Psychiatric Emergency Unit

Description: The Psychiatric Emergency Unit is a 20-recliner unit that provides short-term crisis care and treatment to non-violent patients with moderate to high psychiatric symptoms who are on voluntary and involuntary statuses. This is achieved within a safe, recovery-oriented, trauma-sensitive, therapeutic environment through multidisciplinary collaboration in the assessment/reassessment, brief treatment, and disposition process.

Services: The Psychiatric Emergency Unit (PEU) will be provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Individuals will be offered a recliner and continuously monitored by staff members with direct observation. Currently the length of stay in the PEU is up to 23 hours. However, in certain situations, patients may stay up to 48 hours (this is dependent on patient need and the clinical judgement of the PEU team as to if the goals of the PEU can be met within the extended time). If a patient’s symptoms cannot be stabilized within this timeframe, the patient will be linked to an appropriate level of care (LOC) such as an inpatient psychiatric unit or crisis residential services.

Goal: The goal for the patients in the PEU is to provide prompt and comprehensive assessment of patients in a psychiatric crisis, to stabilize a crisis situation, and appropriately link patients to services within the community.

Treatment Team: Each team consists of either a psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant along with a social worker, a nurse, and psychiatric technicians. There are also peer recovery navigators who have a lived experience who work in all of our Behavioral Health areas.

Partnerships with outside organizations including Metrocare Services, Southern Area Behavioral Healthcare, IPS (Integrated Psychotherapeutic Solutions), and Child & Family Guidance Center allow our teams to provide warm handoffs from the ER to outpatient organizations who can continue patient's care.