Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute
The Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute (NVMHI), located in Falls Church, Virginia, is an inpatient psychiatric facility under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Behavioral Health and Disability Services. To be eligible for services at NVMHI an individual must:
- Be between the ages of 18 to 65
- Be in need of acute psychiatric treatment and
- Reside in one of the five Community Services Board (CSB) districts in Northern Virginia (Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax-Falls Church, Loudoun and Prince William).
All admissions are pre-screened by the CSB in the person's area of residence. Once the pre-screener has determined the need for admission, contact is made with the Admissions Department at NVMHI to arrange an admission intake. NVMHI accepts individuals on involuntary and voluntary admission status.
NVMHI has a bed capacity of 134, and accepts both civil and forensic admissions. With recent legislative changes, as well as ongoing efforts to divert individuals suffering from mental illness from jails to psychiatric treatment, NVMHI is often at capacity. As a result, the region (including staff from the CSBs and NVMHI) has collaborated closely to assure that the psychiatric acute care/crisis needs of individuals living in Northern Virginia are met. These strategies include but are not limited to a close monitoring of trends and needs across all settings in our continuum of care, close collaboration with our private hospital partners, use of crisis stabilization units, Mandatory Outpatient Treatment (MOT) and collaboration with our local law enforcement officers. Criteria used to monitor our resources have been developed and are updated regularly based upon changing circumstances. These criteria and procedures are:
- Regional Admission Procedures
- Regional Resolution Process for Outstanding Issues Related to Admission and Discharge from State Facilities
- NVMHI Admission Priorities
- Medical Clearance of Referrals Checklist
- Documentation Requirements for State Hospital CSB Discharge Planners
- Collaborative Discharge Protocols for Community Service Boards and State Hospitals Adult & Geriatric
- Cross-Jurisdictional TDO Information
- Northern Virginia CSB Emergency Services / Kaiser Patient Hospitalization Procedures
Local Inpatient Purchase of Services
LIPOS stands for Local Inpatient Purchase of Service. The State disperses funds to the Region for the CSB’s to purchase private psychiatric hospital beds for individuals with no healthcare benefits when admission to a state psychiatric hospital is not possible. The HPR II Region includes five Community Services Boards: Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax-Falls Church, Loudoun, and Prince William. Read the LIPOS Frequently Asked Questions.
Our region (HPR II) utilizes six local hospitals for Local Inpatient Purchase of Services (LIPOS) funding:
- Dominion Hospital
- The Farley Center at Williamsburg Place
- Inova Behavioral Health Services
- Fairfax Hospital
- Loudoun Hospital
- Mount Vernon Hospital
- Prince William Medical Center and
- Virginia Hospital Center
Staff from Emergency Services of the five CSBs place at-risk consumers with no financial resources into these beds when no available beds exist at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute (NVMHI). Discharge planners from the five CSBs monitor their stay and provide discharge planning and transfer to NVMHI as needed. See the list of CSB contacts for LIPOS.
Hospital Information
Adult Forms and Procedures
- LIPOS Procedures
- LIPOS Admission Form
- LIPOS Extension Form
- LIPOS Out of Region Hospital Form
- LIPOS Discharge Form
Youth Forms and Procedures
- General Procedures for Admission to Private Hospital Using Youth Funding
- Admission
- Funding Extension
- Discharge
