Hospital was supposed to take care of female veterans

They were supposed to be taking care of female veterans. Since they didn't think about where they would come from, they turned around and opened the door to males. Did they actually think that would serve the female veterans?

Treatment center for military females needs men to up numbers
Courier Post
Written by
Carol Comegno
Courier-Post Staff Aug. 5, 2013

WILLINGBORO — An in-patient hospital program for female active military or veterans with emotional disorders or addiction has been expanded to include men.

Despite an aggressive marketing campaign to attract them, a shortage of women has led administrators at Lady of Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County to open the Living Springs behavioral program to active-duty males or veterans.

Alexander J. Hatala, Lourdes Health System president and CEO, said the newly-opened program has been modified in order to treat men and women in the 21-bed Willingboro unit. The first male was admitted last week.

“When we originally designed Living Springs, our intention was to create a comfortable, safe environment where servicewomen or the female family members of servicemen could relate to each other during the recovery process,” Hatala said.

He said since the program was launched in December, the hospital discovered a number of impediments for women to step forward and seek care, despite the need for behavioral health services geared toward them.

Joanne Gianndrea, Lourdes’ vice president for military affairs, said one problem is the reluctance of women to enter an in-patient program, especially if they have children or are caregivers for someone else.

Another obstacle is locating potential patients.
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