Anyone who's tried to find immediate treatment for mental health emergencies has likely found themselves stuck between two not-so-great options — either get on the list for an appointment with a provider, which can take days or weeks, or head to the emergency room.
If they opt for the latter, chief nursing officer with Eastern State Hospital Mark Woods says they're probably not going to find an atmosphere that's particularly well-suited to their immediate needs.
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"They're dealing with a lot of medical injuries. People that have had heart attacks and what not, and somebody that's experiencing anxiety or suicidal thoughts is probably going to slip down that list of priority," he explains.
That's where the idea of EmPATH — or Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing — comes in.
It's a low-barrier environment featuring calm, open spaces and privacy, where people can simply walk in and be greeted by mental health professionals who don't use one-size-fits-all approach. It may even be someone who's had personal lived experience with the same problem.
"And we're not trying to make the determination of 'you get to be admitted' or 'we're going to send you immediately home.' We're going to spend time with you and give you the time that you need, and then we're trying to get you hooked up with services so that you're not going to have to be admitted to an inpatient unit," Wood says.
Located at Eastern State Hospital, EmPATH is the first facility of its kind in Kentucky and will operate round the clock, 365 days a year.
