Determining When an Outpatient Requires Acute Inpatient Care

Sometimes, however, it can be challenging to assess when acute care is needed. Kerri Celaya, MA, Director of Inpatient Admissions at Princeton House Behavioral Health and Behavioral Health Emergency Services at University Medical Center of Princeton, offers these general guidelines for seeking a higher level of care:

• When patients are in imminent danger of hurting themselves or others.
• When patients can no longer function in any level of outpatient treatment, even if they are not suicidal. For example, they may not be taking care of their activities of daily living, or may be unable to get out of bed to attend treatment. In these cases, a few days of acute stabilization can often get patients back on track, enabling them to once again benefit from outpatient therapy.
• When patients are using substances daily, especially alcohol, opioids, or benzodiazepines. These situations often require medical detox.

“We don’t expect therapists to have to make a thorough acute needs assessment, so I recommend calling us for a phone intake in situations where there’s any uncertainty,” says Celaya. “A clinician from our Admissions Department can conduct a needs assessment over the phone 24/7 to quickly determine if a higher level of care is needed.”

To contact the Admissions Department at Princeton House Behavioral Health, call 800.242.2550.

Article as seen in the Summer 2017 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health.