Behavioral Health Services Expand with Inpatient Unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Florida

BayCare is expanding with the addition of a 24-bed inpatient psychiatric and medical unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz, Florida. The St. Joseph’s Hospital-North Unit for Psychiatry and Medical Services will open in mid-April.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North UPM will deliver care in a nontraditional way from most mental health programs. The UPM will treat patients simultaneously for both medical and psychiatric diagnoses and needs. Traditionally, medical and psychiatric are treated separately in different units.

A former medical/surgical unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has been redesigned and constructed to meet the regulatory requirements for licensed inpatient psychiatry. The design changes are mostly from a safety perspective and includes changes to furniture, beds, shower facilities, sink fixtures and ceilings.