Salem, Mass. – North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) Salem Hospital’s Inpatient Mental Health Unit has been honored with a Distinguished Mental Health Award. The award is presented by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and recognizes NSMC’s patient-centered approach to managing those with mental health issues. In a letter to NSMC, the Commonwealth’s commissioner of mental health calls NSMC “a statewide leader in the treatment of mental health patients.”

“Over the past few years, we have really changed the way we manage agitated patients,” says Lenny Gebhard, R.N., NSMC’s director of nursing for psychiatry. “We’re moving away from coercive treatments, and instead using activities and giving patients choices, or control over certain situations, to diffuse anxiety.”

The mental health unit has increased the flexibility of everyday matters for patients, like when they can watch television or use the kitchen. There is a new sensory room called the “fish bowl,” a tranquil space for patients to unwind, watch television or throw around a therapeutic ball. There’s pet therapy, which takes place twice a week, helping to calm patients who experience difficulty with human-to-human interaction. NSMC has also provided additional training to its staff.

According to Mark Schechter, M.D., NSMC’s chair of the department of psychiatry, “This kind of change in culture and practice requires the collaboration of all disciplines, particularly nurses and physicians. It also takes a commitment to focusing on the patient’s subjective experience, which is not always easy in a busy hospital environment.”