FLORENCE COUNTY S.C. (WPDE) — A new pediatric behavioral health crisis stabilization unit at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence is open.
The unit specializes in pediatric patients who are suffering from acute psychiatric crisis.
The hospital will use a model called EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing). This model has been successful in reducing length of stay and inpatient admissions and improving the rate of follow-up care.
The hospital is one of 13 hospitals in South Carolina to receive funding from the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) to build this unit.
The wing will provide spaces for suffering children to stabilize and receive treatment.
“The EmPATH Unit will provide specialized care for children experiencing psychiatric crises using the principles of patient-centered and evidence-based emergency assessment, stabilization, treatment and healing …Over the past few years, the national mental health crisis has only deepened, and pediatric mental health-related emergency department visits have been increasing, especially among girls. This project is a necessary response to the entrenched obstacles to care affecting this patient population.”
Said Rebecca Vincent, Vice President of Women’s and Children’s Services for McLeod Regional Medical Center.
The patient will receive intense individual and group therapy that is tailored to the situation and cognitive and developmental stages.
The premise of the EmPATH model is, “The premise is if a patient can be stabilized in a nurturing environment with professional and peer support within the initial 72 hours and de-escalated to a state of safety, outpatient follow-up treatment may serve as a sustainable alternative versus progression to acute inpatient psychiatric care.”