EmPATH unit

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EmPATH unit (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing) is an acronym for a specialized hospital-based emergency department or outpatient medical observation unit dedicated to mental health emergencies. Unlike standard emergency departments, EmPATH units gather their patients in chairs in a central room called a milieu.[1][2][3]

EmPATH units were developed as a response to US emergency department overcrowding as large numbers of mental health patients were waiting for hours or days until they could be transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility.[4][5]

Moving psychiatric patients to a separate area for specialized emergency care opens emergency department beds for patients with medical emergencies and avoids the more confined structure of a standard emergency department which has been cited as a potential cause of worsening psychiatric patient symptoms.[6] The open design of the EmPATH unit allows patients to move about freely, helping reduce stress.[7][8] A study of the EmPATH unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has shown that patients need shorter stays, less inpatient care, and return to hospital less frequently.[9] Other hospitals' EmPATH units have reported fewer than 25% of psychiatric emergency patients still require inpatient care after an EmPATH stay.[10][11][12][13]

In their "Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System," The National Council for Mental Wellbeing stated that there should be at least one EmPATH unit in every mental health system.[14]

History[edit]

The concept of EmPATH units was developed by Scott Zeller[15]. For his work on EmPATH units, Healthcare Design magazine named him one of the "Top 10 People in Healthcare Design” in 2020[16] and the California Hospital Association awarded him the Ritz E. Heerman Memorial Award in 2019.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gorman, Anna (March 25, 2019). "She Was Dancing On The Roof And Talking Gibberish. A Special Kind Of ER Helped Her". Health News Florida. WUSF. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ Ojeda, Hillary (April 12, 2019). "University of Iowa Crisis Stabilization Unit challenges convention". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Gannett Co. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ^ Lockwood, James (13 October 2020). "EmPATH Units: Improving Psychiatric Emergency Care". bwbr.com. BWBR Architects. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ Amy Ellis Nutt (2021-10-26) [2016-10-18]. "Psychiatric patients wait the longest in emergency rooms, survey shows". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.[please check these dates]
  5. ^ D, Kelengabor; M, Millsangela; A, Sternsusan; C, Wadmanmichael; E, Sokolovepeter (September 28, 2021). "Emergency Department Crowding: The Canary in the Health Care System". NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery. doi:10.1056/cat.21.0217 (inactive 1 August 2023) – via catalyst.nejm.org.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2023 (link)
  6. ^ Nicks, B. A.; Manthey, D. M. (March 8, 2012). "The impact of psychiatric patient boarding in emergency departments". Emergency Medicine International. 2012: 360308. doi:10.1155/2012/360308. PMC 3408670. PMID 22888437.
  7. ^ Picone, Linda. "Empath: A new approach to mental health crisis" (pdf). Minnesota Medicine. No. September/October 2021.
  8. ^ "One mental health solution: a kinder, gentler emergency department for people considering suicide". The Globe and Mail. July 19, 2020 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  9. ^ Kim, Allison K.; Vakkalanka, J. Priyanka; Van Heukelom, Paul; Tate, Jodi; Lee, Sangil (February 8, 2022). "Emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing (EmPATH) unit decreases hospital admission for patients presenting with suicidal ideation in rural America". Academic Emergency Medicine. 29 (2): 142–149. doi:10.1111/acem.14374. PMC 8850530. PMID 34403550.
  10. ^ Holmen, Kenneth. "Your Turn: Pandemic innovation in mental health and addiction care must not stop". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Beth Heinz: What M Health Fairview is learning from its new emergency mental-health unit". January 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Marian Huber (2021-07-23) [2021-07-22]. "Virginia's mental health hospitals must be restored". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.[please check these dates]
  13. ^ Gray, Callan (October 13, 2021). "M Health Fairview's new approach to mental health crises shows reduction in hospital admissions".
  14. ^ "Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System". National Council.
  15. ^ "EmPATH Units - Improving Psychiatric Patient Care in the ER". www.vituity.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  16. ^ "The HCD 10: Scott Zeller, MD, Clinician - HCD Magazine". HCD Magazine - Architecture & Interior Design Trends for Healthcare Facilities. September 17, 2020.
  17. ^ "CHA Awards". California Hospital Association.
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