Georgia Regional Hospital-Savannah (GRHS) Savannah, GA

Georgia Regional Hospital at Savannah (GRHS) is a state-funded multi-service facility operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The hospital provides quality care to mentally ill adults and individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities from its 34-county catchment area in Southeast Georgia. GRHS opened in December of 1970 with a design to decentralize mental health services in the state and treat people nearer to their homes and families. The hospital provides evaluation and treatment to clients needing care. The hospital's admitting office is a psychiatric emergency receiving facility open 24 hours a day.

GRHS is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The adult admitting unit is certified for Medicare reimbursements by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS).

GRHS Mission: Provide and promote local accessibility and choice of services and programs for individuals, families and communities through partnerships, in order to create a sustainable, self-sufficient and resilient life in the community.

GRHS Vision: Every person who participates in our services leads a satisfying, independent life with dignity and respect.

GRHS Values:

As an organization, there is an expectation that:

• We will be consumer centered
• We will continuously strive to improve
• We will be respectful of those we serve and each other
• We will be accountable for how we do our jobs and how we utilize our resources

GRHS Services:

Clinical Services

Interdisciplinary teams on each psychiatric unit work with clients upon admission to formulate Individual Recovery Plans, which set forth modes of treatment and criteria to be met for subsequent discharge. Members of each team include a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, activity therapist and nursing staff. The psychiatrist is the lead member of the team and makes a diagnosis, prescribes medication, and does individual counseling with each client. Other medical doctors participate in physical examinations and handle minor medical emergencies. Major medical problems are referred to general hospitals.

Psychologists provide a comprehensive range of services in the area of psychological assessment and consultation, education, psychotherapy and milieu therapy on all units. A variety of intelligence, projective and personality tests are used. The social workers at the hospital perform an initial social work assessment and social history upon admission. They also coordinate discharge planning, determine unmet needs of patients while hospitalized and provide therapeutic services to clients and their families.

An initial activity therapy assessment is done on all new clients to set goals and objectives. Active treatment, using recreation, music and arts and crafts, is used to meet the goals. Activity therapy operates a central recreation/social center.

The nursing staff is the heart of the hospital. The registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and health service aides provide comprehensive psychiatric care on a 24 hour basis in accordance with the physician’s prescribed treatment and with the recognition of dignity and uniqueness of each client.

Other clinical services include Dental Clinic, Clinical Laboratory, X-Ray, Pharmaceutical Services and Infection Control.

Support Services

Support services provide a wide range of necessary administrative and clinical services to assist the direct care units in carrying out their missions. Support services includes:

• Staff Development and Training
• Environmental Services
• Engineering, Maintenance and Groundskeeping
• Safety and Environmental Health Services
• Risk Management
• Procurement
• Financial Services
• Medical Records
• Data Management
• Food and Dietetic Services
• Human Resource Management
• Facility Police Department
• Client Care Units

Adult Mental Health Acute Care – Unit 2

GRHS’s Adult Mental Health Unit 2 has capacity for 36 beds for short term care. The length of stay is approximately 9 days. Our interdisciplinary teams focus on stabilization and integration into the community. We provide individualized treatment goals, therapy and support, to help those with mental illness return to the community.

Recovery Care – Unit 3

GRHS’s Recovery Care Unit 3 has capacity for 33 beds. Individuals are transferred from Unit 2 when stabilized but require additional assistance. The interdisciplinary teams focus is to assist those who need to acquire or improve their coping and living skills and overcome barriers to independent living. These teams, with the help of community services, work to provide the skills needed for our clients to live productive and, as much as possible, independent lives in the community.

Forensic Services – Units 4, 5, and 6

GRHS’s Forensic Services units have a combined capacity of 110 beds. Length of stay in these units is determined by the courts. These secure units maintain those that are referred from various components of the state’s criminal justice and corrections systems. Unit 6 receives transfers from Units 4 and 5 and focuses on overcoming barriers for a return to the community. Interdisciplinary teams provide client treatment services in a professional, therapeutic and supportive manner.

Regional Hospital Administrator: Beth Jones, RN
Clinical Director: Reemon Bishara, MD
Nurse Executive: Diane Freeman, RN, MSN
Patient Advocate: Ralph Johnson

Acute Care Unit and Recovery Care Unit:
Daily 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Secure Unit (Forensics):
Daily 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Discretion and judgment may be made in allowing visitation in addition to the above hours for family or others traveling long distances.

If an ethical issue or question arises and you or your legal representative desires assistance from the Ethics Forum, please contact Jamie Flanagan, Patient Advocate, at [email protected].

Help us make a difference every day by sharing your time and talents to help others. We need volunteers for gardening, pet therapy, music therapy, clubhouse programming, art, health and fitness sessions, special events, and more.

If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact:
Brittnee Smith, CTRS
Volunteer Services Coordinator
[email protected]