Em Pulse

We are in the midst of a mental health crisis that impacts our patients, our hospitals, the health care system, and our daily work in the emergency department. It is easy to be caught up in own experience, or the problems of our own department. But when we look beyond our hospital, we see that this is a huge crisis at county, state, and national levels. To help us understand why we are in this situation, and how we can work to improve things, we spoke with UC Davis’ Director of Emergency Psychiatry, Dr. Lorin Scher, and Emergency Physician and ED Director of Behavioral Health, Dr. Aimee Moulin. Here of some of their suggestions: The ED is often the only place patients in a mental health crisis have to go. These patients are suffering from serious, life threatening illness, and it is our job to care for them. Embrace it. Focus on patient centered care, including placing patients in an area where stimulation is minimized, away from doors, with mental health techs nearby, and employ early de-escalation strate