Local center helps seniors with mental health issues
Fort Myers resident Vicki Triolo was experiencing anxiety. She sought help from a physician, and later learned that the staff at the Senior Behavioral Center, a 15-bed inpatient center located within Lee Memorial Hospital, had the specialized care she needed.
She contacted the center and scheduled an appointment. The decision started her on a path to knowledge about her symptoms and how to cope with them.
“I was so impressed by everyone there,” Triolo said. “They were just fabulous, so kind and so professional.”
Triolo stayed at the center for two weeks and now uses the tools she learned from the therapists, nurses and physicians to manage her stress and live a normal life.
“Everyone there is very accessible,” she said. “Even today, I can call if I need them.”
Karla Morgan, psychiatric nursing director for the center, supports Triolo’s decision to seek assistance.
“Seeking professional assistance for an emotional problem is just as important as seeking a dentist for a toothache or a doctor for a broken bone,” Morgan said.
The center treats adults age 60 or older and sometimes accepts younger patients. Approximately 400 people receive treatment each year. Depression and anxiety-often caused by the loss of spouse, friends or independence or medical and financial concerns-are the most common mental illnesses that affect an aging population.
“We stabilize the acute situation and identify medical and psychiatric regimens to assist with return to the highest level of functioning,” Morgan said.
Triolo is a testament to the center’s healing power.
“They took an unbearable experience and really made it better,” she said.
The Senior Behavioral Center is located at Lee Memorial Hospital, 2776 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-343-3160.