Safety At ViewPoint Center
Sending your child away from home to receive assessment and treatment for mental health challenges can be a challenging, and sometimes scary, time for parents. Some parents may have concerns about their child’s safety while away from the comforts of home. At ViewPoint Center, we understand and address these fears about safety. One of our top priorities is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for your child to begin their healing journey. The safety procedures on campus allow for a secure environment in which students and staff can develop treatment plans for future success.
Licensing and Accreditation Ensures Student Safety
ViewPoint Center is licensed and accredited with the Joint Commission, the Utah Department of Health, and the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. In order to obtain and retain accreditation and licensure with these organizations, ViewPoint Center must meet or exceed specific requirements for safety. Through yearly reviews by officials from these organizations, ViewPoint is held accountable for all internal practices including staff hiring and training, clinical practices, and the daily operations on campus.
Campus Safety
At ViewPoint Center, we believe that a safe campus translates into the overall well being of our students and staff members. Our facility is locked at all times and every physical feature on our campus is optimized for maximum safety. By locking our campus, it ensures that outsiders are kept out and prevents students from eloping.
Students are supervised at all hours of the day by members of staff. There is a minimum ratio of 1 direct care staff for every 4 students. At a minimum, staff check on students every 15 minutes to note where the patients are, what they are doing, and their emotional state. As a matter of practice we try not check on students specifically at 0, 15, 30, and 45 because we don’t want these checks to be predictable.
This level of supervision allows staff members to closely monitor the emotional and behavioral patterns of students. By constantly monitoring students, staff members can be attentive to a student’s needs and assess them for potential risks.
Nursing staff are available 24 hours a day to attend to medical needs quickly and effectively. The constant availability of our nursing staff ensures that a credentialed staff member is supervising students at all times.
Keeping Students Safe
In addition to constant supervision and secure facilities, we take specific measures to ensure all safety risks are removed from campus. For example, students do not have access to items which may pose a risk to themselves or others. Some of these items are standard contraband and others are individualized based on a student’s history and patterns of behavior. By removing items that can be harmful to students, it removes opportunities for self harm and impulsive decision making.
If students are behaving in a way that may pose a safety risk, procedures known as precautions are set into place. Precautions provide additional staff supervision and support during times of increased acuity.
At ViewPoint Center, we take the safety of students very seriously. If you have any questions ViewPoint Center, please call toll-free at 801-825-5222.