With You, We Can Open Doors to Heal Those in Crisis
Your Investment Will Help to Build Connecticut’s First EmPATH Unit
Griffin Health has embarked on an innovative initiative to address the challenges faced by individuals experiencing severe mental illness and emotional crisis. Your belief in breakthrough, patient-centered healthcare can help Griffin build the state’s first Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) Unit.
Urgent Support is Needed for Behavioral Health Services
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly amplified the demand for behavioral health services, leaving many in Connecticut without access to critical support. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 41% of adults in Connecticut have experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression, while 121,000 adults are living with serious mental illness.
With a shortage of behavioral health services statewide, individuals in emotional crisis are often brought to hospital emergency departments (EDs) by crisis centers, law enforcement, and well-meaning family members. However, EDs are limited in their ability to provide the therapeutic care required, leaving many without the specialized support they urgently need. Over the past three years, mental health crisis cases at Griffin Hospital’s ED have surged by 50%, with one in seven ED patients seeking crisis care. This influx not only overwhelms our capacity – it delays care for all patients.
What is an EmPATH Unit?
An EmPATH Unit represents a new approach in behavioral healthcare. Unlike traditional EDs, EmPATH units provide a calming, therapeutic space for patients in emotional crisis. Staffed with psychiatrists, social workers, and trained nurses, EmPATH units prioritize rapid assessment and personalized care, aiming to stabilize patients within 24 hours and reduce the need for hospitalization.
“Crisis patients will reach out and they want help, but they are directed to someone who tells them there is a six-month wait. This forces people to become even more discouraged and depressed or they come to the Emergency Department. And it burdens the ER systems because you have not only mental and behavioral health, but you have medical patients seeking care. And they are all coming to one spot that has limited resources for everyone.”
Lindsay Slaybaugh MSN, RN NE-BC
Emergency Department Director
An Innovative Approach for Mental Health Crisis Care
A better model of care is needed for individuals in crisis seeking immediate help. A small number of pioneering EmPATH Units have been established across the United States in recent years. It had been demonstrated that the great majority of psychiatric emergencies could be resolved in less than 24 hours with prompt, appropriate intervention. This novel EmPATH approach has the potential to transform behavioral health care by reducing involuntary hospitalizations and improving patient outcomes.
“We all know someone around us who’s struggling with addiction, with mental health issues. We have to think of what kind of place do we want them to come to? Do we want them to come to an emergency department that’s chaotic, or do we want them to come to an environment that’s just calmer and that’s just more geared towards mental health patients and helping them recover and heal.”
Evelisse
Sister to Griffin Hospital Emergency Department patient
A Space for Immediate, Compassionate Care
Griffin Health’s planned EmPATH Unit, the first of its kind in Connecticut, will offer a serene space where a team of specialists work together to provide immediate care for a range of behavioral health needs. Across the U.S., EmPATH units are transforming lives and reducing the burden on EDs with a remarkable 25% reduction in crisis patient readmissions within 30 days, and stabilization of 75% of patients within 24 hours.
