EmPath units address psychiatric crisis

M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Minnesota offers an Emergency Psychiatry Assessment, Treatment and Health unit for behavioral health patients. The unit, established in 2021, provides patients with a calm, communal space to receive a comprehensive evaluation start therapy and get medication, if needed. Patients generally stay for less than 48 hours; most are discharged to their homes instead of a psychiatric facility with a care plan and follow-up. Scott Zeller, MD, then director of psychiatric emergency services at the Alameda Health System in Oakland, Calif., developed the model in 2012 after becoming frustrated with the challenges of treating patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis in the emergency room.   (The New Yorker article, 7/12/23)