The calls come in daily, all times of the day and night. The 24-hour hotline, 201-262-HELP (4357), provides a caring professional on the other end of the line that offers a world of helpful services to those who are feeling overwhelmed.

After that initial emergency evaluation, Kristan Louis, RN, APNC, is likely to get involved with patients that are not hospitalized, but still need emergency psychiatry and counseling services. “Our goal is to keep people out of the hospital,” said Louis. “But we do so much more than that.”

In a quiet, calming room in a wing at Bergen Regional Medical Center, where Care Plus NJ maintains some offices, Louis was interviewed about this new program.

Operating through the Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program (PESP), Louis, an Advanced Practice Nurse, quickly related that confidentiality was a key component of the program. She said her case example would offer insight of the service, but not actually represent a specific case. “People need to feel comfortable. They also need to understand that they are not alone and that we are here to help,” Louis remarked. “Many people share the same problems, but often people who seek our help have an accumulation of problems that become overwhelming.”

With an RN license and an Advanced Practice Nurse certification, Louis is able to prescribe medication in collaboration with a Care Plus NJ, Psychiatrist. She also completes psychiatric evaluations, develops treatment plans, and provides education. Always, her goal is the maintenance of a therapeutic alliance with the client.

Uppermost, her efforts are designed to relieve family distress and improve family functioning. She is able to access services and coordinate resources among mental health, general medical and other service systems. Indeed, clients are assigned to her because they could benefit from more comprehensive, holistic physical and psychiatric health care coordination.

Louis generally works with clients over the age of 18 who have a serious and persistent mental illness. They may have been hospitalized in the past of are at-risk of a hospitalization. Louis steps in to offer hope and counseling.

She remembered one young man who was assigned to her. His family was afraid that he was contemplating suicide. A suicidal assessment was conducted and it was felt that hospitalization was not necessary. “He felt like his life was in complete chaos.”

The young man had previously felt as though he had gotten his life together. He had managed to stay out of trouble with the law--an earlier problem--and had a very good job. He was in a serious relationship with a woman and was thinking of marriage.

But in one, loud fight that involved the police, the young man saw himself right back where he started several years before. “He felt that all the work he had done to get his life back on track was for nothing,” said Louis. “He was terribly depressed and not thinking clearly because of his anxiety over his problems.”

With several stressors affecting his ability to function, Louis began getting him help for each problem area in his life. With the help of Dr. Kim, a psychiatrist and the Clinical Director of PESP, Louis was able to complete a psychiatric evaluation, identify a diagnosis and develop a medication plan. This helped to ease his initial, acute distress.

“We were able to get him to a place where he was comfortable so he could continue going to work.”

Louis also referred him to the agency’s Transition Services Program which offered help through his legal problem and the court process. With his problems more manageable, he was able to reunite with his girlfriend, one of his goals.

As he felt more confident, he was able to function--even better than before.

Through the whole process, which lasted about eight weeks, Louis said he got the help that he needed and he was able to keep his job and get back with his girlfriend, while staying out of the hospital and out of jail.

Care Plus NJ, Inc., is pleased to be able to offer the services of Ms. Louis to all Bergen County residents and is proud that she is here to reduce the high rates of hospital recidivism through increased access and coordination of physical and behavioral health care. With timely access to medication administration and case management and coordination, more people will be able to maintain their stability and well-being in the community.

Annual Report Released 2006 News Archives