Mental health services and facilities in Yakima have been evolving over the last 60 years.

• In 1951, Memorial Hospital was the first acute-care hospital in the state of Washington to provide inpatient psychiatric services.
• In 1972, Comprehensive Mental Health was created to address the outpatient needs for mental health services.
• During the decade of the 1990’s, leaders from Comprehensive, Yakima County and Memorial Hospital, working together, created a nationally recognized model for a continuum of care for mental health services. The model focused on creating services and facilities that better matched a client’s/patient’s needs with the most appropriate level of care and associated facility. As a result, Comprehensive became responsible for outpatient services and an array of different facility sites, each offering a uniquely diverse level of care for patients. Memorial remained responsible for one element of the continuum—inpatient care.
• Today we announce the next step in the evolution. Comprehensive’s planned creation of a new Evaluation and Treatment (E&T) Center will add to the services they currently provide,, thus phasing Memorial out of the inpatient services portion of the continuum of care.

“We believe that new models of care delivery create opportunity,” said Rick Linneweh, Memorial Hospital CEO. “This is a natural progression in the provision of mental health care for Yakima. Comprehensive is the expert in providing mental health services—it is their focus. Memorial excels in providing medical care—our focus.”

A New Model of Care Delivery

The planned Comprehensive E&T model of care includes a freestanding 16-bed residential facility licensed by the Department of Health (DOH) and certified by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Behavioral Health and Recovery Division. The E&T facility will be staffed by licensed psychiatrists, nurses, and other mental health professionals who will provide mental health services and help stabilize and return individuals to our community.

“There are several benefits of a new E&T model of care, including greater access of care for our local population, the ability for continuity of inpatient and outpatient care, lower costs and greater collaboration and communication among inpatient and outpatient staff because they are housed in the same facility,” commented Rick Weaver, CEO of Comprehensive Mental Health.

Comprehensive’s new E&T facility will also be modeled after other successful E&T facilities within the state and will establish an “Enhancement Model of Care” which is an evidenced-based practice that helps reduce violence and focuses on safety for the patient and staff.

Over the next 12-18 months, Comprehensive will begin construction of the new inpatient facility. During this transition, Comprehensive will work closely with Memorial, as they have done for the past two decades, to address patient care. Additionally, Memorial will continue to provide care to patients with mental health needs who require immediate medical attention and serve patients coming to Memorial’s Emergency Department until they are medically stabilized. “Moving from a hospital inpatient setting to an E&T setting allows for continuity of inpatient care for our community,” said Weaver.

Approximately 40 employees work in Memorial’s inpatient psychiatric unit. These employees will have the opportunity for positions at the new E&T facility or within Memorial’s Family of Services. “Memorial is fully committed to assisting all employees, as important members of the Memorial Family as the transition occurs,” said Linneweh.

We exist to support our patients and our community. We work to improve Yakima’s health, economy and quality of life.

Health is central to a vibrant community. Healthier communities thrive physically, socially and economically. And it’s our view that a great healthcare system does more than just treat sick people.

Improving health will transform Yakima. And improving health is something every one of us has a responsibility for.

• Melanoma is a cancer that begins in the melanocytes – the cells that produce the skin coloring or pigment known as melanin. Melanin helps protect the deeper layers of the skin from the harmful effects of the sun.
• Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will account for more than 75,000 cases of skin cancer in 2012. It accounts for almost 9,000 of the nearly 12,000 skin cancer deaths each year.
• Melanoma is almost always curable when it is found in its very early stages.  The five-year survival rate for people whose melanoma is detected and treated before it spreads to the lymph nodes is 98 percent.

What are the risk factors for skin cancer?

The risk for getting skin cancer is real.  The American Academy of Dermatology estimates one in five Americans will develop skin cancer.  Risk factors include:

• Unprotected and/or excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds
• Pale complexion (difficulty tanning, easily sunburned, natural red or blond hair color)
• Occupational exposures to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium
• You or other members of your family have had skin cancers
• Multiple or unusual moles
• Severe sunburns in the past

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

• Any change on your skin, especially in the size or color of a mole, growth, or spot, or a new growth (even if it has no color)
• Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule
• The spread of pigmentation (color) beyond its border, such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
• A change in sensation, such as itchiness, tenderness, or pain

Can skin cancer be prevented?

You can still exercise and enjoy the outdoors while using sun safety at the same time.

• Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

• Look for shade, especially in the middle of the day when the sun’s rays are strongest. Practice the shadow rule and teach it to children. If your shadow is shorter than you, the sun’s rays are at their strongest.
• Wear protective clothing when you are out in the sun. Choose comfortable clothes made of tightly woven fabrics that you cannot see through when held up to a light.
• Use sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Apply a generous amount of sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours and after swimming, toweling dry, or sweating. Use sunscreen even on hazy or overcast days.
• Cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, shading your face, ears, and neck.
• Wear sunglasses with 99% to 100% UV absorption to provide optimal protection for the eyes and the surrounding skin.
• Avoid other sources of UV light. Tanning beds and sun lamps are dangerous. They also damage your skin in other ways.

How is skin cancer treated?

Treatment depends on the size, depth and location of the cáncer.

• Surgery – cancerous mole removed
• Radiation if surgery isn’t an option
• Chemotherapy – topical anti-cancer creams or systemic chemotherapy if cáncer has spread
• Biological therapy to stimulate the immune system to kill cáncer cells

Sources:  American Academy of Dermatology, American Cancer Society, Mayo Clinic

Save the dates:

Memorial’s Community Education and Outreach,

Safe Sitter

9:00am -4:00pm

June 20, 21

June 27, 28

July 25, 26

August 1, 2

August 15, 16

Registration starts Friday, June 1^st, 2012.

Several students in the class of 2012 completed their clinical rotations at Memorial Hospital or at one of its clinics or facilities. They are: James Bruce, Charles Vaughan Bulfinch, Justin Day, Thomas “Brent” Duff, Rachel Erickson, Corinne Glassgow, Jared Heal, Samuel Hirtle, Erika Kinzer, Jaime Klippert, Robert Lichfield, Jessica Sieling, Jeremy Sporrong and Owen Hanley. Bulfinch, Hirtle and Glassgow will be entering their first year of residency in the Yakima Valley.

The entire Memorial family congratulates the 69 extraordinary students who will be working to improve the health of the communities they serve, including Yakima. We wish them well as they begin their careers as physicians.

Together we can make miracles happen!