Warren State Hospital

Warren State Hospital (WSH) is a public psychiatric hospital located in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a focus on facilitating hope, healing and recovery. WSH utilizes comprehensive holistic treatment programs to deliver quality services to individuals who need long-term mental health treatment in a safe and therapeutic setting.

As a partner in the public mental health system, Warren achieves its mission through collaboration with individuals in treatment, county programs, providers, family members, advocates, and significant others to return individuals to the least restrictive setting possible to meet ongoing treatment needs. WSH is funded through the Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Bureau of Community and Hospital Operations and receives accreditation through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH).

Mission Statement

Warren State Hospital is committed to providing all persons who have serious mental illness, including those with a co-occurring disorder, the opportunity for growth, recovery, and inclusion in their community. This is provided through evidence based psychiatric treatment and substance abuse services, access to the supports and services of their choice, so individuals may enjoy a quality of life that facilitates personal growth and achievement.

Values

Warren State Hospital places a high value upon:

• The quality of life and inherent worth of the individual.
• Facilitating hope, healing and recovery.
• Being responsive to each individual’s recovery needs.
• The individuals need and capacity to be independent.
• Confidentiality, dignity, and personal integrity for individuals.
• Being sensitive and responsive to culture, race, ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual orientation differences.
• Ensuring individual human rights free from discrimination and stigma.
• The individual’s capacity to grow, thrive, and achieve.
• Designing comprehensive treatment programs for and with individuals.
• Focusing on relapse prevention and early intervention.
• Creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust and a safety partnership.
  
• Cooperation with our community providers to promote and sustain recovery.
• The presence of an empathetic, hopeful, continuous treatment relationship.
• An environment that supports recovery and personal needs.
• Implementing evidence and promise-based practices to provide quality services
   

Vision Statement

Every individual served by the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services system will have the opportunity for growth, recovery and inclusion in their community, have access to culturally competent services and supports of their choice, and enjoy a quality of life that includes family and friends.

Admission Process

Individuals admitted to WSH must come from a community inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. If a treating physician at the community hospital determines that the individual requires long-term psychiatric treatment, a referral is initiated by the community hospital with the approval of the appropriate county mental health program. Family members and significant others are welcome and encouraged to visit or speak with the hospital staff during the preadmission phase to have questions answered and to promote and support continuity of care.

Referrals are accepted from the following counties: Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango and Warren.

Admission Staff

Admission Department Location

The Admissions Office is located in Room 118 of Center Building:

Social Service Department
Warren State Hospital
33 Main Drive
Warren, PA 16365
Attention: Admission Officer

Programming

WSH offers a wide variety of treatment, rehabilitation, and educational programs. Individual programs and services are designed to meet identified needs and directly contribute to fulfilling WSH's mission and broad goals of providing all individuals with the highest quality programs, services that promote recovery, and return to community living as quickly as possible.

The numerous programs and treatment services available are divided into four broad categories. They are treatment services, psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation programs, educational programs, and social/recreational programs. Except for some social/recreational activities, all programs are integrated into the individualized treatment plans. Therapeutic, educational, and rehabilitative programs help individuals achieve specific short-term and long-term treatment goals that will enable them to return to the most appropriate community care setting.

WSH also operates an Emotional Regulation Unit for women diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This unit utilizes dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) interventions to increase coping skills and to improve interpersonal relationships, which are so critical to the recovery of individuals with BPD. The DBT team has been trained by the Marsha Linehan Institute.

Cultural and Spirituality Sensitivity

WSH respects cultural diversity, heritages and beliefs of all individuals. Treatment Teams work with each individual to identify cultural influences, needs, norms, and beliefs that are important to them and accommodate their needs throughout their hospitalization.

Patient's Rights

In providing quality care to individuals, WSH is committed to protecting the rights of those we serve. In fact, protection of rights is one of our strongest organizational values. We want all individuals to be treated with dignity and respect. We want individuals to know their rights and have a means to express their complaints and grievances with the hospital. In fulfilling this commitment, we have dedicated resources, instituted proactive measures, and implemented numerous safeguards.

Among these are:

• Employing an External Advocate (EA) who is independent of the hospital administration
• Independent monitoring of the rights protection program by the Human Rights Committee (HRC) whose membership includes nonemployees as well as employees.
• Implementing a grievance process that is directed and monitored by the EA and HRC.
• The EA attends and monitors all Community Support Plan (CSP) meetings to ensure they are person-centered, recovery oriented, and a positive experience for the individual.
• Providing regular training to all hospital employees on individual rights.
• Ensuring that individuals and their families are informed of their rights upon admission.
• Granting the EA executive staff status to enable him/her to have direct access and influence on hospital policies and operating an administrative investigation system to investigate allegations of abuse.

Furthermore, the Patient Bill of Rights, as outlined in the Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Code, is posted on each unit, along with information on how to contact Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP) and the Bureau of Equal Opportunity. These agencies also provide oversight of our rights protection program and have the capabilities to conduct independent investigations of complaints filed by individuals or their families.

In addition to providing each person with a copy of their rights, the EA meets with individuals shortly after their admission to educate them on their rights, to explain the grievance/complaint process and to answer any questions they may have regarding their rights. Throughout their hospitalization, individuals have immediate access to the EA. The EA is also available to assist families with any concerns or complaints regarding the care and treatment of their relative. The EA helps individuals in resolving complaints and follows up to ensure the matter has been resolved to the individual's or family's satisfaction.