Improving Emergency Department Flow for People with Behavioral Health Problems

This seminar is designed to help teams of Emergency Department health care professionals and administrators assess challenges and better organize operations to respond to the needs of individuals, and produce better outcomes. Team participation is encouraged but not required.

It is fairly common for people with acute mental health problems to be brought to hospital Emergency Departments and spend extended periods there, often with little or no treatment. To change this situation IBHI has for ten years offered a seminar on ways to improve treatment of these people, improve their lives and improve financial results for the hospitals. This program had its beginning in a pioneering year-long collaborative, which IBHI managed, of five hospitals all working together to improve their emergency care of these people.

IBHI is dedicated to improving care for people with behavioral health problems and Emergency Departments are a prime location for helping to improve care. In the past these seminars have helped a number of hospitals to change their operations in ways which benefit both consumers and staff.
Upon completion of the Seminar participants will be able to:

• Identify specific aspects of their Emergency Department operation which exacerbate symptoms for behavioral health patients.
• Develop a plan for reducing the time people with behavioral health problems spend in the ED.
• Identify ways to expedite placement for those requiring out of hospital residential care.
• Identify ways to reduce agitation
• Understand and identify symptoms of potential for suicide by people presenting for care
• Identify specific issues which lead to court cases and methods for avoiding those issues.

Email Peter@IBHI.net for information!

Agenda as of Sept. 16, 2019 (subject to change):

8:00AM: Opening, Faculty Introductions and Schedule for the day

8:15AM: Hearing from the participants – getting acquainted with each other: Where are you from? What is your role in your department or facility? Briefly: What brought you to the seminar and what are the issues you are facing?

8:45AM: The current ED environment, its impact on behavioral health consumers and what the standards for Joint Commission accreditation mean for hospitals behavioral health and emergency care. NAMI Video
Stuart Buttlaire, Peter Brown

9:15AM: Examples of Streamlining ED Operations Techniques for understanding the flow problems and reducing boarding in EDs and ways to develop changes in the operation. Stuart Buttlaire, Megan Schabbing, Larry Phillips, Peter Brown

10:00AM: Break

10:15AM: Examples of Streamlining ED Operations Continued

11:00AM: Framework for improvement efforts and making change in Emergency Department operations, staff culture and trainingPeter Brown

12:00PM: Lunch

12:45PM: Legal issues in emergency department operations related to behavioral health patients and ways to address them. Russell Kolsrud

1:45PM: Important topics in ED management: suicide; managing agitation; decisions about medication. Megan Schabbing, Stuart Buttlaire

3:00PM: Break

3:15PM: Break out groups – faculty facilitated – Planning to improve your facility and program. Participants use what they have learned to develop their own plan for improvement with faculty support including improving engagement with community.

3:45PM: New developments in ED operations including Developing trends, Use of Telemedicine, crisis centers, non-ED centers mobile crisis teams, Peer Counselors, Call center follow up efforts.Peter Brown, Faculty

4:15PM: Discussion of Participants plans for their own Emergency Department

4:45PM: Summary and evaluation

5:00PM: Adjourn

We hope you join us December 12-13 at Scott Resort and Spa!