Admissions: Adolescent Unit - Baltimore/Washington

Referral Sources

Adolescents can be admitted to our unit in a variety of ways:

• They can be referred through the emergency room of a hospital

• They can be referred through our Psychiatric Urgent Care

Admissions Process

Once an adolescent has been referred from one of these sources, meets our admissions criteria, and we have a bed available, we will admit them to the unit. Upon arrival to the unit, we will complete a nursing assessment with the parent/guardian present (when possible); parents/guardians are very helpful when it comes to learning about the adolescent and designing an individualized course of treatment. We will also complete a skin assessment and safety search during the intake process to ensure that the adolescent has not been experiencing any physical harm and is not bringing any contraband items onto the unit.

After the intake process, each patient will get a tour of the unit and the shared bedroom; we make sure that the family and adolescent are comfortable with the unit environment before the parent/guardian leaves.