36 » A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals. so my life would come to an abrupt halt,” he said. “I didn’t really know how to relax until I went there. I was still kind of working on it. To have my own private space where, regardless of if I’m having a good day or not, that’s my private space to be was like a really big gift.” The Guest House services include group therapy and counseling available any time—day or night. Guests enjoy delicious, healthy meals prepared by staff. Many are grateful for the peace and the ability to rest. “One thing I’ve noticed is they’ve gotten more sleep, they’re coming out and talking to people more,” said Jedanndrila Bushnell, Residential Crisis Therapist. “We’ve had one client who said this place really changed his life and he’s never gotten this kind of help before even from other places.” The Guest House is a collaboration between PeaceHealth and ColumbiaCare, an integrated behavioral health services agency. Plans to open the facility could have been upended by the pandemic, but leaders pushed ahead. “It’s a great testimony to our collaboration with our county, CCOs, and Columbia Care to be able to get this up and running in a time of pandemic,” said Alicia Beymer, Chief Administrative Officer at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart University District. “It’s exciting to know that we can do that in this sense of adversity.” Beymer applauds the increase in state funding for behavioral health services included in the budget passed in 2021. “We look at mental health care holistically, caring for mind, body, and spirit, so with the state funding, it allows us to reach the individual where they’re at and provide compassionate care that’s innovative.” “There is an opportunity for us to wrap that individual in compassion and love throughout the continuum of care.” Daniel Verrier has felt that sense of safety and support at the Guest House. “To have a place that was helping me out without being at a hospital was, is, everything. I’ve got tears of joy just thinking about it.”
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