9 SEPTEMBER 2024ED visits and better connect patients to resources, including social determinates to health. EmPATH establishes a therapeutic partnership between patients and caregivers for success.EmPATH breaks away from the established single patient, one "sitter," constant observation model by placing the patients in a ligature-resistant space with easy access to restrooms, showers, snacks and beverages, a private area when needed, plenty of windows, an outdoor space, and frequent interactions with the healthcare team including planned programming, and activities. Patients are less controlled by their environment, actions, and reactions using trauma-informed care and peer-to-peer support.Hundreds of Centra Caregivers from across our organization and the community have been involved in our EmPATH journey. In just 18 months, we have moved from an idea to the first patient. We look forward to sharing successes seen by other EmPATH programs, including up to an 80% reduction in admissions, a 50% reduction in overall ED length of stay for behavioral health patients, and a 60% increase in follow-up appointments following discharge. But, as Dhruv Khullar shared in his July 12, 2023, article for the New Yorker Reinventing the ED for America's Mental-Health Crisis, "many of the model's underlying principals seem within reach if only health systems broaden their definition of care." The Centra Foundation and its donors generously supported Centra EmPath. OUR APPROACH TO EMPATH RE-IMAGINES MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN A MORE COMPASSIONATE, LESS RESTRICTIVE, PATIENT-CENTRIC MODEL FOCUSED ON BOTH THE ACUTE CRISIS AND MEANINGFUL OUTCOMESCentra EmPATH Opening September 2023
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