Meet your Brookhaven care team
Meet your Brookhaven care team
During a Brookhaven stay, several staff members may help with the patient’s care plan, safety supports, therapy, medications, daily structure, discharge planning, and follow-up needs. The care team may include providers, nurses, therapists, social workers, case managers, group facilitators, patient services staff, and other support roles.
You may not meet every team member at once. Some staff work directly with the patient each day, while others review specific parts of the care plan, such as medications, observation status, therapy goals, family meetings, or discharge planning.
Everyone signed in. No one signed out.
Quick summary
- Brookhaven care teams may include providers, nurses, therapists, social workers, case managers, group facilitators, and support staff.
- The assigned nurse or unit staff can usually help identify who to ask for a specific question.
- Providers often review symptoms, medications, safety, observation status, and discharge readiness.
- Therapy and programming staff support care goals, coping skills, groups, supervised activities, and treatment participation.
- Social workers or case managers often help with discharge planning, follow-up care, family meetings, transportation, and support-person involvement.
- Authorized support people may be involved when the patient agrees or when legal authority applies.
Care team members
Care-team roles may vary by unit, schedule, staffing, and patient need. The same person may support more than one part of the care plan, and some roles may change during the stay.
| Role | How they may help |
|---|---|
| Provider or prescriber | Reviews symptoms, safety, diagnosis, medications, observation needs, and discharge readiness. |
| Nurse | Supports daily care, safety checks, medications, symptoms, questions, and unit communication. |
| Therapist or counselor | Supports therapy goals, coping skills, emotional support, groups, and treatment participation. |
| Social worker or case manager | Helps with discharge planning, follow-up care, support people, transportation, housing needs, and care coordination. |
| Group facilitator or programming staff | Leads groups, supervised activities, psychoeducation, skills practice, or structured programming. |
| Patient Services or unit support staff | May help with general questions, belongings, visitor routing, forms, records, or contact directions. |
Provider or prescriber
A provider may be a psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or other licensed clinician involved in diagnosis, medication planning, clinical review, safety review, and discharge readiness.
- Reviews current symptoms, risks, and progress.
- Reviews medications, side effects, and medication changes.
- Considers observation level, safety needs, and care plan updates.
- May review whether discharge planning should begin, continue, or pause.
- May coordinate with nurses, therapists, social workers, pharmacy, and other care-team members.
To learn more, review What happens during a provider review.
Nursing and unit staff
Nursing and unit staff are often the first people to ask for immediate unit questions. They help with daily care, safety checks, medication administration, symptom concerns, belongings questions, and communication with the broader care team.
| Ask nursing or unit staff about | Examples |
|---|---|
| Immediate safety concerns | Feeling unsafe, thoughts of harm, panic, severe distress, or urgent symptoms. |
| Medication questions | Dose timing, side effects, missed doses, new symptoms, or medication concerns. |
| Observation or unit rules | Safety checks, room access, day room access, visitor routing, or activity limits. |
| Daily schedule | Meals, groups, programming, quiet hours, provider review timing, or visitor windows. |
| Belongings | Stored items, restricted items, missing items, phone access, chargers, or discharge property review. |
If the patient asks who is watching, do not answer by name.
Therapy and programming staff
Therapy and programming staff support the treatment goals connected to individual therapy, group therapy, coping skills, supervised activities, emotional regulation, communication, and discharge readiness.
- Help patients understand therapy goals.
- Lead or support group therapy and therapeutic programming.
- Help identify coping skills and participation barriers.
- Share therapy-related progress or concerns with the care team.
- Help plan support needs for discharge.
To learn more, review Individual therapy, group therapy, and therapeutic programming.
Support services
Depending on the patient’s needs, other staff or services may support the stay. These roles may not be part of every care plan, but they can be important for safety, communication, accessibility, medication, belongings, and discharge planning.
| Support role | What they may help with |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy or medication support | Medication review, home medications, discharge medication planning, or medication safety questions. |
| Patient Services | General questions, forms, belongings, records routing, visitor routing, or nonurgent service requests. |
| Interpreter or communication support | Language access, communication needs, hearing support, or alternate communication methods. |
| Accessibility or mobility support | Mobility aids, room access, sensory needs, activity participation, or discharge accessibility planning. |
| Security or safety support | Restricted items, visitor safety, unit access, patient safety concerns, or secure property handling. |
How the team reviews your care
Brookhaven care teams may review a patient’s care during provider reviews, daily rounds, therapy updates, safety reviews, medication review, discharge planning, or care conferences. Not every team member will be present for every review.
