CALDWELL, Idaho — "It was definitely a gap here in the valley," said Angie Merrell, chief nursing officer at West Valley Medical Center.
The launch of the Mental Health Intensive Outpatient Program is another addition to help provide more help to residents in the community.
"We noticed that our patients needed something else so they didn't need to come to the hospital and be hospitalized and stay here and sleep here," said Merrell.
Instead, this program provides the opportunity for patients to get the help they need and be able to go home and still get care.
"So where we have the inpatient program, we also have the stepdown partial hospitalization. Like Angie said, there was that big gap where partial is 20 hours a week and then you would just go to outpatient which is only one hour a week," said Jenifer Gorder, program director of behavioral health at West Valley Medical Center.
This new program would provide patients with more support than just that one hour a week, offering patients 9 hours of treatment.
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"They receive medical management, they receive group therapy, and in that group therapy again we are really digging in to that research and to that evidence of what works best for people with certain diagnosis, certain challenges," said Gorder.
As they showed me around the space available for patients apart of the program, they emphasized that this need is critical as they've noticed.
"Mental health has such a stigma. It's something that needs to be continuously discussed, to be brought out in the open. It's a disease like any other disease - a heart attack, a stroke - anything that needs to be seen by a professional, needs to be evaluated and then look at the resources that are available, and we are so grateful to be able to provide that," said Merrell.
As the hospital opens the door for many future patients and those currently seeking treatment, they also hope to educate the community.
"It really is about educating mental health and it's really connection, connecting to the community. The things that a lot of these patients are experiencing, they are not abnormal things. They are daily life stressors that as you get too many stressors, there is a point where it's too much," said Gorder.
Community members interested in the program are encouraged to contact the hospital for more information about the Intensive Outpatient Programs. Most health insurance plans are accepted, and self-pay options are also available.