You’re Not Alone: Caring for the Mental Health of Older Adults

Many older people grew up in a time when mental health wasn’t discussed as openly as it is today. But growing older often means adjusting to big changes in life. That can include everything from depression and anxiety brought on by the loss of a loved one, to issues like Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder or dementia.

Our goal here at North Sunflower Medical Center is to provide the best health care services you can get anywhere. Because of that, we have worked hard to become one of the leading centers for behavioral health for the Delta’s aging population. North Sunflower’s Senior Care Unit is a program that works with Medicare patients who may be having some form of mental health issue.  They treat seniors going through any diagnosis that would affect mood, behavior or state of mind.

Celeste Lofton, who is a community educator in the Behavioral Health Department, told us that when people are experiencing behaviors that they do not typically exhibit, they bring them into the hospital for a sound medical evaluation to see if there is something that can be changed to make them feel better.  “Many times, there is something that hasn’t been diagnosed that is causing the change – like a urinary tract infection, anemia, decreased social function, or just a change in medication that is causing them to be off-balance. Is there an adjustment we can make that will make this person’s quality of life better?”

If the issue can’t be solved with surgery or medication, Senior Care provides a range of services to help get patients on the right path.  That includes group therapy, so they talk about things that are going on. Activities that are fun and good food. “We work towards getting them into a routine.  When you’re older and you have something like Alzheimer’s, they do a lot better when they are in a routine.  It is a neat program and it gives families a relief knowing that we are looking after them,” Celeste said.

Celeste works with Susan Gilbert, also a community educator, to evaluate patients. Together they serve as our NSMC senior care ambassadors in the community.  But getting patients to seek out their services isn’t always that easy.

There was such a stigma to mental health issues a long time ago.  It is getting better, but it is still there.  A lot of people don’t want to admit that they are having a mental health problem.  Most people say they don’t think they need a psychiatrist.  They don’t want that stigma,” she told us.  “We find a way to work through that with them.  You’re not alone in this.  So many people suffer from these very same things.  Let’s see if we can get you in and get you feeling better so that you can go on with your life.”

In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. Even still only 41 percent of the people who had a mental disorder in the past year received professional health care or other services.

What does Celeste think makes our inpatient behavioral health department unique? “Not everyone realizes what a wonderful psychologist we have.  There aren’t a lot of psychiatrists in our area who work exclusively with the senior community.   Dr. Cassada  is very knowledgeable and that’s rare.”

But the admiration for fellow co-workers goes both ways.  Dr. Margaret Cassada, a board-certified psychiatrist, and behavioral health superhero, went out of her way to sing praises of the entire behavioral health team at North Sunflower. “People come from 200 miles away because the staff is great.  They have invested in that area to make it the best it can be.”