Frequently Asked Questions

In order for us to determine if our treatment services will meet your specific needs, each individual who is interested in participating in our treatment completes a telephone screening with a member of our admissions staff. Depending on the program, the screening may take from 30 to 60 minutes. There is no charge for this screening, and the information is confidential.

Based on a review of this screening, a physician will be contacted by admissions staff to review the information to determine if our treatment services will meet your needs. After this clinical review, admissions staff will contact you and share the physician’s recommendation.

Similar to an emergency room in a general medical hospital, the admissions staff prioritizes screening reviews based on symptom severity.

• Inpatient Hospitalization:
  A physician is paged by our admissions staff to review the screening information. You can expect to be contacted by admissions staff within an hour of completing the screening.
• Residential and Partial Hospitalization/Day Treatment:
  The screening information is given to medical/clinical director and/or program manager for their clinical review within the next one to two business days. You can expect to be contacted by admissions staff within three to five days of completing the screening.

Due to federal regulations regarding confidentiality, once a prospective patient has shared his/her clinical history with our staff we cannot share any information without his/her permission.

Admissions staff will contact you to:

• Discuss any required paperwork, medical and/or laboratory tests that are needed prior to admission
• Review insurance coverage and payment arrangements
• Place your name on a list of individuals recommended for admission to the specific program.

Typically there is a waiting period between the time you are recommended for admission and your scheduled admission date. This waiting period varies from several hours (for inpatient hospitalization) to several weeks (for residential treatment). Admissions are dependent upon discharges of current patients; when space becomes available admissions staff will contact you to schedule an admission date and time of arrival.

If the reviewing physician has any concerns about your medical stability, the physician may require you to go to a local emergency room for medical clearance prior to admission to Rogers Memorial. This requirement for medical clearance is required for all eating disorders admissions and may be required for inpatient detoxification admissions if there is a prior history of seizures, cardiac problems or diabetes, or a risk of severe dehydration. Admissions staff will explain what tests are required and, if necessary, direct you to a local hospital emergency room that is familiar with our medical clearance procedures.

Once you arrive at the hospital, an admission specialist will meet with you to answer questions you may have and will verify the reasons that brought you to the hospital. You will be asked to fill out several required admission forms and then will be accompanied to the unit. As with any medical appointment, it is important that you arrive on time for your admission.

• Inpatient Hospitalization:
  Please note that, for your safety and the safety of other patients, the inpatient units are locked. From this point on, you cannot leave the unit without staff escort. A nurse or psychiatric technician will greet you, and place your belonging in a secure storage area (Please note that some items will be returned right away, some will need to stay in storage until the staff have assessed your safety level; other items must stay in storage but can be checked out for your use.) A nurse will complete an assessment with you to identify your medical needs. Within the first 24 hours you will meet with members of the treatment team to assess and coordinate your plan of care. The information collected about you will help the staff get a better picture of your situation and help develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
• Residential Centers:
  A residential counselor will greet you, explain our program in detail and then begin the belongings check (any inappropriate items will be returned to your family or secured by Rogers Memorial staff). During your first week you can expect that a variety of assessments will be conducted by clinical staff to assess and coordinate your plan of care. The gathering of this assessment information directs the development of an individualized treatment plan.
• Partial Hospitalization/Day Treatment:
  You will be introduced to a member of the treatment team who will describe the schedule and clarify any questions. You then will meet with the treatment team to assess and coordinate your plan of care. The information collected about you will help the staff get a better picture of your situation and help develop a comprehensive treatment plan.

We suggest that patients wear casual, comfortable clothing appropriate for the season. Due to health regulations, all patients must wear socks, shoes/slippers and a shirt at all times. For safety reasons, we recommend closed toe shoes/slippers. On some units, jewelry may be prohibited during some or all of your stay. Clothes or jewelry promoting or displaying violence, gang involvement or disrespect to any group, advertisements of taverns, or use of alcohol/drugs are forbidden. Sexually provocative clothes (bare midriffs, short shorts/baggy/displaying underwear shorts) may not be worn. The decisions regarding appropriateness are ultimately up to the staff. We appreciate your cooperation. If you have more specific questions, please contact our admissions department.

If you are being admitted to an inpatient unit or residential center, please check in all prescriptions or over-the-counter medications, including herbal supplements and vitamins with staff. Herbal, homeopathic, sugar-free or pills containing caffeine are discouraged. We understand that you may want to continue to use your own medications and supplements. All prescription and non-prescription pills are subject to approval by the attending physician.

Rogers Memorial Hospital conducts ongoing research in many of our treatment programs to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and increase knowledge in the field. Occasionally, the hospital collaborates with other researchers doing particular research studies. Participation in a research project is completely voluntary and no identifying information is used. Patients who agree to participate are asked at admission and discharge to complete a series of questionnaires that take up to one hour to fill out. It is possible that patient questionnaire results may be used clinically. If this is the case, then the patient may be offered the chance to receive feedback about the questionnaire results. In addition, the therapist will receive the results so that he or she can use this information in treatment planning. Up to a year after discharge from the program, former patients are contacted and asked to complete a short phone survey and a questionnaire that is sent in the mail. The research gathered enables us to examine changes from admission to discharge and follow-up, and we can look at these changes related to factors such as diagnosis, length of stay and gender. This information helps us to make ongoing improvements to the treatment services we provide.