ABOUT AVERA MEDICAL GROUP BEHAVIORAL HEALTH YANKTON
A division of Avera Sacred Heart Hospital of Yankton, S.D., a rural community located 80 miles southwest of Sioux Falls, Avera Medical Group Behavioral Health provides an intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and a partial hospitalization program (PHP) for adults, seniors, and adolescents struggling with chemical dependency, psychiatric difficulties, or co-occurring disorders. One of 13 outpatient locations operated by Avera Health, the Yankton facility may also offer detoxification services on outpatient basis.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
To ensure an outpatient-based program is an appropriate level of care, patients first undergo an initial behavioral health evaluation. The behavioral and psychiatric assessment helps clinicians to form an individualized treatment plan. If detoxification is necessary, the facility may utilize medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to alleviate withdrawal symptoms and help curb cravings.
Or, if medically necessary, the individual may be referred to an inpatient program. Avera Health operates two inpatient programs: Avera Behavioral Health Center in Sioux Falls and Avera St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Services in Aberdeen, S.D. If a patient with a primary psychiatric disorder requires a heightened level of supervision and structure, but does not require inpatient care, the individual may be referred to the Yankton facility’s partial hospitalization program.
According to the facility’s website, PHP typically requires patients to initially visit the facility up to five times per week. As the patient progresses in treatment, the frequency of treatment may reduce to three days, then two days per week.
The facility’s website also states that PHP is designed for individuals struggling with a primary psychiatric disorder, such as severe depression, anxiety, psychosis, and bipolar disorder, and conduct disorders. Along with physician oversight, PHP involves individual and group counseling sessions, educational presentations, family counseling sessions, and pharmacological intervention.
The intensive outpatient program to treat chemical dependency typically involves between six and 11 hours of weekly programming. IOP consists of individual, group, and family/marital counseling sessions, as well as educational classes on education and recovery. According to its website, the 12-Step model of recovery is also integrated into programming.
Yankton facility’s IOP is designed to treat patients in various phases of their recovery, from early intervention to relapse prevention. Specialized program tracks are also available to treat gambling addiction and for individuals struggling with chemical dependency due to pain management.
Along with individual, group, and family counseling sessions, IOP to treat primary psychiatric disorders involves ongoing psychiatric evaluations and medication management. The facility also offers a specialized outpatient program for individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The three-phase program consists of a 21-week introductory period, a one-year follow-up program, and ongoing treatment as needed.
According to the facility’s website, programs are designed to help patients “discover a better quality of life by learning awareness, emotional, behavioral, and relational management skills.” To provide individuals with ongoing support after program completion, aftercare is available through follow-up appointments.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Avera Medical Group Behavioral Health’s treatment staff is comprised of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and licensed professional counselors.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The sole loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing praised all aspects of the facility’s outpatient program, awarding perfect five-star ratings for the staff’s level of experience and training, the facility’s counseling options, its discharge planning, and the level of family involvement. “Nothing as I experienced was a negative,” the loved one wrote. “They helped a lot to make their patients improved…All in all job well done.”
WHAT STAFF SAY
While Best-rehabs.com has yet to receive employee feedback of the facility, secondary sources revealed overall employee satisfaction with the facility as a whole. On Indeed, two employees both gave the hospital perfect five-star ratings.[1] One representative reviewer felt the hospital excelled in training their employees. “Orientation, training, and educational opportunities are definitely available,” the representative employee wrote.
FINANCING
Avera Medical Group Behavioral Health accepts a range of commercial insurance plans, Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE. Financial assistance, such as interest-free payment plans and treatment discounts, may also be available through the facility’s Charity Care and Patient Assistance Programs to eligible patients. The loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing cited the facility’s treatment quality in relation to its cost as a facility strength.
Updated April 2017
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