After living with paranoid schizophrenia for most of his adult life, 66-year-old George*saw only one escape from a world he is convinced is out to get him. He tried to take his own life. Thankfully, the staff of the assisted living facility where he lived due to serious medical issues stopped him and got him to Glens Falls Hospital’s Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit.
This is the story of how Glens Falls Hospital helped. The hospital’s BHU team had cared for George often over the years, helping him manage his persistent fear that everyone wants to hurt him. Unfortunately, schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness. There is no cure.
In the past, George would complete our highly regarded short-term care program (the hospital’s BHU is not a long-term care facility) with varying degrees of success and return to wherever he was living at the time. With therapy and medication, he could return there safely, at least until his paranoia once again reached a level requiring intensive inpatient care.
This time was different. When George arrived at the hospital in September 2025, his schizophrenia had become too much for the assisted living facility to manage. Once stabilized, he would not be able to return there.
As always, the BHU team stepped up. Under the outstanding care of doctors, nurses, therapists and case managers, George once again began therapy, supported by an adjustment of his mental health medications.
Therapy is always particularly challenging for George because it requires building a level of trust with his therapist – a goal directly at odds with his paranoia. Over time, however, trusted connections were again made, most often over a game of rummy, and George’s condition was stabilized. “Our team showed up for him, every day,” says Max English, Clinical Program Director for Behavioral Health Services. “They kept walking in the door even though he said, Get out.’ “They built trust through consistency.”
The BHU team also worked tirelessly to find George a new home upon his discharge. Nursing homes could care for his many medical conditions, but not schizophrenia. Mental health providers said just the opposite. More than three dozen residential facilities of various types were contacted about accepting him, with no success.For 152 days, George resided in the Inpatient BHU – more than 15 times longer than the average patient. Through it all, the team persevered, managing his illness and keeping him safe, until a qualified long-term, skilled nursing facility could be found.
During this time, the insurance payments received by the hospital barely covered the cost of George’s medications, let alone his extensive care.“In many other communities, in many other hospitals, George would have fallen through the cracks,” Max says. “But when you’re the region’s safety net like Glens Falls Hospital, you catch them and you hold on.”
Our BHU Renovation & Modernization project couldn’t come at a more important time. After five decades of intensive use, Glens Falls Hospital’s Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit needs a major renovation and modernization for the better health, comfort and self-esteem of our patients. Insurance payments will not cover these costs – so once again the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation is turning to the community to help us raise the funds needed to ensure the care George receives is backed up by the best facility we can provide for our community.
To learn more and about the project and offer your support visit https://www.anydayanytimeeveryone.com/inpatient-behavioral-health. Or give us a call at (518) 926-5960.
*To protect patient privacy, “George” is a pseudonym for an actual Glens Falls Hospital patient, and a stand in was used for any photographs.
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