Taylor Manor

Taylor Manor Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital in Ellicott City, lost money in its most recent fiscal year, its fourth straight annual loss, despite a slight increase in admissions.But Howard County General Hospital posted a net profit increase of $465,900 in its most recent fiscal year, according to an annual report issued yesterday by the state's Health Services Cost Review Commission, which regulates hospital charges throughout Maryland.According to the report, Taylor Manor posted a net loss of $694,400 for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 1992, even though it admitted 38 more patients that year for a total of 900.The reason for the loss: shorter, less-profitable stays in the hospital at a time when Taylor Manor's operating costs increased slightly, said Dr. Bruce Taylor, the hospital's director.

The husband of a woman who died in 1989 after taking an overdose of an anti-depressant filed suit yesterday against the Crofton psychiatrist who prescribed the drug.The suit, filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, claims that Dr. Clifford L. Culp Jr. was negligent in his treatment of Susan Hope Baker, a mother of two who died Oct. 15, 1989, at Kimbrough Army Community Hospital at Fort Meade.Kevin Baker, Mrs. Baker's husband, is asking for unspecified "compensatory damages" from the doctor.

Taylor Manor Hospital in Ellicott City today is to show off what it says is the county's first intensive day program for teen-agers with depression and other mental disorders, at an open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.Begun in November, the psychiatric partial-hospitalization program is designed for teens who need intensive therapy but not full hospitalization, or those in need of a transition from hospitalization to outpatient care.It is aimed at youngsters ages 12 through 17 with emotional or behavioral problems such as anxiety, depression and family conflict.

Taylor Manor Hospital has laid off 25 employees and closed its intensive care unit in an effort to streamline patient services, the medical director said."

When Samantha, a German shepherd, sees Joan Bartholomew of Columbia put on her green T-shirt and get out a harness, she knows it's time for work.In another part of the county, Gandalf and Hambleton, two English setters, watch expectantly as Shari Sternberger of Highland fills their backpacks with toys and puts on her green shirt.With everything in order, the two women and their canine companions share a car ride to a hospital, where they will spend the next few hours visiting patients.Mrs.

Christmas will come early to the Children's Guild program of Howard County. The local extension of the Baltimore-based, non-profit private school for emotionally disturbed 7-to-12-year-olds apparently won't have to endure the imminent closing its operators and client families had feared.Established last year at Taylor Manor Hospital in Ellicott City, the local program was nearly to the point of shutting down a few weeks ago for failing to meet expenses. It requires 15 students to break even at Taylor Manor, but recently only 13 were enrolled.

What some see as the future for children with serious emotional problems in suburban Baltimore could become history this week.In the next few days, the Children's Guild of Baltimore will decide whether to close its special education extension program in Howard County."

After trouble in school and trouble with the law, Daniel Levy's life was beginning to look up. His grades were improving. His parents were hopeful.It all ended early Monday morning on a rural two-lane road in the southern section of Howard County, when the Columbia youth and two teen-age friends crashed into a utility pole. All three were pronounced dead within hours."We're devastated," said Michael Hall of Highland, whose 14-year-old daughter, Angela Marie, died in the crash. She "was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Remember the weekend they drew the winning number for that $11 million Lotto jackpot? It was an especially bad one for a woman we'll call Iris.Her father was a drug addict bookmaker; her mother is still hooked on bingo games. Since her inner-city Baltimore childhood, Iris has been playing poker and betting on horses. But whether she went to the track or found a game of cards, she always played the lottery, betting between $30 and $100 a day for as long as she can remember.She smiles when she hears that the lottery isn't supposed to be addictive because it hasn't the pace of the horses or casino games.

Taylor Manor Hospital will offer intensive inpatient treatment services to children 9 to 12 years old as part of a reorganization of its adolescent treatment program.In response to a growing number of younger patients with severe emotional problems, the Ellicott City psychiatric hospital will halve the size of its 40-bed adolescent unit and open an 18-bed unit for preadolescents Jan. 15."I think there are more severe problems that are occurring with a larger number of younger patients than we have seen in previous years," said Dr.John DeFrate, a staff psychiatrist at Taylor Manor who will head up the unit.