The Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) unit nears 10,000 patients seen as it celebrates five years of quality service.
In October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the PES received its first patient seeking emergent mental health care. Since then, more than 9,000 visits have occurred, allowing individuals to receive psychiatric care in a unique space designed to meet the needs of those served.
“The past five years have been a great demonstration of the power of teamwork and collaboration within the hospital and community,” said Asish Sharma, MD, Medical Director of the PES. “We are excited to see what the next five years bring, and we know within our incredible PES team, many more lives will be impacted for the better.”
Jennifer Sparrock, LCSW, LIMHP, has been the PES manager since it opened five years ago. She said the unit’s mission remains the same: provide the best possible mental health care in a calm, compassionate environment away from the main emergency department.
The PES team includes psychiatrists, mental health practitioners, nurses, and peer support specialists.
“As thousands of individuals have received compassionate care in the PES, it is a testament to the skill of our psychiatry team, the incredible partnership of our colleagues in the ED, and the support of Nebraska Medicine and our community for ensuring there is no health without mental health,” said Howard Liu, MD, MBA, Chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry. “It’s been amazing to see the vision of a healing space for people experiencing mental health crises come to fruition over the past half-decade.”
In addition to the treatment and services provided in PES, it has also become a well-respected site for the many learners within our academic medical center. Additionally, the PES has helped the Nebraska Medicine Emergency Room handle patients with behavioral health issues.
“The PES has rescued our clinical operations from the gridlock of psychiatric patient boarding just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mike Wadman, MD, Nebraska Medicine Chair of Emergency Medicine. “If it hadn’t been for them, we would not have been able to respond as effectively as we did to the challenges of the pandemic.”
Individuals present to the Nebraska Medicine Emergency Department for medical clearance and are then referred to the PES. A psychiatrist, APP, therapists, and psychiatric nurses staff the unit 24 hours a day. Additionally, peer support professionals use their lived experience with mental health challenges to engage, support, and empathize with patients. The unit’s goal is to stabilize patients and swiftly refer them to community partners for appropriate treatment while avoiding unnecessary inpatient admissions.
In October 2023, a ‘Fast Pass’ pilot program was launched to further assist in rapidly screening and assessing those presenting in the emergency department with minimal risk for complicated medical considerations, with a goal of transfer to the PES in less than one hour.