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Dr. Laura Eskander, director of services at Sheppard Pratt Psychiatric Urgent Care Center, said time is of the essence when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis or needs emergency treatment.
But the emergency room may not be the best place to get immediate mental health care. Federal and state reports found that patients needing emergency psychiatric care spend an average of 6 hours and 50 minutes in Maryland hospital emergency rooms from arrival to discharge. If inpatient care is required, patients spend an average of 11 hours in the emergency room before being admitted.
So what alternatives do patients seeking emergency mental health care have when the emergency room isn’t the most practical option? Sheppard Pratt Psychiatric Care Center just might be the answer.
As the largest private, not-for-profit provider of psychiatric services in the United States, Sheppard Pratt’s commitment to advancing mental health care is more important than ever in the midst of a mental health crisis, with available providers and facilities struggling to meet surging demand for treatment. According to a new report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, insurance claims related to mental health issues are set to increase 86% from 2019 to 2023, highlighting the growing need for effective mental health interventions.
Innovation in emergency psychiatric care
In response to this need, Sheppard Pratt renovated its Towson hospital’s inpatient and psychiatric emergency rooms last year, adding examination rooms and expanding capacity. The renovations come just two years after it opened a new psychiatric urgent care center in Elkridge. Both urgent care facilities serve as central locations to evaluate individuals needing psychiatric care and direct them to services that best meet their needs.
About one-third of patients seen at Sheppard Pratt’s psychiatric urgent care center require hospitalization, so the care team identifies available inpatient beds or schedules start dates for day hospital visits. Patients who require outpatient care or medication management are referred to the hospital’s call center to schedule outpatient appointments.
“We’ve been a great resource for people who have a hard time figuring out the mental health system on their own,” Eskander said. “The turnaround time to connect individuals to these levels of care is much quicker, and we’re able to help individuals and families avoid being admitted to the emergency room.”
By providing direct and timely care, these facilities streamline the delivery of mental health care, significantly improving patients’ access to the help they need while reducing pressure on already-overwhelmed emergency rooms. In 2023 alone, Sheppard Pratt performed more than 10,000 assessments of individuals through its two psychiatric urgent care centers, a 66% increase from the previous year.
Collaborative Community Partnerships
These urgent care centers play a vital role in the surrounding community as crisis centers, outpatient therapists, psychiatrists and school counselors frequently refer patients to them. In particular, the Elkridge facility, known as Sheppard Pratt’s Baltimore/Washington campus, serves patients across a broad catchment area that includes Howard, Anna Randel, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Frederick, Carroll and Calvert counties.
Partnerships with local police departments and other emergency response groups have also played an important role, such as the Baltimore/Washington Psychiatric Urgent Treatment Center’s new relationship with the Howard County Police Department. The center hosts tours for officers from the department to see the facility and learn about its resources, integrating mental health care into community policing.
Police Department Public Information Officer Seth Hoffman said it’s important for officers to know about Elkridge’s facility, staff and procedures. “A tour of the Sheppard Pratt facility has been added to our Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training,” he said. The 40-hour specialized training is intended to help officers interact more effectively and safely with people with mental illness. The department also included the Elkridge facility on a list of resources that officers distribute to people who may benefit from its services.
In addition to this partnership and its longstanding relationship with Baltimore City and County Police, Sheppard Pratt operates Mobile Crisis Services within Frederick and Washington Counties. The Mobile Crisis Team works in partnership with police, fire and rescue services and mental health professionals to provide in-person emergency response mental health assessments and interventions to de-escalate crisis situations, stabilize patients and connect them to programs and services.
Addressing challenges that transcend state lines
Despite these successes, mental health resources remain strained due to high demand for mental health services and a shortage of psychiatric beds and clinicians.Sheppard Pratt is addressing these issues in ways that transcend state lines through cutting-edge research and consulting services.
Responding to the need for innovative treatments, Sheppard Pratt conducted the first clinical trial of the therapeutic effects of psilocybin in combination with psychotherapy in the treatment of bipolar II depression. The study, recently published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that 80% of participants achieved remission 12 weeks after the study, suggesting the safety and effectiveness of psilocybin in treating bipolar II depression.
Additionally, the hospital launched a consulting and management division, Sheppard Pratt Solutions, in 2021. The company’s consultants work with hospitals and health systems across the country to increase and expand behavioral health programs and services in their communities, advising them on the unique challenges of providing care to underserved areas, particularly in both urban and rural areas.
Sheppard Pratt’s comprehensive response to the mental health crisis through our Psychiatric Urgent Care Center, innovative research, and consulting services represents a major advancement in mental health care. While much more work is needed to get through this crisis, these efforts will undoubtedly play a key role in creating healthier, more resilient communities.
