Did You Know?
In the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) which was conducted by Centra’s Department of Community Health (DCH), survey respondents consistently ranked mental health as one of the top health issues affecting our community. Additionally, the percentage of respondents living in Lynchburg who listed mental health as one of their top five concerns increased from 29% in 2018 to 40% in 2021 with the percentage increases being even higher in Bedford and Farmville.
What is Centra doing to address this concern?
As Centra works to provide holistic care that puts people first, in combination with clinical excellence, the Emergency Services Department in conjunction with Behavioral Health Services is excited to announce the plan to open a new behavioral health treatment unit called emPATH that will be located within Lynchburg General Hospital’s Emergency Department. A $1 million anonymous gift from a grateful patient last November will help support the project. It is the largest single outright anonymous donation and among the largest gifts ever received by the Centra Foundation, which has committed to fund the transformation.
But wait, what’s an emPATH Unit?
emPATH stands for Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing, and is a new approach to long standing challenges for Emergency Department patients with behavioral health issues. Traditionally, behavioral health patients are placed in individual exam rooms to wait in relative isolation for different staff members and professionals to care for them over a period of several hours or days. An emPATH Unit which was first developed in California addresses this problem by placing appropriate patients in a common, open area where Caregivers, behavioral health experts and other patients interact and support one another throughout the patient’s visit.
emPATH Units are designed to be calming, comfortable spaces where patients can be assessed and treated with the primary focus of returning the patient safely to their home with the support of outpatient services, their family and community resources. Ultimately, emPATH works to reduce the need for extended Emergency Department stays or even hospitalization while ensuring that each behavioral health patient is provided care that is both equitable and excellent.
When will Centra’s emPATH Unit open?
The estimated completion of Centra’s emPATH Unit is slated for early 2023. To learn more about the project, be sure to read next month’s edition of Centra Today. We are excited to share more about this innovative approach to care as we partner together to support all residents of Central Virginia in living their best lives.