Hospital care
Dr. Valone is an Active Member of the Medical Staff of Las Encinas Hospital. He joined the Medical Staff in 1983 and has had staff privileges for almost 23 years, as such the second longest-standing member of the Medical Staff at the hospital. Dr. Valone has been very active and involved in Las Encinas Hospital over the past two decades and he is very knowledgeable about hospital programs, staff, and administration personnel.
Dr. Valone is an admitting and attending doctor at the hospital, meaning that he directly admits his own patients to the hospital. Once the patient is admitted, Dr. Valone directs the patient’s care as the case manager throughout the patient’s hospital stay, determining the patient’s course of treatment, types of treatment, and when the patient is to be discharged from the hospital. Because Dr. Valone is a licensed psychologist, when Dr. Valone admits a patient to the hospital as an Attending Doctor, Dr. Valone designates a psychiatrist of his choice as the Co-attending Doctor. This psychiatrist manages psychotropic medications and other medical aspects of the patient’s psychiatric care.
At times a psychiatrist will admit a patient as the Attending Doctor and ask Dr. Valone to join him or her as the Co-attending Doctor to provide psychological services. In such cases Dr. Valone will be responsible for all psychological aspects of the patient’s care, while the psychiatrist, as Attending Doctor, will direct the patient’s care as the case manager throughout the patient’s hospital stay and determine the course of treatment, types of treatment, and when the patient will be discharged from the hospital.
Las Encinas Hospital is located in Pasadena, California, 10 minutes away from Dr. Valone’s office. The hospital has been operating for over 100 years and is one of the most charming, relaxing, and discreet private hospital settings in the Western United States. Dr. Valone can admit a patient to the hospital 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the hospital is equipped to manage any type of psychiatric emergency at all times.
Las Encinas Hospital has approximately 130 beds, divided into several different Programs. Each Program is set up on a separate wing in the main building, or in a separate cottage on the expansive, beautiful, manicured lawns of the facility. Each program is briefly described here:
- The Depressive Disorders Program is appropriate for patients who are suffering from mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
- The Dual Diagnosis Program is designed for patients suffering from a psychiatric diagnosis and a co-occurring substance use disorder.
- The General Psychiatric Program is ideal for all other adult psychiatric patients who do not require specialized levels of nursing care.
- The Chemical Dependency Program is tailored for patients who are seeking inpatient chemical dependency care.
- The Critical Care Program is customized for patients who require more intensive contact and monitoring by nursing staff.
- The Psychiatric Acute Care (PAC) Program is structured for patients who temporarily require a secure environment to provide for the acute diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric crises and emergencies in a locked setting.
- The Adolescent Program offers inpatient treatment in a locked setting for adolescents aged 13 to 17. The facility includes a school so that patients can continue their education while receiving treatment at the hospital.
Dr. Valone has admitting and attending privileges to all of these Programs, and can treat a patient in any of these programs. If you would like to talk with Dr. Valone about coming to Las Encinas Hospital, or if you have a family member or loved one whom you would like to speak to Dr. Valone about, please contact him by clicking here.
Dr. Valone has co-attending privileges and offers consultation-liaison services at Huntington Hospital. For example, when a patient has been admitted to Huntington Hospital by their medical doctor for surgery, a medical illness, or a neurological diagnostic workup such as a CAT scan, Dr. Valone can visit the patient at Huntington Hospital and provide consulting psychological services at the request of that Attending Doctor. If a patient has a fear of hospitals, or has psychological issues that interact with medical problems requiring medical treatment in hospital, Dr. Valone can follow the patient from outpatient treatment in his office into Huntington Hospital so as to make the medical hospital experience less stressful. Sometimes a patient who is under Dr. Valone’s care at Las Encinas Hospital will unexpectedly develop a medical condition that requires treatment at a medical/surgical facility. Because Dr. Valone is on staff at both hospitals, Dr. Valone can discharge the patient from Las Encinas, coordinate the admission of the patient to Huntington Hospital, follow the patient throughout his or her medical treatment at Huntington Hospital, and then re-admit the patient to Las Encinas Hospital upon discharge from Huntington Hospital. Dr. Valone is able to provide seamless continuity of care across treatment settings without transferring psychological care to other practitioners in such stressful circumstances.
On occasion a patient will not be appropriate for psychiatric treatment at Las Encinas Hospital. In such situations Dr. Valone does have co-admitting and co-attending privileges at Della Martin Center, the inpatient psychiatric facility at Huntington Hospital. Dr. Valone will select a psychiatrist that he has an excellent working relationship with and will then co-admit the patient with that psychiatrist. The Della Martin Center has a Psychiatric Inpatient Program for adult psychiatric patients, a Geriatric Psychiatric Medical Program for elderly and medically-compromised psychiatric patients, and a Psychiatric Acute Treatment Program that provides a secure environment for the acute diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric crises and emergencies. If you would like to talk with Dr. Valone about coming to Huntington Hospital, or if you have a family member or loved one whom you would like to speak to Dr. Valone about, please contact him by clicking here.
