Responding to a Behavioral Health Crisis: Applying a New Care Model in the Emergency Department.

Objectives: Emergency department (ED) visits for behavioral health (BH) emergencies continue to rise, and institutions across the country encounter barriers and struggle to put BH processes in place to address their needs. After learning of an unanticipated closure of a local psychiatric crisis response center (CRC), our ED implemented quality improvement interventions to respond to an acute surge of BH patients.

Methods: Interventions included an enhanced BH database, the role of social workers as extenders, shared electronic health record documentation, increased staffing, clinical pathway updates, and processes to improve communication.