Rochelle Community Hospital launched a new Behavioral Health Services department in April, RCH Chief Nursing Officer Rhonda Marks said Oct. 9.

The new department is located at the RCH Multi-Specialty Clinic at the hospital at 900 N. Second St. Offerings include face-to-face counseling, behavioral telehealth evaluations and medication management services.

Behavioral health providers in the clinic are Licensed Clinical Social Worker Danica Reints and Nurse Practitioner Chiedza Nwakudu.

Reints provides in-person counseling services for individuals as well as couples (partners, family, parental, etc.) Nwakudu provides behavioral health evaluations and medication management through telehealth visits.

Reints and Nwakudu offer treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, couples counseling, depressive disorder, grief counseling, mood disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, and suicidal thoughts or ideation.

Marks said RCH has had a desire to start a behavioral health clinic since 2022. The idea came about due to a need that was discussed in quarterly meetings that take place with RCH, local police and fire representatives and mental health organizations. The Rochelle Fire Department and the RCH emergency department have seen a rise in mental health cases in recent years.

RCH received two grants from the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network that helped with the setup of the new department. It saw its first patient on April 30 and each month since, visit numbers have increased.

“It’s going great,” Marks said. “We started out with referrals from our family healthcare providers. We wanted to go slow to see how it would roll out. We met with a few different hospitals that have clinics like these to get suggestions. They told us to roll it out slowly, so it didn’t get busy too fast.

“We didn’t want to get too busy and not be able to handle it. We are limited in space here in our multi-specialty clinic. Now that we’re accepting referrals from outside the organization, we have seen visits pick up and I anticipate it will get busier.”

Marks said she plans to meet with Rochelle Township High School representatives on how the behavioral health clinic can help students in need of services. Other potential developments in the department down the road could include the hiring of an in-house psychiatrist, and possibly serving children younger than 12.

Other organizations that offer mental health services and counseling in the area are busy, Marks said, and the new RCH clinic will help to better meet the needs of the area.

“I think having our clinic available just gives people another opportunity to be seen quicker,” Marks said. “Availability is a good thing. If you can catch someone who needs a counseling session now, maybe you can reach them before it gets into crisis. And they don’t have to leave town for it.”

Marks said patients that see their family doctors can be easily referred to the behavioral health clinic and it’s in a place they’re already comfortable coming to. She’s happy that RCH is now able to provide a service it didn’t have before.

“The more we can offer the community, the more benefit there is to our community,” Marks said. “I just think there’s so much opportunity here in town to help people and work together. Even though we’re a small town, the need is great. Sinnissippi Centers is so busy and so are the other mental health providers. But it’s not a competition. We want to help each other and the community. There’s enough need to go around. I’m really excited about the clinic.”

The department is open Tuesday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Services are offered by appointment only. Call 815-561-1320 for appointment information. No walk-ins are accepted. Services are available for patients 12 years old or older. Health insurance is required for payment.