Lexington Medical Center has opened a new emergency unit dedicated to the treatment of mental health patients. The unit, known as EmPATH, Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing, will enhance care for psychiatric and mental health patients at the Lexington Medical Center Emergency Department.

The EmPATH unit was made possible by a grant from the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

“This specialized unit will allow Lexington Medical Center to better serve Emergency Department patients experiencing mental health crises by providing needed intervention in a calm, safe and healing environment tailored to patients’ behavioral health needs.” said Roger Sipe, Lexington Medical Center Senior Vice President of Operations. “We are proud to work with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to meet the needs of our communities.”

EmPATH units, created by emergency psychiatry expert Dr. Scott Zeller, are thoughtfully planned physical spaces that do the following: 

• Assist patients in receiving prompt care for a severe mental health issue;
• Monitor patients in an open milieu in a comfortable setting;
• Provide a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers to assess the patient’s symptoms and develop a care plan for treatment;
• Reduces inpatient admissions for patients with mental health symptoms by 60 percent.

“This new facility will provide an important resource for families in the Midlands and is another important step in the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ commitment to address identified gaps throughout the continuum of care in the state’s behavioral health delivery system,” said South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Director Robby Kerr. “These efforts have included investing in behavioral health infrastructure, increasing reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers to improve access to care and the addition of new community-based services through the state’s Medicaid program that may serve as needed step-down care options for those who present in the state’s new EmPath units.”

Nationally, studies have shown that 75 percent or more of severe psychiatric emergencies can be stabilized within 24 hours. Currently, there are over 40 EmPATH units in the United States.

Thirteen hospitals across South Carolina received grant money for the development of an EmPATH unit.