NYAPRS Note: Here’s some stark evidence of the rising needs for mental health related services and supports due to COVID-19 and a powerful reason why New York State must not withdraw or cut funds from these already hard pressed essential services.
NYU Langone Expects Uptick In ED Psychiatric Visits Due To Covid-19 Pandemic
By Amanda Eisenberg Politico July 16, 2020
NYU Langone Health intends to create a “secure holding suite” for patients with behavioral health issues who enter the emergency department on First Avenue, according to plans filed with the state this week.
Impact: The $1.96 million project would add 1,399 square feet to the emergency department, which was recently renovated to accommodate a surge of Covid-19 patients, according to the plans. The plans require only limited review by the state health department.
“A second surge space will now be converted to a safe treatment area for an increasing number of patients with behavioral concerns. While the Perelman ED psychiatric patient volume decreased during the peak of COVID-19 in NYC, it recently returned to pre-COVID levels,” according to the application. “There is an expectation that the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a continued increase in psychiatric visits to the ED, and this space is required to provide a safe and appropriate environment in which to care for these patients.”
The secure holding suite will offer five, 68-square-foot rooms; a space for patients to sit on lounge chairs under staff observation; a bathroom with a toilet and shower; a clean supply room; and a nurse station, according to the plans.
“The nurse station will also house a local medication safety zone to serve the patients in the suite,” according to the application. “The nurse station will feature staff access from the outside corridor as well as multiple controlled access points within the new suite.”
What’s next: The health system expects to report 91,522 patient visits to its emergency department in 2020, according to the plans.