WellStar Cobb Hospital’s New Vision™ Program Offers Help, Hope for Substance Abuse Patients

New Vision™ is an inpatient medical stabilization service at WellStar Cobb Hospital for adults with drug, alcohol and related health issues. The medically supervised, three-day hospital stay includes:

• Crisis intervention
• Referral
• Assessment
• Medical management through a multidisciplinary team approach

“This is a voluntary service,” explained Melissa Wetherington, service coordinator. “Patients are admitted to regular medical floors - typically 5 South or 6 South - so they must be psychiatrically stable. Specially trained nurses work with the patients.”

According to Wetherington, patient exit surveys and follow up calls have been overwhelmingly positive.  “One patient said, ‘This program helped me get my life back.’  Another said, ‘I did not know what to expect, but the entire staff treated me with dignity and respect.’”

Hamid Bakhtiary, M.D., and Victor Sukumar, M.D., are the program’s medical directors.

For more information, contact Wetherington at 770-739-4670.