Catholic Care Center to open a senior behavioral health hospital
Jennifer Sanders, left, and Cindy LeFleur stand in a work station of what will become St. Veronica Hospital, a 20-bed hospital for seniors experiencing mental health challenges at the Catholic Care Center in Wichita. Sanders is director of Marketing/Clinical Liaison, and LeFleur is the chief executive officer at the Center. (Advance photo)
St. Veronica will be a 20-bed hospital for those with memory care issues
The Catholic Care Center will expand its mission of caring with the launch of its new senior behavioral health hospital this summer.
The 20-bed hospital for seniors experiencing mental health challenges due to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions is scheduled to be blessed and ready to accept patients in mid-June.
Chief Executive Officer Cindy LaFleur announced last week that the hospital will be named after St. Veronica because of the example she set by stepping forward with kindness and compassion to aid Christ in His time of trial.
Will minister to seniors
“Seniors facing mental and emotional health challenges are often ostracized,” she said. “They and their families may struggle to find resources and support. St. Veronica will be a place where they are treated with the kindness and compassion they deserve, and the highly skilled behavioral health programming they need in order to be successful.”
St. Veronica Senior Behavioral Health Hospital will also help de-stigmatize mental and emotional health challenges associated with seniors, LaFleur said.
The opening will be the culmination of about four years of discussion, planning, and work by Catholic Care Center leadership, the Center’s board, and other stakeholders and local community leaders.
“One of the areas of opportunity that kept surfacing during our strategic planning session was behavioral health knowing that we often need have a higher level of care for some of our residents who have dementia, or Alzheimer’s, and other neurological issues.,” she said.
Will serve current residents
“We look forward to the opportunity to serve our own residents in their time of need, and also help improve the quality of life for residents of other similar communities.
“Access to senior behavioral health services is very limited in this area, several providers have closed in recent years creating a deficit in available beds for those needing care,” LaFleur said. “When those acute episodic situations occur, there can be a need for short-stay acute behavioral health, and access to those services can be very difficult to find in this community currently.”
St. Veronica’s will help the Catholic Care Center remain at the forefront of senior care, she said, adding that the project also includes renovations to areas of Long-Term Care, Long-Term Care Memory Care, and the short-term rehab facility.
Knowledge will help other residents
LaFleur added, “We are going to take the knowledge we gain through the operation of this new hospital and apply it to all levels of living so that residents in Memory Care, Assisted Living, Long-Term Care, and all our care settings have the emotional and behavioral health support and care they need to be successful.”
The $13 million project is an expansion of the Catholic Care Center, which is part of the Catholic Life Center complex located at 45th and Woodlawn in Wichita.
In addition to 20 private rooms, the 15,000-square-foot facility will house meeting, assessment, group, spiritual, and activity rooms.