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Willowbrooke at Tanner Cuts Ribbon on Major Inpatient Expansion



Just five years after opening its inpatient behavioral health facility in Villa Rica in 2009, Willowbrooke at Tanner has already cut the ribbon on its first major facility expansion.

Willowbrooke at Tanner expansion ribbon cuttingSpecial guests from throughout the region took the opportunity on Dec. 10 to preview the new 30-bed expansion at Willowbrooke at Tanner’s inpatient facility in Villa Rica. Guests at the open house included regional behavioral health professionals, media representatives and local officials who toured the expansion.

The more than 24,000-square-foot expansion includes a mix of private and dual-occupancy rooms, bringing the total number of available beds at the inpatient behavioral health to 82. Much of the extra capacity will be used to care for child and adolescent patients. The expansion also includes new activity rooms for age-appropriate programming, new education and visitation areas, new common areas for patients and new outdoor space, including a courtyard with a koi pond.

The addition comes as Willowbrooke at Tanner emerges as a statewide destination for behavioral health.

“Behavioral health is a vacuum, and it has been eroded in Georgia over the past 10 years,” said Wayne Senfeld, Ed.S., LPC, senior vice president and chief development officer for Tanner Health System. “Most acute care hospitals don’t have the courage and the stamina to build a behavioral health program like we have here.”

During the five years since Willowbrooke at Tanner opened its inpatient facility, the program has provided care for more than 12,000 inpatient admissions and has provided about 50,000 free, confidential mental health assessments, according to Senfeld. The program has also grown to add two Tanner Center for Behavioral Health locations, in Carrollton and Villa Rica, that provide state-approved Core mental health services, has added outpatient services in Cartersville and now manages the behavioral health operations for Cartersville Medical Center and West Georgia Health in LaGrange.

“At Tanner, we’re committed to providing care for the whole person,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health System. “Behavioral health is essential to that mission. It impacts so many aspects of a person’s health.”

Villa Rica mayor J. Collins, in remarks prior to the ribbon cutting, cited the partnership Tanner has developed with the city through the years. Since acquiring the Villa Rica City Hospital in 1985, according to Howard, Tanner has invested almost $50 million in new facilities and improvements in Villa Rica. Those improvements include the Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica acute care hospital that opened in 2003, as well as several medical office buildings throughout the city and the Willowbrooke at Tanner campus.

“When you think about partnerships here, you think about Tanner,” said Collins. “Tanner is part of what makes this a great place to live, work and play.”

Of the Willowbrooke at Tanner facility, Collins said the expansion would continue to provide care for area residents.

“This facility gives people a second chance,” said Collins. “It’s their second chance to be mothers, fathers — even students, because children, too, need behavioral health care.”

Willowbrooke at Tanner’s inpatient unit is a short-stay hospital. The length of time spent in inpatient treatment at Willowbrooke at Tanner is less than seven days on average, and the facility handles almost 5,000 inpatient admissions each year.

A physician-led team of clinicians evaluates each patient and develops a personalized treatment plan. Common problems treated at Willowbrooke at Tanner include major depression, bipolar disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, impulse control disorders, substance abuse, dual diagnosis (behavioral and substance abuse problems), psychosomatic disorders, chronic pain syndrome and others.

A hospital stay helps patients change their behavior and acquire skills to cope with everyday stresses, enabling them to move to a less-intensive setting to continue treatment. Willowbrooke at Tanner accepts both voluntary and involuntary admissions. Its central location is convenient for area residents, and it is close to Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica in case of an emergency.

Willowbrooke at Tanner is also one of the few mental health providers with an inpatient unit to serve children and adolescents.

“Let’s remember, many of those who will receive care here will be children and adolescents,” said Daniel Jackson, chairman Tanner Health System’s board of directors. “These are young people trying to overcome problems that few of us can relate to. Untreated, who knows where these kids might end up? But if we can reach them now — here — we can change their course.”

The expansion will begin serving patients in early 2015.

For more information on Willowbrooke at Tanner’s inpatient and outpatient services, including its partial hospitalization program, visit www.WillowbrookeAtTanner.org. Free, confidential mental health assessments are available at any time by calling the 24-hour help line at 770.812.9551.

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