{"id":36932,"date":"2013-04-05T07:16:13","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T12:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=36932"},"modified":"2013-04-06T07:28:18","modified_gmt":"2013-04-06T12:28:18","slug":"ridgeview-hospital-provides-local-treatment-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2013\/04\/05\/ridgeview-hospital-provides-local-treatment-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Ridgeview Hospital provides treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital's multi-disciplinary team of Alyssa Putman, Julie Klaus and Lisa Behnke discuss a client's treatment program at the facility located on Lincoln Highway in Van Wert County.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MIDDLE POINT — Alcoholism. Heroin addiction. Prescription pain killer abuse. Mental illness. Big city problems? Think again. It happens everywhere, and it happens in Van Wert County, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Quickly and quietly, Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital, located on Lincoln Highway near Middle Point, has become a leading provider of care for those hoping to get their lives back on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeroin is definitely an epidemic here, and it has been an epidemic for many years,\u201d said Luke Mohr, director of admissions at Ridgeview. \u201cIt\u2019s very prevalent and we see a lot of heroin addiction, followed closely by alcoholism. Honestly, we\u2019ve seen about every addiction, but most definitely the heroin, and people need to be aware of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohr cautioned against comparing the facility to the dimly lit psychiatric wards one might see in the movies. In fact, Ridgeview Hospital has been completely renovated and remodeled since the building housed the former Lincolnway Home county nursing facility.<\/p>\n

The warm and welcoming accommodations serve as the backdrop to the hospital\u2019s mission of focusing on the unique needs and goals of each patient and to prevent their problems from continuing. It\u2019s a tall order, Mohr said, but one that the facility is equipped for and prepared to take on.<\/p>\n

The opening and operation of the local hospital is a huge benefit to a community that is in desperate need of services, Mohr said. \u201cWe\u2019re serving a population that\u2019s very underserved, and we take a lot of pride in that. These are people that are not really receiving the long-term help they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The services offered at Ridgeview are based on a medical staff model with a licensed physician responsible for the quality and appropriateness of care. The team of treatment providers includes licensed and highly trained and experienced staff.<\/p>\n

Designed for patients ages 18-75, Ridgeview Hospital admits individuals experiencing mental health issues serious enough to require an inpatient level of care. It also offers treatment and guidance to those with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and addiction issues.\u00a0 The primary source of funding for the hospital is Medicare, in addition to private insurance. Patients also have the option of self-pay.<\/p>\n

Since opening in May of 2012, the hospital has quickly and quietly grown into a highly respected provider of in-patient psychiatric care. The hospital is licensed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and was accredited as a hospital by the Joint Commission. It is currently staffed with approximately 90 doctors, therapists, nursing staff and administration, which all meet strict academic and experience standards.<\/p>\n

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Admissions Specialist Lisa Behnke prescreens a client over the telephone at Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital on Lincoln Highway in Van Wert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mohr stressed that 98 percent of patients in the facility voluntarily check themselves into the program, so the hospital does not typically see any type of violent behavior from its patients. \u201cThey\u2019re here because they want to get help. Because of that, we don\u2019t see any type of violence or anything like that here,\u201d Mohr said, adding that the facility also accepts referrals from court systems, family members, etc.<\/p>\n

While success in this field is hard to measure, Mohr said the one constant is that patients will undoubtedly see an improvement in their lives. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely hard to measure because there are such a wide variety of patients and extenuating circumstances, but with some people, even a short period of sobriety is a good thing,\u201d he said, adding \u201cIf someone leaves us and is sober for three months, that may possibly be the first time in ten years they have been sober for any length of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The entire process can actually begin with a telephone call when an applicant will be prescreened. Once a determination is made, services are offered depending on each individual\u2019s level of dependency and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the facility offers medical protocols in assisting a patient to detox from the chemicals, which oftentimes can be an extremely painful experience for the patient. \u201cThat\u2019s why we offer different medical protocols in order to detox them,\u201d Mohr said, adding \u201cit can be a painful process for people. Actually one of the most dangerous detoxifications is alcohol, and a lot of people don\u2019t know that. When the body goes through withdrawal from chemicals, it\u2019s a very difficult and sometimes painful process, but we work very hard to keep people as comfortable as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equally important is the care that takes place after a patient is discharged from the facility. \u201cEven after the dual diagnosis program is completed, our patients need a continuum of care which is something we take very seriously,\u201d Mohr said, adding that the facility\u2019s discharge planners make appointments for the patient based on their individual needs. \u201cThat typically includes medical and psychiatric appointments, as well as lists of community support in order to give our patients every opportunity to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

In just under a year of operation, the facility is off to a great start and there has been talk of future expansion. \u201cEveryone has been very pleased with it so far, and we\u2019re working hard every day to serve the community\u2019s needs,\u201d Mohr said, adding \u201cwe don\u2019t have any dates yet, but there are definitely plans to expand in the future as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on Ridgeview Hospital, visit their website at www.ridgeviewhospital.net<\/a> or call 419.968.2950.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/independent feature writer MIDDLE POINT — Alcoholism. Heroin addiction. Prescription pain killer abuse. Mental illness. Big city problems? Think again. It happens everywhere, and it happens in Van Wert County, Ohio. Quickly and quietly, Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital, located on Lincoln Highway near Middle Point, has become a leading provider of care for those hoping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-24 23:51:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}