By Lauren Saslow
The 6’-6” former All-Star baseball player, Darryl Strawberry — now age 51 — is known to fans because of his impressive 16-year career as a right-fielder and power hitter for four Major League Baseball teams: the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. However, Strawberry’s professional career was often overshadowed by his struggle with alcohol, drug abuse and multiple arrests.
Strawberry spoke at the Grand Opening and joint ribbon cutting with the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) and the Central Pasco Chamber of North Tampa Behavioral Health (NTBH), located on S.R. 56, two miles east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel, on Oct. 24. The former player was on hand at the Chamber event to speak in support of the new psychiatric hospital.
“The disease (co-occurring mental illness and addiction) is real,” Strawberry’s voice resonated through the brand new gymnasium of the facility. “We’re here to help people get well. That’s the most important thing. Today is a great day for this community and for this [NTBH] team….When [patients] walk through that door, our number one goal is to get them well.”
After years of treatment for his own addictions and suicidal tendencies in multiple treatment centers, Strawberry told those in attendance at the ribbon-cutting that he now focuses his life on his “Strawberry Ministries” with his wife, Tracy, as they both are now ordained ministers, as well as recovering addicts, in St. Peters, MO. The Strawberrys also created the Darryl & Tracy Strawberry Christian Recovery Program, which has three locations, including one in Orlando, and they both travel extensively to speak to others about empowering their lives through the process of change.
A State-Of-The-Art Facility
Open since October 1, and functioning as the only psychiatric hospital in eastern Pasco County, the 53,000-sq.-ft. NTBH facility offers inpatient, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient care and mobile assessment services (a team that can travel into the community and provide assessment and referral services, as well as issue a “Baker Act” (see below), if necessary, to adult and geriatric patients in the surrounding region. The 75 inpatient beds at NTBH are evenly divided among three separate wings, which provide treatment to adults and seniors with mental health and co-occurring issues, such as an addiction. Currently, only one wing is in use, but another can be opened if the need arises, based upon the number of patients at the facility.
In general, inpatient treatment at NTBH targets the needs of adults and seniors suffering from disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postpartum depression, severe grief, severe anxiety, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, early dementia, depression and other serious illnesses, which often are accompanied by a co-occurring addiction. The outpatient wing at NTBH, which can serve more than 30 patients, has its own separate entrance, parking lot and also can provide transportation to and from treatment.
NTBH’s medical staff consists of several psychiatrists, including medical director Barkat Khan, M.D., who previously served as medical director of the Senior Behavioral Care Unit at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills; director of nursing Denise Montgomery; director of clinical services Angela Jack, and internist Salman Ahmed, M.D., as well as hospitalists Krishna Tewari, M.D., and Mohammad Munir, M.D., who also work at area hospitals, including Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, and Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City. .
Patients may be admitted to NTBH voluntarily or through the Baker or the Marchman Act. The Baker Act ( also known as the Florida Mental Health Act) is a Florida Statute which provides legal procedures for mental health examination and treatment, including voluntary admission by the patient, involuntary examination, involuntary inpatient placement (IIP), and involuntary outpatient placement (IOP), all of which may be initiated by court order, by a law enforcement order or by a physician, clinical psychologist, psychiatric nurse or clinical social worker.
The Marchman Act, on the other hand, is a Florida Statute that enables family members to obtain assistance for a loved one who is unwilling to seek substance-abuse services voluntarily. NTBH chief executive officer Jim Harris says that oftentimes, the patient’s insurance will pay for his or her treatment or patients may pay out-of-pocket.
If admitted under the Baker or Marchman Act and insured, a patient’s insurance company can, in many cases, be billed for the treatment, Harris explains. However, insured or not, NTBH will treat patients brought to the facility under the Acts.
Designed For Safety & Comfort
At the opening event, Harris, who is originally from Philadelphia and is a graduate of the Fordham University School of Social Services in New York City — said that he has a vision for the new hospital to be a safe haven for patients while also creating a “warm, welcoming, non-institutional feel.” He says that the decision to open NTBH in Wesley Chapel originated years ago, due to the lack of mental-health services in the surrounding areas. NTBH’s central location off S.R. 56, near Bruce B. Downs Blvd., I-75 and I-275, allows it to help patients in Pasco, as well as Hillsborough, Hernando and Polk counties.
Although the facility is not yet a completely finished product, it is evident that the design, engineering and construction were considered with extreme attention to detail. Harris, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), explains that there is, “a fine line between comfort and the safety of our patients,” but that the facility was constructed to minimize the patients’ ability to harm themselves or others. NTBH offers an environment conducive to comfort, without compromising health and safety.”
After the WCCC ribbon-cutting ceremony — which included a smorgasbord of food prepared in NTBH’s enormous kitchen — visitors were offered a tour of the open areas of the facility. It is apparent when you walk through the front doors into the lobby that the lobby’s stone tile and the unit’s wood laminate flooring, wood grain doors, and warm color palette all contribute to an inviting ambiance for patients and their families.
Harris says the ceilings were built intentionally high for a more airy, open feel. Additionally, dozens of large, framed nature photographs line the walls of the hallways, each specifically selected because of their calming effects. The on-site gymnasium, painted a shade of muted green, is available for patients to contribute to their physical health, creating a more holistic approach to their recovery. The unit lobbies also are a muted sea green, offering a comforting environment so that patients are not distracted from their treatment. Three separate group rooms and an outdoor patio are available for patients to meet for therapy, recreational activities and psychoeducational training, during which mental health professionals help patients learn to cope with their diagnosed illnesses.
The safety of the building is clear both inside and outside of the facility. Twelve-foot-high fences surround the premises, and multiple layers of magnetic locks secure each wing from interior to exterior doors. Every piece of furniture in each patient’s room is screwed to 20-gauge metal plates behind the furniture in the walls.
Even the potential for a patient to attempt to hang themselves or “tie off” anywhere in the rooms or bathrooms has been minimized: the window shades are rip-resistant and cordless, the shower curtains are Velcroed from the top, no plumbing is exposed and vents are secured shut. The doors swing in and out to prevent patients from being able to barricade themselves in their rooms. Harris says that every detail of the design and engineering has the safety and security of the patients in mind.
NTBH community liaison Deborah Densmore agrees. She explains, “(Harris) really cares about the well-being of (NTBH) patients. He walks the unit himself every day and regularly talks with the patients asking them about their concerns or suggestions.”
Architect Stephanie Pielich (an American Institute of Architects & Construction Documents Technologist) of Nashville, TN, is credited as the leader of the Johnson Johnson Crabtree Architects (JJCA) team for the project, while the DeAngelis Diamond Healthcare Group (DDHG), under the supervision of superintendent Billy Hawkins, is credited for NTBH’s construction. Both companies specialize in medical facilities.
For more information about NTBH (29910 S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel), please call 922-3300 or visit NorthTampaBehavioralHealth.com.
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