Dr. Gabbe talks about his recent visit to Talbot Hall.
Hi! Pete Geier and I recently had the opportunity to visit Talbot Hall at University Hospital East. I learned so much about this outstanding part of our Medical Center, and I get the sense that it is truly one of our best kept secrets.
I think part of that stems from the lengths the staff at Talbot go to in order to insure the privacy of their patients. For those of you who don’t know, Talbot Hall provides personalized health care for chemical dependency.
I’d like to thank Dennis Ehrie, Administrative Director at University Hospital East, Curt Brown, Talbot Hall Director, Dr Tom Pepper, the medical director, Dr. Trupti Patel, associate medical director and Brad Lander, clinical director, for sharing information about the programs that Talbot Hall offers.
The physicians and staff at Talbot Hall have provided drug and alcohol recovery services in Columbus for 35 years. Talbot serves adult populations with both inpatient and outpatient programs – including some highly specialized treatment tracks such as a Women’s Track that includes a family component one night a week. They also have an outpatient program to help adolescents dealing with addictions. More than 60,000 patients and their families have been served by Talbot Hall. The goal is to provide patients with recovery programs tailored to meet their individual needs by focusing on their physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being.
Talbot Hall provides inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, specialized programs and family programs. While the patient care is outstanding at Talbot Hall, it also fulfills our research and teaching missions.
Research areas include data base studies and research on cocaine addiction. And, this summer, Talbot Hall will once again be host to the Addiction Studies Institute, the largest multi-disciplinary addiction training program in America. With over 900 participants at the 3-day event, we are able to provide education to addiction professionals including chemical dependency counselors, social workers, prevention specialists, criminal justice professionals, clergy, physicians, marriage and family therapists, nurses and other healthcare specialists from across the country.
While at Talbot, I was able to meet a few of the outstanding staff who makes such a difference for our patients. I met Shawn Lucas, an office associate in the intake area and an assessment team including Gloria Bryn, intake psychology coordinator, Marie Melick, a counselor and Mike Vacca, also a counselor. I’d like to thank these individuals and all those who are dedicated to providing care to our patients suffering from addiction.
And, speaking of employees to thank, I’d like to thank the physicians and staff involved with ThinkFirst, an injury prevention program designed to help people develop lifelong safety habits. Our chapter was recently awarded a Chapter of the Year award. There are more than 130 chapters of ThinkFirst nationwide. Our program is funded by the Trauma department, and sponsored by Dr. Jerry Mysiw. Through our chapter, more than 132 programs, reaching nearly 3,700 area students, were presented this year. The program's theme is “use your mind to protect your body” to reduce the incidence and catastrophic consequences of major trauma. Reaching out to our community with programs like these is helping us to improve people’s lives. Well, have a great week.