At Nazareth Home, our work to provide compassionate care for the elders we serve would not be possible without the community partnerships we maintain. In fact, cooperation, or a belief in partnerships if said another way, is one of our corporate values. One exceptionally important partnership we value is with Team Health. 

Team Health offers a robust line of mental health programs, including psychiatry and psychology services. Nazareth Home’s work with the organization began in December 2020. 

Team Health’s services extend to both Nazareth Home’s Highlands Campus and Clifton Campus. The organization provides behavioral health, mental health and psychological services to Nazareth Home, including mental health diagnoses, along with management of medications related to mental health.

“The team approach at Nazareth Home ensures we can give the overall best care to the vulnerable population we serve, so we’re grateful for Team Health’s partnership as they provide specific expertise in geriatric mental health. As a person gets older, they can find themselves grieving losses, such as mobility and memory, so their psychological health becomes even more important than their physical health in the aging process,” said Dr. Bonnie Lazor, Nazareth Home’s medical director.

Team Health has also been critical in aiding Nazareth Home’s efforts to reduce unnecessary polypharmacy among elders, which is the use of multiple drugs by a single patient, through deprescribing. Team Health’s Dr. Adrian Pellegrini and his team have worked to develop a collaborative partnership with MedCare Pharmacy and Nazareth Home’s consultant pharmacist, Travis Timberlake, in assisting with gradual dose reductions and deprescribing of mental health medications such as antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and more.

Personnel with Team Health visit both Nazareth Home campuses on a weekly basis for onsite visits with elders and their families. They also meet monthly with nursing leadership at Nazareth Home to review mental health medications and look for opportunities for gradual dose reductions.

“We value our partnership and communication with medical staff in providing excellent care for complex patients with challenging mental health needs,” said Dr. Adrian Pellegrini. “Using medications as needed, with a goal of reducing and deprescribing when possible, along with psychotherapy services has been instrumental in achieving these goals at Nazareth Home.”

For more information about Team Health’s behavioral health services, visit here.