EmPATH Units: Improving General Hospital Behavioral Emergency Care-View Presentation

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Video Summary

- Dr. Scott Zeller introduced EMPath units as a solution to improve emergency psychiatric care for patients who traditionally end up in the ER. These units aim to provide immediate treatment and stabilize psychiatric emergencies.<br />- EMPath units address the challenges faced by ERs in handling psychiatric emergencies, such as long ER stays and patients being stuck in the ER waiting for transfer to a psychiatric facility.<br />- The six goals of emergency psychiatry, known as Zeller's six goals, serve as the basis for EMPath units. These goals include excluding medical causes, rapidly stabilizing emergencies, providing a safe environment, engaging patients in treatment, initiating discharge planning, and reducing the need for hospitalization.<br />- The ultimate goal of EMPath units is to improve outcomes for patients by providing immediate and effective care and reducing the burden on emergency departments.<br />- Empath Units are specifically designed emergency psychiatric units that aim to provide rapid and effective care for individuals experiencing psychiatric emergencies.<br />- These units offer a more therapeutic and less coercive approach to care, with a large open room to promote a sense of community and comfort.<br />- Empath Units aim to quickly relieve suffering and provide appropriate treatment in the least restrictive setting, with the goal of transitioning individuals back to their homes as soon as possible.<br />- These units are staffed by a multidisciplinary team and have been shown to reduce ER length of stay, decrease hospitalization rates, improve engagement in outpatient care, and reduce recidivism rates.<br />- Empath Units are cost-effective and have been implemented successfully in various locations across the United States.<br />- They are designed to complement existing community-based crisis services and improve the overall emergency psychiatric care system.

Keywords

EMPath units

emergency psychiatric care

psychiatric emergencies

Zeller's six goals

safe environment

discharge planning

hospitalization rates

multidisciplinary team

outpatient care

community-based crisis services