Did You Know Centra is Opening an emPATH Unit?
Last month we shared the exciting news that Centra will be opening Virginia’s first emPATH Unit in early 2023 due to the generous donation of $1 million by an anonymous donor to the Centra Foundation. Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing Units are spaces adjacent to emergency departments where patients experiencing behavioral health crises can receive appropriate, focused care without being surrounded by the noise, stress and general busyness of a traditional emergency room.
This method of care, which was developed by Dr. Scott Zellers, has been implemented by healthcare systems across the United States. The benefits of these units continue to emerge as more become operational. Below, we share three measurable benefits of emPATH Units that have been realized across the country.
Did you know emPATH Units improve follow-up care?
One benefit of an emPATH Unit that a hospital system in the Midwest identified was increased patient follow-up after constructing an emPATH Unit. Before opening their emPATH Unit, a 30-day follow-up appointment was scheduled for only 39.4% of patients who received care after experiencing suicidal ideation. After the emPATH Unit opened, this percentage increased to 63.2%. Simply put, the emPATH Unit helped this healthcare system ensure that patients continued receiving the care and resources they needed after experiencing a mental health crisis [Academic Emergency Medicine].
Did you know emPATH Units decrease time spent in the ED?
A central problem that emPATH Units address is the issue of boarding patients within the emergency department. Boarding occurs when inpatient beds within the psychiatric unit of a hospital are unavailable. This leads to patients waiting for extended periods within the emergency room to receive the care they need [American College of Emergency Physicians]. emPATH Units work to solve the problem of boarding by acting as a Labor & Delivery Room for mental health crises. They are designed to accelerate healing in a safe, calming environment. Often, notable change can occur for patients within hours when they are cared for within an emPATH Unit rather than the traditional emergency room.
Did you know emPATH units reduce inpatient admissions?
A final benefit of the emPATH Unit is that it often eliminates the need for patients to be admitted for inpatient psychiatric care in cases where that level of care is not warranted. For example, in its first year of operation, the emPATH Unit that resides in M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital located in Edina, Minnesota, reduced the number of inpatient admissions for mental health patients by 60% [M Health Fairview]. The emPATH Unit can reduce this number because some patients do not need the 24/7 monitoring and care that inpatient psychiatric admission provides but rather need assistance returning to a stable condition to return home. M Health’s emPATH Unit is not the only unit that has experienced this benefit. It is reported that “emPATH units in Los Angeles, Portland, and at the University of Iowa have sent 75% to 80% of patients home” [Managed Care].
As Centra works to provide advanced care so that patients can achieve physical and mental well-being, it is our goal that the new emPATH Unit and its benefits will play a significant role in helping to meet the behavioral health needs of the Central Virginia Community.