- Current symptoms and safety needs.
- Medication response, side effects, and medication questions.
- Observation level, safety checks, room access, and activity limits.
- Therapy participation, group fit, and programming barriers.
- Support-person involvement and privacy permissions.
- Discharge readiness, follow-up care, transportation, and home support.
- Questions or concerns shared by the patient or authorized support people.
All members agree the patient is improving. The patient disagrees. The walls abstain.
How to ask questions
You do not need to know the correct job title before asking for help. Start with unit staff and explain the question or concern. They can help route it to the right person.
| Question type | Who to ask first |
|---|---|
| Immediate safety or urgent symptoms | Assigned nurse or nearest staff member. |
| Medication question | Nurse, provider, or medication support staff. |
| Therapy or group question | Therapist, group facilitator, or unit staff. |
| Care plan question | Nurse, provider, therapist, social worker, or case manager. |
| Discharge planning question | Social worker, case manager, nurse, or provider. |
| Visitor, belongings, or support-person question | Unit staff, Reception, Patient Services, social worker, or case manager. |
Support people and privacy
Family members, caregivers, friends, guardians, or other support people may be part of the care plan when the patient agrees or when legal authority applies. Brookhaven may still need permission before sharing care details.
- Ask whether the patient has added an authorized support person.
- Ask what information can be shared and what cannot be shared.
- Ask whether a family meeting or care conference would help.
- Ask whether legal documentation is needed for a guardian, caregiver, or representative.
- Ask who will update the support person if the plan changes.
Question template
Use this for nonurgent questions about care-team roles, who to contact, or who can review part of the care plan. If the concern affects immediate safety, medication side effects, discharge today, or urgent symptoms, ask unit staff directly.
Ask who is on the care team Click to open / close
Copy button ready.
Subject: Question about Brookhaven care team
Hello Brookhaven Care Team,
I have a question about who is involved in the patient’s care plan.
Patient name:
[Full name]
Patient date of birth:
[DOB]
Unit or room, if known:
[Unit / room / not sure]
Requester name:
[Your full name]
Relationship to patient:
[Patient / family member / caregiver / guardian / support person / legal representative / other]
Question:
[Who is the provider / therapist / social worker / case manager / nurse / care team contact / not sure]
What I need help with:
[Medication question / therapy question / care plan review / discharge planning / support-person involvement / observation status / belongings / visitor question / other]
Is this urgent or needed today?
[Yes / No]
If yes, explain:
[Safety / medication side effects / discharge today / severe symptoms / transportation / other]
Does the patient agree to support-person involvement?
[Yes / No / not sure / patient cannot confirm right now]
Best callback number:
[Phone number]
Please let me know who can answer this question and how to contact the right team member.If the concern is urgent
Do not wait for a portal reply or a scheduled care-team review if the concern affects immediate safety, severe medication side effects, self-harm risk, harm-to-others risk, elopement risk, medical symptoms, same-day discharge, or whether the patient can safely stay on the unit.
- If the patient is on the unit, tell the assigned nurse or nearest staff member immediately.
- If the concern involves medication side effects, ask for clinical review.
- If discharge is happening today, ask to speak with the nurse, provider, social worker, or case manager before leaving.
- If the patient feels unsafe, tell staff immediately.
- If the patient is not on campus and there is immediate danger, use emergency services.
FAQ
Will I meet every member of my care team?
Not always. Some team members work directly with the patient, while others review specific parts of the plan or help with discharge, medication, programming, or support needs.
Who should I ask if I do not know who to talk to?
Start with the assigned nurse, unit staff, or Patient Services. They can help route the question to the right care-team member.
Can I request a different care-team member?
You can share concerns and ask whether a change is possible. Assignment changes may depend on staffing, clinical needs, care continuity, scheduling, and unit availability.
Can my family or support person speak with the care team?
Sometimes. Brookhaven may need patient permission before sharing care details. A support person can usually share concerns with staff, even when Brookhaven cannot share information back.
Who helps with discharge planning?
Discharge planning may involve the provider, nurse, social worker, case manager, therapist, support person, pharmacy, and outpatient care contacts.
Who should I tell if I feel unsafe?
Tell the assigned nurse, nearest staff member, or unit desk immediately. Do not wait for a provider review, therapy session, portal reply, or scheduled meeting.
The care team met without the patient. The patient was already there.
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