When a patient suffering from a mental health crisis comes into Derby, Connecticut’s Griffin Hospital emergency department, their condition may vary.
“People could just be really withdrawn. People could be visibly upset, and that could be crying, tearful, or it could be violent,” said Lindsay Slaybaugh, Griffin’s nursing director for the ER. “There are some people that are just not in their right capacity, and they come in aggravated, agitated; they've been fighting, they've caused harm to themselves or somebody else, and they're physically violent.”
Over the past three years, there’s been a 50% increase in people who come into Slaybaugh’s ER experiencing a mental health crisis, and, she said, it’s not hard to see why.
“There's a lot of stress in the world right now,” Slaybaugh said. “People are feeling anxious, they're feeling depressed. There are financial struggles, there are housing struggles, and there are resource struggles. And that creates a lot of stress.”
Griffin isn’t the only hospital seeing an increase. Nationally, one in eight ER patients is seeking mental health crisis care.
Slayball said it’s not good for the patient or the hospital for them to be treated in the emergency room. Staff have to take away anything the patient could use to hurt themselves: that includes shoelaces, clothing, personal belongings and more.
“We're taking away everything that makes that person feel comfortable,” Slaybaugh said. “And then oftentimes, there's a lot of treatment that happens in hallway spaces and ERs, because not only do we have a lot of patients in our nation right now that are experiencing behavioral health or mental health concerns, there's also a lot of medical [emergency] that's coming through.”
Experts say the environment in which a patient is treated matters. When patients have a bad experience, they might not seek treatment again.
However, a good experience could convince them to continue treatment, and it could jump-start their recovery.
Griffin’s psychiatric chair, Dr. Maria Dawe, said that’s the hope of their new unit, EmPATH.
“EmPATH stands for emergency psychiatric assessment treatment and healing,” Dawe said. “And it utilizes a different approach. It emphasizes the environment.”
That means no more treatment in busy, crowded hallways lit with bright, fluorescent lights.
“It's more private,” Dawe said. “Quiet spaces, comfortable seating, ability to walk around the unit versus being on a stretcher.”
To get to the EmPATH unit, patients will be admitted through the ER and checked for any non-mental health medical conditions. Then a team of social workers, nurses and doctors will evaluate them.
“And if they need to be on medications, we could do that,” Dawe said. “If they need to be connected with an intensive outpatient service, we can do that. Or if they need to be hospitalized, then we can also provide them with that care.”
They’ll also have access to food, showers, and group therapy.
There are more than 60 EmPATH units in the United States. Three out of four of the EmPATH patients are stabilized and return home within 24 hours.
Griffin’s EmPATH unit will accommodate 12 patients at a time. It is expected to be the first of its kind in Connecticut.
It’s under construction and expected to open later this year.
They’ve already raised over half the cost and are working to raise money for the rest.
