Hospital in Connecticut, United States
Silver Hill Hospital is a non-profit psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut[2] established in 1931. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and provides behavioral health care treatment.[3] This includes psychiatric and addiction services.
From 2010 to 2018, Silver Hill Hospital hosted the annual Giving Hope Gala, a fundraiser to benefit the Patient Financial Aid Fund, which assists patients lacking funds to cover the costs for the hospital's long-term residential treatment programs. The gala was founded by Michael Cominotto and husband Dennis Basso.[4]
History
The Silver Hill Foundation was established by Dr. William B. Terhune in 1934[5] as a "medical and psychotherapeutic unit to diagnose and treat functional nervous disorders".[6] Terhune was the founder of the psychiatric department at Yale University[7] and had promoted the idea that psychiatric patients not be treated differently than other patients with a medical condition.[8] The original facility was established as a non-profit, voluntary psychiatric hospital and was a member of the American Hospital Association. It could treat up to 60 patients at a time.[6]
In 1958, the foundation dedicated a community clinic building.[6]
It was located on the site of the former Silver Hill Inn as a setting to help patients described as "nervous, depressed, anxious, or malingering."[9] It was located in the Silvermine River Valley of Fairfield County, straddling the borders of Wilton and New Canaan, Connecticut.[10]
Starting in 1971, focus was placed on building the hospital's substance abuse program. By 1984, that program included a psychiatrist, an associate psychiatrist, a psychologist, substance abuse counselors, nursing staff, and a recreational and occupational therapist.[2]
The inpatient acute care unit was built in 1985[11] to provide treatment to patients whose mental illness call for constant supervision.[9]
In 2012, The Chronic Pain and Recovery Center program launched.[12] In 2015, both an eating disorder program for adults[13] and an outpatient opioid addiction program launched.[14]
Facilities
The hospital's 42-acre campus includes former family homes acquired by the hospital's board over time.[11] These include:
- Scavetta House, which serves as a all gender dual diagnosis (substance abuse, and something else) residential facility.[15]
- River House, a 1913 English Tudor style home that has served as a patient residence since the 1980s[15] and now houses the Dialectical Behavior Therapy residential program,[16] which helps patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder regulate feelings by charting emotions.[9]
- Klingenstein House, a 1920s guesthouse that now houses the Adolescent Transitional Living Program.[16][17][18]
- Terhune built a chapel on the property, which was later named in his honor.
In addition, Dr. Terhune built a chapel on the property, which was later named in his honor.[19]
