How Bradley Partners to Improve Care

By Ellen Hallsworth, Director, Bradley REACH

The Beginning of Bradley Hospital

As you walk into Bradley Hospital, there’s a framed newspaper front page from 1937 about the hospital’s origins. The headline says that George and Helen Bradley, who endowed the hospital in the memory of their daughter, Emma Pendleton Bradley, did so “since their child had no such solace.” 

The bequest that founded the hospital states that they want to:

“Provide comfort and blessing to many
sufferers in like manner.” 

Almost a century later, during a crisis in child and adolescent mental health, more families are suffering than ever before.  Across the country providers are struggling to keep pace with increased demand for services, often building new units and facilities to meet growing needs. 

An Unparalleled Continuum of Care

Over the past 92 years, in Rhode Island and in the New England region, Bradley Hospital has developed an unparalleled continuum of care. From our outpatient clinics to intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), to our inpatient units, residential homes and schools we serve children experiencing a wide range of emotional difficulties and developmental disorders.  

Selya 6, our medical-psychiatric unit at Hasbro Hospital, our  Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and the Pediatric Anxiety Research Center are three of the areas where Bradley is a center of national expertise.

Our practical experience of providing care is complemented by a commitment to research and innovation in the field. But there is a limit to the number of families we can serve within the confines of a single hospital and geographic region.  

Extending Care in Partnership 

Bradley REACH is fundamentally about extending the care the Bradley offers beyond the walls of the hospital.  Some of this happens through our virtual IOPs and PHPs.  But we also help by partnering with providers and other institutions to help improve their care as we navigate this crisis together. 

Over the past year, partners from as far away as Australia, and from Michigan, Missouri and Massachusetts have all visited Bradley or have consulted with us virtually.  

Partners tend to be interested in a range of topics.  Often, they are focused on the design stage of a new unit or facility: they want to know how we use our space; the furniture we use; and what we have learned from our units over the years that we would do differently now, or with different space constraints. Sometimes they are interested in workforce questions: how we manage staffing and policies. Clinical care, our treatment philosophy and the structure of a typical day is another area of interest.  And sometimes they are most interested in reimbursement and how we ensure that our units are sustainable.  Initial visits to the unit often turn into much longer partnerships as we offer support through the development of new services. 

Accelerating Learning & Collaboration 

It’s always fascinating to be a part of these discussions and to hear clinicians’ commitment to improving care for children and families. We hope that by sharing knowledge we can accelerate learning, and the development of more high-quality services everywhere.  

In this sense, we hope that Bradley REACH can be part of this mission of extending care to reduce suffering for children and families far beyond the hospital. 

If you are interested in learning more about Bradley REACH’s consultation services, or partnering with us for a consultation or visit, please contact bradleyreach@lifespan.org. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ellen Hallsworth

Director, Bradley REACH