Mission Health’s Journey to Addressing Increasing Behavioral Health Needs in the Emergency Department

Pre-Webinar Reading: Understanding the Behavioral Health Crisis, Ronald A. Paulus, M.D., President & CEO, Mission Health


Held March 12, 2018

The dramatic rise in emergency patients with chronic psychiatric conditions is a national crisis; with millions of people across the U.S. seeking care in our nation’s overcrowded and often overwhelmed EDs.  Mission Health, Asheville, NC will be sharing its ongoing approach to addressing this challenge. According to CEO Dr. Ronald Paulus, the increase in the number of these sometimes-disruptive patients impacts the quality of care for all ED patients and can put both patients and staff at risk of injury.

Join us for a discussion with Sonya Greck, MSN, RN, Senior Vice President, Patient Safety Net Services and Behavioral Health; Dr. Richard Zenn, Medical Director of Behavioral Health; and Mary Worthy, MS, LMFT, Director of Behavioral Health Access Center, Mission Health.  They will describe how Mission Hospital established capacity management models within the ED for psychiatric patients, and partnered with other agencies and the community to improve timely access to quality behavioral health care.

Webinar participants will learn:

  • Facility development within the ED for Behavioral Health patients
  • Staffing and care implications: How the psychiatric holding areas are staffed and what treatment is provided
  • The impact of community engagement
  • Impact to quality of care and patient safety

About Mission Health

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