In a renovated 114-year-old Victorian mansion on the Butler Hospital campus, five patients at a time get mental health treatment in style: with Jacuzzis in private bathrooms, a gourmet chef in the kitchen and freshly cut flowers delivered daily to their well-appointed suites.
Duncan Lodge opened in early November at Butler, the Brown University-affiliated psychiatric hospital campus on the East Side of Providence. The new facility caters to CEOs, celebrities, professional athletes and other patients wealthy enough to afford the price tag associated with the high-luxury psychiatric ward: $2,000 a day, give or take a few bucks.
Duncan Lodge treats not more than five patients at a time for substance abuse, depression, anxiety, some cases of schizophrenia and other disorders in which a patient won’t harm himself or others, in a luxury hotel setting and apparently without regard for the spending constraints posed by managed healthcare.
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“These are patients that, for various reasons, they need a greater level of privacy, or they’re uncomfortable with the amenities in a general psychiatric hospital and they prefer a smaller, more individual treatment plan,” said Alan Gordon, Duncan Lodge’s medical director.
The facility is the latest entry in an emerging niche in the mental health industry, say experts: the “psychiatric spa,” which treats the mental stresses and substance abuses of people who are maybe famous, always rich. The perks at Duncan include a high-speed Internet connection and a flat-screen TV and a DVD player in each room, and a concierge who will arrange limousine trips to a gym or theater with a doctor’s approval.
In part, Duncan Lodge was created to help shore up the bottom line at nonprofit Butler Hospital’s general psychiatric facility, say officials at Butler. In fact, mental health providers across the nation are being forced to come up with creative ways to make money to offset the financial losses caused by stagnant reimbursement rates and haggles over claims with HMOs.
The people who keep the books at Butler hope that Duncan Lodge will bring in $3.7 million in annual revenue, Butler President Patricia Recupero told the Wall Street Journal for a Nov. 4 report.
So far, so good.
“To date, we are meeting projections,” said Michele Pereira, R.N., executive director of Duncan Lodge. Pereira would not say exactly how much revenue Duncan has generated in its first three months of operation.
The appearance of posh facilities offering boutique psychiatric services raises ethical questions for some critics who say all patients should receive the best health care available, regardless of their ability to pay. Beyond the antique furniture and cushy beds, Duncan has its own staff of internationally recognized therapists and physicians, handpicked for intense work with a single patient. The facility maintains a staff-to-patient ratio of one to one.
“In a general inpatient psychiatric hospital, the ratio is very different,” said Gordon.
But a Butler spokesman said that patients at Duncan Lodge pay more for the ward’s five-star amenities, not necessarily for superior health care.
“We still feel that folks who are coming to our larger facility are getting a very good, high-quality level of care,” said James Hallan, a spokesman for Butler Hospital
So far, the majority of patients visiting Duncan have been CEOs and other businesspeople, rather than celebrities, according to Duncan officials. The facility is uniquely capable of understanding and treating high-power businesspeople that desire complete privacy about their health problems.
In many cases, depression, alcoholism or other problems are burdensome for CEOs and other businesspeople in part because they are used to solving their own problems, and because their job security may be reliant upon maintaining a visible sense of personal control and overall well being, said Gordon.
Gordon made a special point of saying that the new unit is not just a place for CEOs and others to get some rest and relaxation.
“It’s important that we’re recognized for treating legitimate psychiatric
and substance abuse problems, and not being treated as a spa. Our patients are
business-type folks that have sensitive issues around substance abuse, onset
of memory loss and attention deficit issues, and part of our strength is our
ability to address their issues with the highest level of sensitivity … and
to give treatment without any trail.” he said.
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