CovingtonCares Magazine - Fall/Winter 2023

Kenneth Daughtrey, MD Psychiatrist, Senior Care Unit For more information about the Senior Care Unit at Covington County Hospital, visit CovingtonCountyHospital. com/seniorcareunit. For a free consultation and assessment, call 601.698.0158. LEARNMORE SENIOR CARE UNIT Services include: • Individual and group therapy • Psychiatric care • Therapeutic Activities • Education for patients about medications • Help with coping skills • Social adjustment • Medications managed by a psychiatrist and a pharmacist. Admission to the Senior Care Unit is by referral only. Referrals must meet admission criteria. A patient may be admitted due to a call from a concerned friend or family member. Physicians, courts, counseling/community agencies, psychologists, and other representatives of the professional community can also refer individuals to our facility for treatment and assessment. Transportation is available. CovingtonCares 9 Cognitive ability and memory decline naturally with age, leading to confusion and frustration. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s may cause dementia. Medications may interact in ways that affect behavior. Even an ordinary infection can trigger irrational actions. The 10-bed Senior Care Unit offers short-term inpatient psychiatric care for people 55 or older. The average stay is 14 days. Patients are allowed visitors by appointment. It’s about the People Lott recommends the unit largely because of the people, starting with psychiatrist Kenneth Daughtrey, MD, the Medical Director. “Dr. Daughtrey is very involved,” she said. “He wants the family involved in the treatment process.” Family members and caregivers are important for helping the patient thrive after leaving the unit. So the staff teaches them how to recognize future behavioral issues before they escalate into a full-blown crisis. ‘It Takes a Team’ Allowing family members to visit their loved ones in the Senior Care Unit makes a big difference, Lott said. “It takes a team. So whoever that team is going to be that will be caring for them once they’re discharged really needs to be involved during those 14 days.” Lott described the entire staff as highly educated and well-trained. For example, a patient with symptoms of dementia had been a college professor. When the professor became agitated, one of the nurses would calm her by pulling up a chair and taking notes, like a student in class. “They’ve learned those little things that they can do to give the patients that extra attention to ease the process,” Lott said. Like a B&B Mental health care is simply healthcare. Still, it can carry a stigma. At Covington Ridge Retirement Home, Lott makes it relatable by likening it to a much-needed vacation for someone frazzled by life’s demands. Admission to the Senior Care Unit “is like going to a bed-and-breakfast for a little R & R,” she said. “You get fixed up and get your needs met, and get back to us. “That’s our goal when we send them out: to get them healthier, a better them, and get them back to us.” “You get fixed up and get your needs met, and get back to us.” – Melinda Lott, RN, Co-owner, Covington Ridge Retirement Home