Adult Inpatient Psychiatry Program
Adult Inpatient Psychiatry Program
Welcome to the Adult Inpatient Psychiatry Program at Michigan Medicine. Our program provides diagnostic evaluations and comprehensive, individualized treatment for patients with a serious psychiatric illness. We strive to make a difference in the lives of our patients and help them improve their functioning at work, school, home, and in their relationships with family and other significant people in their lives.
We are located on the 9th floor of University Hospital. Our secure 25-bed unit offers private and semi-private rooms, a reading library, access to computers with internet, exercise facilities, and all-day dining room access. Several community rooms have flat-screen televisions and comfortable seating. An attached Secure Core allows patients who need more support to be cared for in an environment separate from the general unit. Patients in this area still have access to the same amenities and resources available to all patients.
Our Approach
Our mission is to provide exemplary, patient-centered, and evidence-based treatment while promoting dignity and respect in a safe and healing environment. We strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients, empowering them to improve in their work, education, and personal relationships. By addressing both immediate and long-term mental health needs, we foster resilience and self-efficacy among patients, aiding in goal setting and personal growth.
Who We Treat
We have four broad service missions:
- Routine Care: Provide inpatient care for patients from our Depression Center/Ambulatory Psychiatry clinic and U-M primary care clinics.
- Community Unit: Serve as a general psychiatric unit for the community.
- Shared Regional Responsibility: Admit patients typically cared for in city or county hospitals in other regions.
- Tertiary/Quaternary Referral Center: Accept patients from across Michigan and the U.S. for treatment-resistant mood disorders, psychosis, and catatonic syndromes.
Appointments
Please note that appointments are only available via a referral from your provider.
Treatment
Treatment always includes a full interdisciplinary assessment of a patient’s symptoms, strengths and weaknesses, medications and medical history, existing supports and providers, social functioning and interpersonal relationships, and ability to care for self. This assessment period may involve, with patient permission, contacting family, significant others and outpatient providers to gain more perspective and insight on each patient’s unique situation.
The treatment team includes the attending (faculty) psychiatrist, a resident or mid-level provider, a social worker, nurses, activity therapists, and psychiatric care workers, and sometimes students are part of the team. Patients are referred to specific therapeutic groups to improve their current functioning and to promote healing throughout their treatment process.
Planning for Discharge
We begin conversations very early with patients and families about issues we need to address during the hospitalization to make sure that we are using the time well. As part of that process, we discuss our expectations about length of stay. We collaborate with patients and families to set a target discharge date, and make solid plans in preparation for leaving the hospital.
Family & Community support
We recognize that friends and family play an important role in recovery. We encourage our
patients to identify their social supports, often friends and family, and to allow them to be a part of their treatment process. This may consist of telephone conversations and a family meeting held prior to discharge. These contacts are an opportunity to clarify concerns, treatment goals and discharge plans.
About the Unit
The length of stay is based on each patient’s individual needs. The majority of patients stay with us for a few days to about a week, and sometimes longer.
Legal Status
Because 9C is a locked unit, patients must either sign a formal voluntary form or be admitted involuntarily. Sometimes patients are admitted involuntarily when the treatment team is worried that their judgment is so impaired that they cannot comply with the treatment plan (even if they came to the hospital voluntarily). For more information on the involuntary process, please view the website.
Patients who are voluntary sometimes find that the environment does not match their needs or expectations. At that point, a patient may sign a 3-day intent to leave. The treatment team will usually accommodate the request to leave, though it might not happen immediately on signing the form. (We are not typically able to discharge patients in the evenings or on weekends.)
Inside the Unit
- Cordless phones (do not have texting or voicemail capabilities)
- Laundry facilities
- Medications will be dispensed through our pharmacy. We encourage patients to send
original prescription bottles home, or they may be stored by Hospital Security Services. - Computer access – there are two computers on our unit for shared use.
Personal articles such as shampoo, toothbrush/toothpaste, comb, makeup, and clothing can be brought from home. Patients should wear casual, comfortable, seasonally appropriate clothing while they are in the hospital. Please note that shoelaces are not allowed on 9C. Slip-on or Velcro shoes work best.
Due to limited storage space, we ask that patients keep personal belongings to a minimum. Patients with special dietary needs are allowed to bring food from home. Staff will check all clothing, belongings, and packages brought to the unit to ensure a safe and secure atmosphere.
Laundry facilities are available at no charge.
Certain articles are not permitted on the unit, including:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Tobacco products - Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the U-M Hospital property, including outside grounds. Nicotine replacement therapies available to alleviate smoking urges.
- Drugs or medicines brought in by patients. After these medications are reviewed upon admission, they will either be sent home with your family or held by Hospital Security (with some exceptions). Upon discharge, all medications will be checked by the patient’s doctor before they are returned.
- Shoes with shoelaces
- Equipment such as heating pads, hot water bottles, sun lamps, stuffed toys, personal linens, pillows, etc. All necessary linens and items will be provided by the unit.
- Scissors, knives, weapons or any other sharp objects, including mirrors
- Tape recorders and cameras (prohibited to protect the privacy and confidentiality of all patients)
- Computers (Note: although patients are not allowed to bring their own computers, access to computers located on the unit is provided based on particular needs.)
In addition, please keep the following policies in mind regarding personal belongings:
Although electrical devices like electric razors or curling irons may not be kept at a patient’s bedside, they can be stored on the unit and used upon request. Certain items, such as safety razors, may be used only with staff supervision. We recommend that valuables such as watches, jewelry and money amounting to more than $10.00 be sent home or kept with Hospital Security. Patients are responsible for any valuables they elect to keep on the unit.
Due to privacy concerns, patients do not have regular access to their personal cell phone. Instead, each patient has an assigned unit phone with a dedicated phone number.
You can call the patient’s phone number directly or call the unit clerk at 734-936-4950 (option #1) to be transferred to a patient’s assigned phone. In order to be transferred, you need to provide the unit clerk with the patient’s first and last name, and room number.
Monday-Friday: 4:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday, Sunday, & Holidays: 12:00pm-8:00pm
*For anyone under the age of 18, special arrangements for visitation must be made with the Treatment Team. Visitors need to know the patient’s room number to be allowed on the unit.
- Comfortable clothes that do not require a belt or have ties/strings
- Shoes that do not have shoelaces and regular socks – no hose or tights
- A sweater or light jacket – the temperature fluctuates sometimes in the community areas
- Paper reading materials (books, magazines, etc.)
- A list of phone numbers for friends, family, and supports
Our goal is to provide a safe environment for everyone on the unit. A number of precautions have been put in place to keep the unit safe, including a regular schedule for monitoring patient safety and a prohibited item list. There is no smoking permitted on the unit and no opportunity for patients to go outside to smoke during the hospitalization.
Patient Resources
View the brochure for more information on the Adult Inpatient Psychiatry Program.
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