Luis Completes Transfer Of 6 Psychiatric Patients To St. Thomas

ST. CROIX - Luis Hospital on Tuesday successfully transferred itssix psychiatric patients to Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas, aftera medical staffing situation left the St. Croix psychiatric unittemporarily without a psychiatrist.

"It went extremely well," Dr. Robert Centeno, medical director ofLuis Hospital, said of the transfer. "The patients and staff made itthere safely."

The Daily News reported Monday that officials were working outthe details of the transfer of the entire unit of patients - anunusual move - after a situation occurred Friday in which neither ofLuis Hospital's staff psychiatrists, Dr. Lourdes Neugart and Dr.Olaf Hendricks, was available.

Although medical doctors were covering the psychiatric patients,hospital officials over the weekend scrambled to find psychiatricspecialty coverage. When that was unsuccessful, they made the moveto transfer the patients to Schneider Hospital.

Luis Hospital psychiatric unit nurses and support staffaccompanied the patients on the transfer and are staying on St.Thomas to care for them at Schneider, Centeno said.

"The vast majority of family members were very supportive andvery understanding" of the need to move the patients, Centeno saidTuesday, adding that there were some concerns about the distance andinability to visit.

Officials now are trying to work out a way for patients tocommunicate with their families, possibly through a policy aboutphoning home or potentially using other means to facilitate contactbetween patients and families, such as Skype, which enables calls tobe made over the Internet, Centeno said.

"We're going to try to make sure that there's the ability tocommunicate effectively," he said.

Some of the patients may be ready for discharge within a fewdays, he said.

"Some of them just needed proper medications and evaluation by apsychiatrist," he said. Luis Hospital will bring the patients backto St. Croix when they're ready for discharge, he said.

Hospital officials plan to meet with Health Department officialsin the coming days to discuss the continuity of care for thepsychiatric patients, he said.

In the territory, the hospitals are responsible for caring forpsychiatric patients having acute episodes, while the HealthDepartment has responsibility for long-term psychiatric care andruns an outpatient program.

Centeno said he did not know when the Luis Hospital psychiatricunit might reopen to patients.

Until the unit reopens to patients, patients with psychiatricneeds who come to the Luis Hospital emergency room will bestabilized and transferred to Schneider Hospital.

- Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 455 or e-mailjblackburn@dailynews.vi.