Penn Highlands DuBois Hosts ‘Building Bridges’ Event To Enhance Geriatric Psychiatric Care
Penn Highlands Healthcare hosted “Building Bridges,” an educational seminar designed for skilled nursing facility staff. The program provided practical insights on supporting residents struggling with behavioral health and psychiatric symptoms, discussed effective management strategies and outlined referral pathways to acute geriatric psychiatric programs.
Held today at the Penn Highlands DuBois campus, the session provided healthcare professionals with tools to better support residents facing behavioral health challenges. It focused on strengthening regional healthcare partnerships, improving access to behavioral health services and enhancing the continuity of care for older adults experiencing psychiatric symptoms.
Arianne Iorfido, MA, LPC, Behavioral Health Service Line Director for Penn Highlands Healthcare, opened the event by emphasizing the importance of shared communication pathways.
“Our ‘Building Bridges’ program is designed to create a stronger, more connected support network for our region’s most vulnerable seniors,” said Iorfido. “By equipping skilled nursing staff with practical psychiatric management tools, a direct line to acute geripsych programs and a clear roadmap to specialized care, we can significantly improve patient outcomes and ensure a high standard of continuity of care.”
The seminar featured presentations from leading behavioral health professionals, including:
- Benjamen Gangewere, DO, Behavioral Health Service Line Associate Medical Director, Psychiatry Residency Program Director and Attending Psychiatrist at Bright Horizons at Penn Highlands Clearfield, who discussed communication frameworks aimed at minimizing gaps when elderly patients move between different care settings.
- Valerie Brady, Manager of Bright Horizons Geriatric Psychiatry Unit at Penn Highlands Clearfield, who shared strategies for supporting patients after psychiatric hospitalization.
- Jessie Zhang, MD, attending psychiatrist for the Senior Transitions Unit at Penn Highlands Brookville, who talked about the benefits of acute geriatric psychiatric treatment.
The “Building Bridges” program reflects Penn Highlands Healthcare’s ongoing commitment to strengthening collaboration among healthcare providers and expanding access to high-quality behavioral health services for older adults. For more information on Penn Highlands Healthcare’s behavioral health services, visit https://www.phhealthcare.org/bhs.
Photo caption: Pictured at Penn Highlands Healthcare’s “Building Bridges” event are (l to r) Dr. Benjamen Gangewere, Valerie Brady and Dr. Jessie Zhang.
