The Perfect Storm: Mental Health Patients Meet the Emergency Room
Speaker
Monica Cooke, RN, PMH-BC., SBN, MA, CPHQ, CPHRM, DFASHRM, has more than 40 years of experience in the field of behavioral health &substance abuse in clinical, administrative, and executive risk and quality positions. As a seasoned professional, she founded Quality Plus Solutions LLC in 2006 to provide organizational behavioral health and workplace violence assessments as well as risk and quality support for behavioral health, acute care, practice settings, and other continuums of care. She provides legal nurse expert services, and as a Certified Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse, Monica continues to work part time supporting a local mental health and substance use setting. Monica has served in several leadership positions with local risk and quality societies, as well as many years of service with American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) on the Nominating Committee, Conference Committee, and contributing to white papers. She provides educational presentations at both the national and state levels and is recognized as an expert in the field of behavioral health risk and healthcare workplace violence mitigation. In 2024, Monica received the Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement by ASHRM.
Description
There is no debate in the healthcare industry regarding the mental health care crisis in emergency departments across the country. The seriously deficient care models not only cause major disruption in the treatment of medically ill patients but are fraught with risks for mental health patients and staff alike. The boarding of mental health patients in many ED’s is so extensive that it is extremely difficult for the ED to manage the overflow of patients presenting with serious medical conditions that require prompt attention. Inadequate treatment environments, untrained and often unmotivated care staff, and lack of protocols for safe clinical care create a perfect storm for risks related to suicidality, elopement, and aggressive behaviors.
This session will review the current state of the ED mental health crisis and provide solutions that can be both cost effective and safer in the long run. The presenter will discuss various treatment environment models, staffing, competencies, safe standardized protocols for rapid stabilization, and other strategies that provide safe, clinically appropriate care for mental health patients in crisis.
Webinar Outline: The Perfect Storm
Learning Objectives
At the end of the webinar, the participant should be able to:
1. Discuss the current state of mental health ED presentations and the impact on the organization.
2. Identify the reasons and the urgency to begin to reshape the care provided in ED’s for mental health and substance use patients.
3. Describe at least two strategies that can create efficient and safe care for mental health patients.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider number 12205 for 1 contact hours.
This meeting has been submitted for approval for 1 contact hour of Continuing Education Credit toward fulfillment of the requirements of ASHRM designations of FASHRM (Fellow) and DFASHRM (Distinguished Fellow) and towards CPHRM renewal.