Kare 11: First-of-its-kind mental health treatment works to keep patients out of the ER

"What we’re doing is working, and I think it’s working in two contexts," said Dr. Lewis Zeidner. "One, is we de-escalate the crisis, and two, is we put people on a path to get the care they need so the emergency department doesn’t become their primary caregiving."

Across M Health Fairview care providers, 17,000 patients a year are admitted for a mental health crisis. It's a number Dr. Zeidner says increases every year.

"Often times, by the time someone comes to an emergency department, they're really in crisis," said Dr. Zeidner.

The chaotic environment isn't ideal for someone in crisis, so it was clear that a new approach to care was necessary — one that some University of Minnesota students, in part, engineered.

"A lot of the artwork is natural scenes, there's natural light, unlike a traditional emergency department, and then there are sensory rooms," said Dr. Zeidner.

It's a first-of-its-kind space in Minnesota that allows patients the time they need to be treated entirely by mental health clinicians in a less restrictive space.

Data from the first year shows it has reduced inpatient admission for people with mental health symptoms by 60%. Before EmPATH opened, Southdale Hospital admitted about 40% of people who came to the emergency department with a mental health crisis. Now, with the specialized care that EmPATH offers, that number has dropped to 16%.

It's helped some 2,200 people so far, and what's more, Dr. Zeidner says, rarely do they treat the same patient twice.

"We're able to resolve the crisis, help them resolve their crisis, and they can go back to their normal lives," said Dr. Zeidner.

And when a patient is released from care, the experts have already set up an appointment with an appropriate clinician, who then follows up with a phone call.

Fairview now plans to expand EmPATH services at its largest hospital, M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center, which will serve adult and pediatric patients."

*I am so excited that these types of treatment centers are starting to become more popular! I agree with the article when it mentions that emergency departments are not the best place to receive care when in a crisis. Sometimes, the staff aren't always equipped to handle mental health crises. With this new treatment center, the only care they focus on is mental health care. The atmosphere is created to be relaxing, with natural lighting, calming artwork, and sensory rooms. The data has already proven that this treatment center has decreased mental health emergency department admittances. I hope these types of centers are able to expand and continue to promote better care for those in crisis.*

Do you think that these new treatment centers are better than the emergency department for mental health crises? What else do you think they could add to improve the patients' experience?

#MentalHealthCrisis #Treatment #MentalHealth

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