Psychiatric Interventions Now Offered in One Consolidated Location at UH Lake West Medical Center
June 23, 2025
The UH Behavioral Health Institute has established a new home for its interventional psychiatry services, bringing multiple treatments, including some temporarily paused due to space constraints, under one spacious and dedicated location at UH Lake West Medical Center in Willoughby near both I-90 and State Route 2.
In the beautiful light-filled former labor and delivery unit on the fifth floor, a dedicated team of psychiatrists and nurses will care for patients in the eight-bed suite. The unit is conveniently located just off the elevator from the lobby at this community hospital, which offers free parking. Excitement was infectious at a recent open house and ribbon-cutting, attended by leaders, physicians and caregivers eager to see the new space and welcome the team to UH Lake West.
“We feel so fortunate – this is a statement from the system that they’re prioritizing behavioral health patients,” said Jeanne Lackamp, MD, DFAPA, FACLP, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Director of the UH Behavioral Health Institute, who cut the ribbon at the recent grand opening. “We feel privileged to have this space and welcome all those referrals again.”
Heather Wobbe, DO, is among the psychiatrists who will perform interventional procedures at this location. She outlined four available treatment options for patients, the first two of which are available now and the latter two expected to be added later this summer:
- Intranasal esketamine – FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression or severe depression with suicidal ideation or behavior, this drug is self-administered intranasally, with staff monitoring vitals for two hours afterward.
- Ketamine injections – These IV infusions are self-pay and not covered by insurance. They are an off-label treatment for bipolar depression or major depressive episodes and require monitoring during and after the infusion.
- Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) – A gold standard treatment most commonly used for depression but also indicated for psychosis, mania and catatonia. Previously performed at Lake West and then at UH Richmond Medical Center, cases were temporarily moved to Mather Outpatient Surgical Center but suspended due to space constraints. These treatments take only 20 minutes but are done under general anesthesia.
- Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) – Previously performed in the W.O. Walker Center, these treatments were suspended a few years ago due to the need for an equipment upgrade. They will resume now at UH Lake West with new equipment that is able to treat both depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The new location offers private bathrooms with each patient room, and a larger post-procedure recovery room in the former nursery space. Ample space in the unit also offers the department room to expand services over time.
“It’s much calmer and quieter for patients here, and our patients have really loved it,” Dr. Wobbe said.
This location will also serve as a great training ground for psychiatry residents, said Maggie Musso, MD, one of the psychiatrists covering this location who did her residency at UH. Psychiatry generally has nine residents per year for the four-year program.
Keming Gao, MD, PhD, Joseph R. Calabrese, MD, Chair for Bipolar Disorders, said this positive move will offer a more reliable location for providers and for patients, with dedicated nursing staff and efficient operations.
UH Lake West President & COO Robyn Strosaker, MD, has been pleased to offer a new home to this strategic consolidation of psychiatric services.
“These critical services provide vital treatment options for patients suffering from severe behavioral health conditions who have not responded to conventional therapies, significantly enhancing our behavioral health continuum of care,”
Dr. Strosaker said.