Sierra Vista provides free assessment and referral services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Referring professionals and parents and guardians seeking treatment or information for children or adolescents can call our Assessment and Referral Department at (916) 288-0300 for a free, confidential assessment.

A face-to-face assessment may be scheduled with a qualified mental health professional to review the individual's concerns and discuss the best treatment options. The assessment takes approximately 30-45 minutes and concludes with recommendations for the best treatment options.

Assessment and referral is a free community service provided offered to anyone regardless of insurance coverage or whether treatment ultimately is received at Sierra Vista Hospital or elsewhere.

 

Acute inpatient hospitalization occurs only with a physician's order for conditions that cannot be safely or effectively treated on an outpatient basis. It is the most intensive level of care offered and provides 24 hour skilled nursing observation and care, daily interventions and oversight by a psychiatrist, and intensive, highly-coordinated treatment by a physician-led team of mental health professionals. Inpatient hospitalization is always short-term and designed to quickly stabilize the most serious symptoms to allow a quick transition to less-intensive levels of care.

Sierra Vista Hospital offers acute inpatient care for adults and adolescents ages 13 to 17. Dual Diagnosis programs are available for adults and adolescents with a secondary chemical dependency diagnosis.

Advantages of Acute Inpatient:

Safe, controlled, structured environment
24 hour skilled nursing care
Intensive physician involvement.
Physician-led multi-disciplinary treatment team.
Able to utilize both medication and psychotherapy, as appropriate.
Medically-supervised detoxification (for alcohol & drugs)
Intensive treatment not available on an outpatient basis.
Tutorial-based school program available
Up to 10 hours of daily programming.
7 day a week programming.

PHP is designed as an alternative to hospitalization. Patients may be enrolled directly into a PHP program or may be "stepped-down" from a hospital setting to facilitate the quickest return to the home setting. PHP offers all of the program intensity of acute inpatient care without having to stay in the hospital overnight. Treatment consists of multiple treatment modalities (individual therapy, group therapy, education groups, family therapy and physician oversight) provided in a coordinated manner to achieve short-term stabilization of immediate crises. Skilled nursing care is provided as well as routine treatment supervision by a psychiatrist. Partial Hospitalization is time-limited and concludes when the patient's immediate presenting problem is stabilized or resolved.

Sierra Vista Hospital offers a short-term day treatment program for adults Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. This program is for patients with a primary psychiatric diagnosis who require intensive support and structure, but not 24-hour supervision. The partial hospitalization program provides ambulatory treatment that includes diagnostic, medical, psychiatric and psychosocial treatment modalities. Patients receive a coordinated intensive, comprehensive and multi-disciplinary treatment tailored to the diagnostic criteria for each individual case. Dual diagnosis programs are available for patients with a secondary chemical dependency diagnosis.

Advantages of PHP:

Patient continues to live at home, but comes to hospital for care.
Weekly psychiatric oversight and supervision
Skilled nursing interventions
Multi-disciplinary treatment team
Stabilization of condition that would otherwise result in hospitalization.
Hospital stays may be shortened by "step-down" to PHP
Less-intensive, less-expensive alternative to hospitalization.
Specialty programs available