher over the course of several days in April and August of this year. With over 35 years of experience, Dr. Geller serves as the Director of Public Sector Psychiatry at UMASS. Dr. Fisher is the Associate Director of Psychiatric Education and Training at UMASS. During these visits, they toured all areas of the facility, noted aspects of the physical plant, observed groups and meals, spoke to staff and most importantly spoke to children and adolescents who are Streamwood Hospital's patients.

Their comprehensive 47 page report concluded, "on the whole, SBHS is an excellent facility that provides quality care to the majority of its patients. The staff is caring and upbeat, the professionals are knowledgeable and competent, and the facilities are comfortable and child-centered. With some polishing, SBHC could improve further, however, and . . . [provide] a gold-standard quality of care."

"We will take these observations into account as we proactively implement these patient improvement programs at Streamwood Hospital," said Meyer.

The Joint Commission survey identified three areas unrelated to direct patient care for improvement but also commended the facility for its exemplary programs. Streamwood submitted action plans for improvements that were accepted with continued monitoring ongoing.

The Commission was impressed with the multidisciplinary team approach to staffing and involving the outside community agencies. The staff was observed doing a good job maintaining safety and assessing risk in the individual milieus. Additionally, the treatment teams were found to have great care plans for the patients. Moreover, programming and patient management at multiple levels was seen as very organized. With Medical Reconciliation, it was noted Streamwood Hospital's process is "ahead compared to other facilities."

The Streamwood clinical consultative team working with Dr. Leventhal to provide the highest level of care for patients includes Dr. Virginia S. Villani, the medical director of the Kennedy Krieger School Program of Baltimore, a widely regarded autism program; Dr. Robert Kowatch, the director of Psychiatric Research at the Cincinnati Children's; Brooke Whitted, a national expert on educational and mental health law; and Raul Almazar, a national consultant for the public and private sector on coercion-free treatment.