if I lose my pension and benefits?” One of the many assets Burkert brings to the team is having guided so many members through this very situation.“ I understand the pension issues, the labor issues and the grievance issues,” he says.“ I can become their surrogate union delegate and educate them through everything they don’ t know.”
• Supplements such as a fitness area, art therapy and even dance movement therapy sessions give patients an outlet to express feelings they might not otherwise be able to articulate.
• Some first-responder treatment facilities are addiction based. Some are psychiatric-based. Princeton House is a mesh of both.
In the end, Wohl’ s patient-first priority philosophy built through 26 years of leadership focuses on a differentiator he submits as a true difference.“ I’ ve seen some really beautiful letters from patients in which they have said,‘ You saved my life. If your program wasn’ t there, I don’ t know where I would be. Everybody on the staff did something or said something that turned my life around,’” Wohl relates.“ People in the helping professions live for that feedback.”
Intensive Care
So now the question on every member’ s mind must be,“ What’ s it like inside?” Well, let’ s take a look.
The admissions area is a lobby with comfortable furniture, art and a quiet feel. If an officer is in trauma, Princeton House utilizes the University Medical Center at Princeton’ s behavioral health emergency room to address that situation, but the admissions process is a meeting with a crisis counselor and members of the First Responder Team flanking the officer with comfort to calm the“ I’ m outta here” or“ want to push the door and leave” fear.
“ When people come in and see the area here, they see it’ s not a sterile setting,” describes Kerri Celaya, the Director of Inpatient Admissions who is married to a NJ Transit Police Local 304 member.“ They see patients in their own clothes. It’ s a homey environment, and that tends to make them feel more comfortable. We’ re not going to press them too much; just kind of let it unfold once the team works with them here.”
Beyond admissions is the call center, which might be the first point of contact for many. The call center is staffed with bachelor’ s and master’ s level care clinicians who have worked closely with the First Responder Team. Burkert has spent considerable time here with Celaya and her team enlightening about life in the first-responder community. Additionally, many of the calls that come through here have been referred from Cop 2 Cop, where the officer counselors have been able to help members understand that Princeton House is a good treatment option.
“ You get a live person when you call here, not a recording, and that’ s an important piece,” Dr. Bizzarro adds.“ The staff really understands there might be a job in jeopardy or weapons involved and the urgency of trying to get first responders in.”
Based on the presenting issue, a patient is assigned to one of six areas for treatment. Wing 1 is for addiction recovery and co-occurring disorder treatment; Wing 3 is for detox; Wing 6 is for psychiatry and dual diagnosis. Each wing has up to 15 beds, and it’ s possible an officer might come into Wing 6 or 3 then move to Wing 1. Each wing is equipped with round-the-clock nursing, doctors who are addiction certified specialists and social workers. Dr. Bizzarro meets with the team from every wing that has a first responder patient every morning, and the First Responder Team also meets every morning with the officers in treatment.
The licensed clinical social workers in each wing conduct individual and group therapy sessions, as well as education sessions for family members who come to visit on Sundays. Their goal is to make sure patients know the 14-day stay is the first step in recovery.
“ We’ re providing them the tools and teaching them how to utilize the tools to set them up for success,” details Christine Issac, a social worker in the addiction wing.“ It’ s a collaborative approach, and they need to be on board with the types of programs that work for first responders specifically.”
Each patient leaves with a treatment plan that includes attending treatment programs in one of the many Princeton
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The facilities that help make Princeton House a desired treatment option for NJ State PBA members include the admissions area, call center, fitness center, arts and craft room and cafeteria.
www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ FEBRUARY 2017 33