Specialized Psychiatric Care

Psychiatry Consult and Liaison Service

The Hoag psychiatry consultation-liaison service is comprised of five specialized psychiatrists who have expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders in complex, medically ill patients. This team supports the various medical subspecialty teams throughout the hospital with on-site consultation, evaluation and assistance with behavioral management.

The team has increased value in the continuum of hospital-based care by:

• Focusing on decreasing re-admissions because of untreated neurobehavioral health disorders • Reducing hospital and emergency room lengths of stay • Lowering the costs associated with emergency department visits

Expanding Care

With the support of philanthropy, the Hoag psychiatry consultation-liaison service can continue to enhance the level of care by sustaining the psychiatry staff and adding a psychiatric social worker to the team.

Psychiatrists: A team of psychiatrists dedicate a portion of their time to the service, providing expert consultation to patients. Philanthropic support would provide funding for additional psychiatrists to help meet increasing needs.

Psychiatric Social Worker: Psychiatric social work is a specialized type of medical social work that involves supporting, providing therapy to and coordinating the care of people who are severely mentally ill and who require hospitalization or other types of intensive psychiatric help. Adding this role to the team would mean more support for more individuals living with mental illness.

“The people we see need intensive help, and their care is sometimes a long journey. We want to offer support, guidance and resources during challenging situations.”

– Dr. Kambria Hittelman, Executive Director,

Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute and

Director of Neurobehavioral Health