Page 34 - Campus Security & Life Safety, May/June 2021

"...younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers and unpaid adult caregivers are disproportionately afflicted with worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use and elevated suicidal thoughts."
By Siva Davuluri
Creating Flexible Treatment Spaces
Healthcare Campus
Teaching hospitals and emergency medicine residency programs face a variety of challenges in treating behavioral health patients. Chief among them is creating a safe envi- ronment that protects patients and staff.
This is an increasingly urgent issue as healthcare systems continue to deal with a sharp rise in behavioral health-related patients. According to recent data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in eight emergency room visits by U.S. adults involves mental illness or substance use dis- orders, with an estimated 12 million visits per year.
Amid the pandemic, those numbers have only increased. The Center for Disease Con- trol (CDC) reported that in June 2020, rates of anxiety were approximately three times higher and depression cases were approxi- mately four times higher than the year prior. According to the report, younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers and unpaid adult caregivers are dispropor- tionately afflicted with worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use and ele- vated suicidal thoughts.
Behavioral health education in institu- tions across America provides future practi- tioners with well-rounded training to treat these kinds of issues. But for residents in emergency departments, the resources are fewer and further between. That’s because emergency medicine wasn’t designed to spe- cialize in behavioral health issues, and yet, due to a number of converging societal fac- tors, emergency rooms have become treat- ment facilities for many patients who have nowhere else to turn.
A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality revealed that emer- gency room visits related to mental health and substance-use issues increased more than 44 percent from 2007-2013, with visits from patients suffering suicidal thoughts growing by a devastating nearly 415 percent.
Aside from the lack of psychiatric training for emergency medicine doctors and resi- dents, however, is the compounding issue of
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the facilities themselves: most emergency departments are not physically equipped to deal with behavioral health emergencies the way that inpatient behavioral health facilities are set up.
That is even more concerning when you consider the trend of emergency department “boarding”—where behavioral health patients remain in emergency care rooms after being admitted, waiting to be trans- ferred to an inpatient unit. According to one study, behavioral health patients spend 42% more time waiting in the emergency room compared to other patients; their wait times average out at more than 11 hours. That all adds up for patients, doctors and residents and increases safety risks for everyone.
Equipping Facilities for Safety
Psychiatric cross training is slowly beginning to work its way into emergency departments and emergency medicine residency pro-
grams. But facility managers and safety com- mittees in teaching hospitals also have a responsibility in protecting occupants by ensuring facilities are up to date with the lat- est building safety technologies and trends.
Some industrial rolling door manufactur- ers are introducing new products into the market specifically engineered to make spac- es like emergency departments safer and more secure for patients and staff alike, cre- ating flexible spaces that can transition seamlessly from behavioral health to emer- gency medicine areas.
Advanced new ligature-resistant counter doors can deploy with the mere press of a button, converting standard exam, diagnostic or emergency care rooms and treatment bays into safe spaces for patients suffering an acute behavioral health issue. These doors can cover cabinetry, pharmaceuticals storage, countertops,
Improving patient safety during behavioral health emergencies
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