BHA General FAQ

When a patient arrives at the hospital, a physician and nurse meet with the patient to discuss the reasons for the admission. A discharge plan is formulated at the time of admission. The patient and staff identify strengths and goals to achieve discharge. The patient is then introduced to the ward staff, other patients, and their ward environment.

At the time of admission, the patient’s clothing and personal items will be checked and inventoried. As a precaution against loss or theft, the patient is asked to allow all clothing to be marked with the patient’s name.

Patients are asked to have family members keep all valuables. Valuable items that are brought to the hospital are maintained in the hospital’s safe. If a patient chooses to keep a personal item in their possession, the patient will assume liability for loss.

Patients are not allowed to keep sharp or potentially dangerous items such as knives, scissors, straight and safety razors, cigarette lighters or lighter fluid, or glass containers or bottles. These items will be disposed of or stored in the Security Office.

Since storage space is limited, patients are encouraged to not bring personal property to the hospital other than clothing.

The physician will assess whether a patient’s personal medications should be provided to them while hospitalized or if hospital medications will be substituted. Patients’ personal medications will be stored. Family members should not bring medications (either prescription or over-the-counter) to patients in the hospital.

Patients are allowed to keep a small amount of spending money to use at a campus store to purchase snack items. Family members or friends are allowed to deposit money into a patient’s account at the hospital as each patient has their own account. Deposits can be made in person. The Patient Accounts Office can also accept checks for deposit into a patient account. Withdrawals are made by notifying the designated staff member on the unit.

You may call the Consumer Affairs Office: 253-761-7575 or 1-800-558-4737

• Child and Family Team or Wraparound is NOT a program, a type of service, or family therapy. It is a process based on the idea that services should be tailored to meet the needs of children and their families. There is an underlying value and commitment to create services and supports "one kid at a time" to promote community-based options to support children and youths with complex needs and their families.
• Often one or more agencies are involved with the family and work collaboratively with them and others who are close to the family. They function as a team to support the family and each other, working towards common goals.

There are two types of formal complaints that you may make. One type is an appeal, which is a formal complaint about an action. An action is a denial, suspension, reduction, or termination of certain services. See Benefits booklet  for more information.

• An assessment is a process performed by a clinician to determine if treatment is necessary, functioning level, the diagnosis and if your child meets the Access to Care Standards. Additional information will be gathered to determine medical necessity, the length and level of care. This is done through an interview with the youth and could include parents and other family members. The clinician will also ask for historical and family information. In this process, it is important to remember that this is about exploring solutions and not about blaming.
• Information and records with the consent of the parent, legal guardian or youth if appropriate might be gathered from other sources. These could be medical, mental health, school, juvenile justice and other types of records.
• The assessment also includes the child and family's strengths, needs and situation. The clinician might also perform diagnostic tests.
• Based on the assessment, a determination of whether the individual meets all the following requirements to be considered for a level of care assignment:
  • The individual is determined to have a mental illness. The diagnosis must be included as a covered diagnosis in the list of Covered Childhood Disorders.
  • The individual's impairment(s) and corresponding need(s) must be the result of a mental illness.
  • The intervention is deemed to be reasonably calculated to improve, stabilize or prevent deterioration of functioning resulting from the presence of a mental illness.
  • The individual is expected to benefit from the intervention.
  • The individual's unmet need would not be more appropriately met by any other formal or informal system or support
• If a level of care is assigned, a decision on the appropriate course of treatment will be made by the parents or legal guardian, the child or adolescent if appropriate, and the clinician.

• Acute psychiatric inpatient treatment is provided in a community hospital or a certified freestanding Evaluation and Treatment facility (E&T).
• For publicly funded services, a medical necessity determination is made by the RSN/PIHP or Designated Mental Health Professional (DMHP).  For privately funded services, the individual's insurance company makes that determination. The length of stay in the hospital is variable, depending upon the individual's needs.

Information coming soon...

The state of Washington defines medical necessity for inpatient care as "a requested service which is reasonably calculated to diagnose, correct, cure or alleviate a mental disorder or prevent the worsening of a mental condition that endanger life or cause suffering and pain or result in illness or infirmity or threaten to cause or aggravate a handicap, or cause physical deformity or malfunction and there is no adequate less restrictive alternative available." RCW 71.34.020 (12)

• For publicly funded admissions, the RSN or the DMHP  determines medical necessity for acute psychiatric care.
• The CLIP Administration  makes determination of medical necessity for voluntary long-term inpatient care regardless of whether the child has public or private insurance.
• For both levels of care, adolescents committed for 180 days of involuntary inpatient treatment have been determined to meet medical necessity through the detention and commitment process as defined in RCW 71.34.750
• Federal requirements apply to all inpatient services provided to Medicaid clients.

• Psychiatrist: A person having a license to practice as a physician and surgeon in this state and in addition has completed three years of graduate training in
  psychiatry in a program approved by the American Medical Association or the American Osteopathic Association and is certified or eligible to be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. RCW 71.34.020
• Psychologist: A person licensed by a state examining board. This person must pass an oral or written exam or both as prescribed by the examining board. In addition, this person must have a doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution obtained from an integrated program of graduate study in psychology. This person must also have had at least two years of supervised experience of which at least was one must have been after the doctoral degree was granted. RCW 18.83.070
• MSW: A person with a masters or further advanced degree from a school of social work or a degree deemed equivalent under rules adopted by the Secretary of DSHS. RCW 71.34.020